Legality of Onboard Search Questioned

I was recently stopped by a Coast Guard cutter after leaving a waterfront restaurant in my boat. I was given a sobriety test by one member of the Coast Guard crew, while others searched my boat from bow to stern performing a safety inspection, and the remainder of their crew remained aboard the cutter with their holstered weapons clearly visible. They did not give me an opportunity to consent or object to the search, and they never showed me a search warrant. They were very polite and let us go without incident, but the fact that they simply boarded our boat without a warrant was very disturbing to me. Did they exceed their legal authority? Can the Coast Guard simply stop and search any boat at random? Is this a homeland security thing? Based on your description of the incident, it sounds like you cooperated with the Coast Guard during its inspection, notwithstanding your concern over the lack of a warrant. You did the right thing. Federal law expressly authorizes the search that you were subjected to, and the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the search does not violate your constitutional rights. The idea of a warrantless search does...