keep her documented or un-document the ol' girl

[dwna1a]

Keep her documented. It makes things so much easier in the long run. I had read somewhere that renewals were going to be changed from every year to every two or three years.

once my paperwork was filed I received a temporary letter from the USCG allowing me to use the boat till the permanent docs showed up.

 

[Henry Boyd]

IIRC, initial documentation entails a title search a lot like a house. Checking for clear title, encumbrances, etc.... That is pricey. Once established though, documentation renewal is $26 per year. Just did it. Once initially documented, it is almost like having a constant clear title for the entire time you own the boat. This is where it gets foggy to me, but if I understand it correctly, if someone were to put a mechanics lien or the like on your documented boat, the lien has to include the document number. No number, no lien. There are also some maritime laws I would have to consult my smarter than me nephew about putting liens on boats. At sale time it makes things much smoother and very inexpensive (<$100) to change ownership.....unless you go through MarineMax whereby they will try to shove a $600+ paintbrush soaked in rubbing alcohol up your arse insisting they are the only folks on the planet that are able to do the transaction.

But that's a story for another time.

Keep it documented. BTW....Makes it easier at insurance time if you go shopping like I do.

The maritime lien thing is a much longer discussion that we should take to another thread if that is of interest. The short version is that anyone who works on the boat, supplies goods or services to the boat, or to whom the boat owes money can get a Maritime Lien on the boat by filing in the appropriate Admiralty Court (usually local US Federal District Court) simply by filing a certification that the vessel owes money and has stiffed the supplier. At this point the lien is temporary and must be eventually adjudicated involving all parties. In the meantime the court may instruct the US Marshal Service to secure the vessel to prevent it from leaving the jurisdiction. Outside the US, the names change but because maritime law is pretty uniform by intend and treaty. You can see why lenders want documentation on older boats. If someone finances say a new 40'+ Sedan Bridge and buggers off with it to say Mexico, the recovery process for the bank via the Admiralty Court is far easier than trying to work their way through a foreign countries internal court system.

BTW we paid the $ 600.00 to have the dealer do the Documentation for us when we bought Bella. Turns out it was a great deal because the boat had been moved and registered in several states, one of which in the middle of the chain was a non title state. So they had to do all of the title search legwork, building a documentation chain from when the boat left the factory to when they got it with copies of registrations and the original loan documents.

Suss,

You might want to check to see if NY will honor/respect the existing document while the paperwork is being done. Massachusetts honored our initial application and confirmation by the USCG while we (or rather the dealer) were going through the title search process.

Henry

 

[JVM225]

IN the MAGNIFICENT(?) state of WA, you have an annual renewal whether or not your vessel is documented. Mine runs me about $450/year. Sucks, but the flip side of that is we have no income tax.

They're gonna stick you one way or t'other.

Same here in NY. They don't care if it's documented or not, they want you to pay sales tax and renew registration every 3 years.

 

[dpmulvey]

VA taxes vary by locale. I have friends with larger boats that have slips in no tax locales and tax locales because it's cheaper to have two slips than pay the taxes. Ironically, the no tax locales have better slips!

 

[suss1173]

Suss,

You might want to check to see if NY will honor/respect the existing document while the paperwork is being done. Massachusetts honored our initial application and confirmation by the USCG while we (or rather the dealer) were going through the title search process.

Henry

Thanks for the info.
I ended up calling two local boat brokers and both of them said as long as I show the DMV that I'm in the process of having the documentation moved to my name and show them copies of the paperwork, dmv will issue me a temporary registration.

With th that said I sent the forms off to the USCG today. I plans to get to the dmv on Friday or Monday. I'll keep everyone posted on how NY handles this and what they allow me to do.

I haven't contacted the P.O. (He's not on here) but I don't see the document numbers in the bilge, forward anchor locker, and not sure where else to look or why the prior owner would have removed them, but I will call the PO tomorrow.

 

[La Maddalena]

We bought our current SR 420 DA in November 2015 and it was already documented, but the surveyor pointed out the PO had never installed the documentation numbers as required. During the purchase process our broker handled the paperwork to transfer the CG documentation to our name, and the CG documentation number remained the same, so I installed the numbers in the engine compartment as required. We received paperwork recording the transfer in process, but it took about 3 months before we received the final CG documentation. And yes, the annual renewal used to be free and now there is an annual charge - $26 sounds about right. Seems reasonable to me. As others have noted in the state of WA we also have to get annual state registration.

 

[wayne0]

I'm with Henry on this one........the value to you may not be immediately apparent, but if you let the documentation lapse, and a subsequent owner chooses to finance the purchase of the boat, he will have to prove a clear title to the USCG. That will be extremely difficult on a 25+ year old boat. The chain if title is in effect now so I would keep t he boat documented if it were me.

+1 on this one!

 

[emckissack@hotmail.com]

Not to derail the thread but I just purchased a 240DA and it has a placard with a uscg number on it. I had no idea what is was when I purchased the boat and was never told that I would need to transfer anything over to my name. I went to the uscgdocumentation.us website to have the Transfer of USCG Documentation done but now I'm at the end and they want $450.00. is this process necessary and what would happen if I do not have the documentation transferred to my name. I already have the registration in my name and the title is in the banks name for now.

 

[suss1173]

Not to derail the thread but I just purchased a 240DA and it has a placard with a uscg number on it. I had no idea what is was when I purchased the boat and was never told that I would need to transfer anything over to my name. I went to the uscgdocumentation.us website to have the Transfer of USCG Documentation done but now I'm at the end and they want $450.00. is this process necessary and what would happen if I do not have the documentation transferred to my name. I already have the registration in my name and the title is in the banks name for now.

The web sight you are referring to is not the actual USCG, and you don't need to pay $450 to transfer the USCG documentation. That sight you are on is something that usually comes up first when you google, Bing, or yahoo, search transferring documentation. This is a company charging people to do what you can do on your own for less then $90. This company is in many ways misleading people with the look and feel of the there sight. However, The USCG's sight ends in ".mil" b/c it's a military sight.


On a on a differnt note, I don't think a documented vessel can (or should) be titled. A titled vessel is under the state guidelines and a documented vessel is under federal guidelines. Possibly someone else could better describe this. However, I don't think the USCG wants (or allows) one to title with a state and be documented by USCG.

I suggest you go to this https://www.uscg.mil sight or better yet, this https://www.uscg.mil/nvdc/nvdcforms.asp where you will find all the forms you need and link to all the fees involved to change the name on the document. It should be less than $100. If you need to call the folks over at the USCG as they are very helpful.

hope this helps.

 

[420]

My last boat was documented. The CG sends the letter and it was no problem signing and mailing back. No need for a service. My current boat is not documented. I find it easier since my marina sells the state sticker but not the documentation process. Since I needed the state sticker under either scenario, I opted to not document this new boat. Just a convenience thing. I also regularly travel between states and Canada. As long as I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing, I'm not concerned about the CG protecting my asset. However, the boat is titled to an LLC.

 

[scooper321]

Since I needed the state sticker under either scenario, I opted to not document

Difference in state regulations. Maryland doesn't require state registration for documented boats. Well, they do send me a state sticker, but it only denotes that its a MD documentation sticker. There isn't a second state registration sticker that's needed. And I can remove the state reg numbers from the hull, which is nice.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk...

 

[topnote]

Yup..city excise taxes in Massachussets may already apply on your boat. Local Revenuer reviews state registrations and you may get a bill.