On the Water
Boating While Intoxicated in Texas
Section 49.06 makes boating while intoxicated a Class B misdemeanor with the same 72 hour minimum confinement as a first DWI.
The license consequences work differently though, and there is a horsepower threshold in the refusal rules that almost nobody knows about.
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What a BWI does to your driver license
Here is a distinction worth being precise about, because it cuts both ways.
A BWI conviction is not in the list of offenses that trigger a driver license suspension under section 521.344. So a conviction by itself does not suspend your driving.
But a failed test does. Administrative license revocation attaches to a test failure under section 524.011(a)(1) regardless of whether you were in a car or a boat. The suspension arrives through the administrative route rather than the criminal one, and the 15 day deadline applies exactly as it would after a DWI arrest.
People hear that a BWI does not suspend a driver license and stop reading. The conviction does not. The test result does.
How a lake stop differs from a road stop
Penal Code section 49.06 asks whether a person was operating a watercraft while intoxicated; it does not use DWI's motor-vehicle and public-place elements. The first factual review therefore identifies the water body, the agency that initiated contact, the vessel's location and movement, the engine status, and who controlled the helm. Those facts also identify where patrol-vessel video, body-camera video, dispatch traffic, GPS information, boarding records, and the officer's report may be held.
A vessel creates testing conditions that do not exist on a roadside. Wake, wind, current, deck movement, wet or uneven surfaces, footwear, and the move from one boat to another can affect balance and coordination. Passenger statements, marina or dock video, vessel-position information, and recordings from the patrol contact can be compared with any claimed observations or field sobriety test performance.
The 50 horsepower rule in the refusal provisions
Implied consent under section 724.011 covers all watercraft. That part is broad.
But section 724.002 limits the refusal suspension provisions to watercraft powered by an engine of 50 horsepower or more. The statutory warning requirements and the refusal based suspension only reach boats above that threshold.
The practical effect is narrow and specific. Someone arrested on a small boat is still within implied consent, so a specimen can be requested. What is off the table is the administrative suspension for refusing. That is a genuine difference and it depends on the engine, which is a checkable fact.
A BWI also counts as a prior for DWI enhancement, and a DWI counts as a prior for BWI. They sit in the same family under section 49.09(c), which is how a boating conviction from years ago turns a later car case into a felony.
With a child on board
Section 49.061, added in 2023, makes BWI with a passenger younger than 15 a state jail felony, mirroring the child passenger rule for vehicles.
What remains available
Deferred adjudication is available for a first BWI, and a discharged deferred can lead to nondisclosure.
Related pages
BWI questions
Will a BWI suspend my driver license?
The conviction itself will not, because BWI is not in the section 521.344 suspension list. A failed test will, through the administrative process under section 524.011(a)(1).
Does the size of the boat matter?
For the refusal suspension, yes. Section 724.002 limits those provisions to watercraft with engines of 50 horsepower or more. Implied consent itself covers all watercraft.
Does a BWI count against me if I get a DWI later?
Yes. BWI and DWI count as priors for each other under section 49.09(c), which is how two convictions from different contexts can produce a felony charge.
Can a first BWI be kept off my record?
Deferred adjudication is available for a first BWI, and successful discharge can lead to an order of nondisclosure after a two year wait.