Can I sue him for making me leave?

You asked, “Can he do that?” If by “that” you mean come along side and check your safety equipment. Yes, absolutely. Boating is a heavily regulated activity and there is a substantially lessened expectation of privacy aboard a vessel. Courts have repeatedly held that the government has a compelling interest in protecting public safety on the water. That is why courts up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court have consistently held that officers (including local, state and Coast Guard boarding officers) do not need probable cause or even articulable suspicion in order to stop your vessel for the limited purposes of checking your safety equipment, vessel papers, and your catch if you have been fishing. Random stops on the highway are prohibited, but not on the water. There was nothing wrong in the deputy coming along side to check your safety equipment. Even beyond that, however, “screaming and cursing and throwing empty beer cans” gives rise to an articulable suspicion of disorderly intoxication or perhaps even boating under the influence. As for “no one was driving,” this is a major difference between boating and traffic law. On a boat, a person responsible for the vessel’s safety (that would be you as the owner) is considered an operator, even if he is not at the helm and even if the vessel is at anchor. What about the black anchor ball? Well, your boat was required to display it under both federal law (33 C.F.R. § 83.30) and state law (§ 327.33(3), Florida Statutes). The Inland Navigation Rules provide, “A vessel at anchor shall exhibit where it can best be seen ... an all-round white light or one ball.” The white light is displayed from sunset to sunrise and during periods of restricted visibility; the ball is displayed during the day (hence the name “day-shape”). The deputy gave you a very simplified explanation concerning the required size of the ball. The rules require that it be 0.6 meters (approximately 23.6 inches) in diameter. Because your vessel is less than 20 meters (about 65.6 feet) long, you can get by with a proportionately smaller anchor ball — it only needs to be just over 15 inches in diameter for a 42-foot vessel — but you still need to have one displayed while at anchor. There are some exceptions to the requirement, but they do not apply in your case. Could he have taken you to jail? Yes, he could have taken in the entire boat-load of you for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct. The actual words used in cursing are not illegal; it is screaming so loudly it disturbs others that constitutes the crime. Add fighting and throwing cans to the screaming and you have all the elements of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. The penalties each of you was looking at include 60 days in the county jail, a $500 fine, court costs, probation, public service, or all of the above. Could you go to jail for the anchor ball? Not initially; he could only have issued you a $50 boating citation. Courts have held that failing to display the required lights and shapes is an egregious violation that endangers safety on the water. Once you willfully or wantonly refused to correct the violation by weighing anchor, he could have arrested you for reckless operation. That is one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, and all the other penalties mentioned above. Once you were under arrest, the officer would have arranged for your vessel to be towed in for its protection. The deputy would have called a contract salvor (such as Sea Tow) who would have charged you hundreds to thousands of dollars to tow in your boat and take care of it for you until you could post a bail bond and come to claim it. The deputy is also “authorized and empowered to relocate, remove, or cause to be relocated or removed a vessel that unreasonably or unnecessarily constitutes a navigational hazard.” That would be your boat at anchor without the required day-shape, especially if everyone who had been aboard was on their way to jail.