Help obtaining USGC documentation

SeanO

SeanO

New Member
Apr 5, 2010
43
Atlanta, Ga
Boat Info
2006 260 Sundancer
Engines
6.2 Mercruiser
Boy, has the economy made lenders gun-shy! I've got perfect credit, never been late on anything, same employeer for the last 15 years, large down-payment yet you would not believe the time/ hoops to jump through to get this deal finalized. At least the rates/ terms are excellent.

In order to close my loan on the 260 the lender is requiring US Coast Guard documentation as Georgia is a non-title state for boats (which in itself is a bit nuts- we do have to title the trailer).

Anyway, I did find the instructions on the USCG site plus the form. I'm wondering how long this will take to get back and if any of you have tips to escalate the process. I'm quite sure the seller of this boat wants to be paid!

TIA!
Sean.
 
If memory serves me correctly, they are actually pretty quick with the turn around (at least they were in my case). I want to say it was within a couple of weeks. Believe it or not, you can actually get a person if you call the National Vessel Documentation Center 304-271-2400, they may be able to give you a better estimate on turnaround times, or possibly even fax you some sort of proof of filing document....just a thought.
 
Just spoke with a documentation company who said that the lender typically handles the documentation so I put in a call to the broker...
 
Your right it is a pain in the butt in Georgia to get a boat loan done. I just finished Monday with all the hoops and loops we had to jusmp through on our 340. My lender actually did the registration for me though.:thumbsup:

However, the seller was not a citizen so the boat was not USCG registered and only had a bill of sale for Georgia cause it was a cash sale.:smt101:smt101:smt101

We have bought houses that were less of a hassle for 4x the money!:huh::wow:
 
Think of it like getting a mortgage for your house. As I recall, the lender should handle everything for purposes of getting the documentation forms together and to the documentation provider. That should not hold up the receiving of the funds and transfering those to the seller IF your lender knows what they are doing. My lender had a heck of a time figuring out what was needed from me to complete the process so we went back and forth. After the sale is complete then you will receive the actual documents from a third party in about 60 days. Bottom line, you need to get all of the boat info (HID number, engine serial number, and all personal info) to the lender so they can complete the paper work. But you should get your funds once that is done.
 
The lender is going to charge you for the service so ask that they use the Boat/US doc services. They know what they are doing and you won't have any false starts.
 
We had title issues when we bought our boat and decided to get it documented. The boat had been purchased in Maryland and registered/titled there. The owner then moved to Georgia and registered there, he (and the boat) then moved to Massachusetts and kept boat registered GA (no title) until we bought it from the local SR dealer.

Because there was a 'hole' in the title history, we had to get the previous owner to provide us with copies of past registrations to show continuous ownership for the Coast Guard.

You might want to make sure you get this historical information.

Henry
 
Guess if it was easy everybody would be doing it!

-deciding what boat
-determining your budget
-securing your loan (which, at the rates/terms that i'm seeing makes good sense)
-finding the boat
-survey boat
-closing loan
-transporting
-where/ how to store
-all the extra crap (bumpers/ life jackets...)
-going over/ servicing, fixing, upgrades....


definately not easy/ cheap! However, we are in store for a great summer....
 
I was required to do this with my boat loan. The credit union used a boat documenter service. Once they got all the info. and submitted to USCG it took about 3 weeks. The USCG batches the submissions so that process adds a few days. This does not hold up the loan as long as the info was submitted. Once you get your "official" number it has to put on the inside of the boat somewhere where it can be seen. .
 
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We just had our 360 DA documented. The purchase was finalized on Dec. 15, and the USCG documentation was just completed on March 22. No idea why it took so long - the broker handled the whole process with our bank and the previous owner. I do remember there was some issue with getting clear title that delayed the process. Didn't affect our abiltiy to get the loan and take possession of the boat.

I am a little stumped on the requirement to affix the CG number "in a permanent and visible manner on an interior surface of the hull, so that if the number was removed it would show visible damage". Any good examples of how to do this? Would putting the number inside the transom locker or engine room work? Would appreciate any photos of how others have met this requirement.
 
Typically, you peel & stick the numbers to the hull inside the engine room. Then, paint clear epoxy over them. Takes about 15 minutes.....just be ready to "go" when you mix that epoxy, cause it hardens quick in warm weather.

Don
 
I got my number engraved on a SS plate which I will epoxy onto the hull I hope somewhere in the engine room before this May. I purchased from www.documentedvessel.com
 
Stenciled my numbers across the (interior) transom in the engine room. Handled all documentation (transfer) matters myself (wasn't that hard and our boat was purchased as a repo - we had to get a copy of the PO loan papers from the bank to the USCG) Took anout 2 weeks from start to finish. Saved about $300. :)
 
I guess a better question would be "am I going to be able to have my 260DA documented"?

The min tonnage is 5 to document a vessel, and the uscg site says that the tipping point is usually about 25'.

No documentation= no loan= no boat (or I need to find a bigger one).
 
We just documented ours here in Atlanta and the bank handled all the paperwork with a documenting provider. Your right though, no titles in GA, only a bill of sale and that is why the lenders here are requiring that all boats be documented with the USCG as they keep track of lien holders and such. I think they called the search a UCC-1??:huh:
 
Just heard back from Sea-Ray, the 06 260DA has a net tonnage of 6.5, so it can be documented.
 
Scottzzzy said:
We just documented ours here in Atlanta and the bank handled all the paperwork with a documenting provider. Your right though, no titles in GA, only a bill of sale and that is why the lenders here are requiring that all boats be documented with the USCG as they keep track of lien holders and such. I think they called the search a UCC-1??:huh:
Click to expand...

Not sure what bank everyone else is using but Bank of the West (aka Essex Credit) funded our loan (for a new Chapparal 290) here in Atlanta without requiring USCG documentation. They initially asked about it and I said I wasn't familiar with the process and saw no reason for it. They simply responded "OK" and left it at that.

Typically, I despise having to involve a lender in a purchase, but in my case, they really were transparent to both the dealer and I.
 
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