Saw this article, thought it raised a good point of discussion:

http://www.ohiohouse.gov/rex-damschroder/press/ohio-house-passes-boater-freedom-act

What do you guys think about it? Are the safety inspections without cause excessive?

I think that they should be done at the launch or at the marina.  after someone is on the water is the wrong time to realize that a person is not safe.  on the water people should be checked or pulled over if they are doing something that is against the law.  checking while they are anchored would be ok as well but not while underway if they arose no suspicions.  this can clog already busy boating ways.

Exactly. If they are underway, it better be a pretty blatant foul you can see with the naked eye (transom riding, etc) and not something like "you have four adult passengers so I need to see four life jackets".

Over Memorial weekend they basically had an assembly line near Starnes Island of four or five cop boats, picking people off as soon as they were done with the last one. They were doing it all night when I was sitting at the marina watching too.

That's just ridiculous going out of their way like that.

Ha! I always wondered when they would have the gall to setup what amounts to a sobriety checkpoint on the water. Now I know.

Captain YARRR wrote on Jun 10^th, 2013 at 8:43pm:

Over Memorial weekend they basically had an assembly line near Starnes Island of four or five cop boats, picking people off as soon as they were done with the last one. They were doing it all night when I was sitting at the marina watching too. That's just ridiculous going out of their way like that.

That was one of the factors in deciding to move to the Northern portion of the lake.  Less traffic, less police.

It's great when they grab people for reasons, not so cool when they are out to mess with you. Even when you are stone sober and nothing to hide, it is not a good experience.

Further up the lake does sound nice for that reason :)