Should i Document my boat

Not sure why you would want to - unless your chartering or a lender requires it, I can't think of a good reason to do it - to my knowledge, you don't escape any sales or use taxes in different jurisdictions.....

 

Not sure why you would not want to. The USCG Documentation Certificate erases any state boundary in ownership legality and establishes a wider swath for legal possession outside of the US borders. Your vessel will fall under maritime law which has pluses and minuses; be informed. This is not to say the State you keep your boat in isn't going to get their dues; you will have to register in the state of residency or where the boat is harbored and pay sales tax and registration as applicable.

 

Of recent interest is the legalization of marijuana in some states. If a boat is federally documented, technically there shouldn't be weed on board, even if it's in California or Michigan waters, where recreational use is allowed.

 

You should be able to research whether there is a reciprocal relationship between NJ and MD.

I think the definition is principal place of use. If an out of state registered boat is in Maryland waters greater than the time period defined by the state (normally 6 months) then payment of taxes are required.

If there is a reciprocal relationship, then the taxes paid in NJ would count.

 

So, if NJ has an intangible tax and MD does not the decision isn't hard. Register and keep the boat in the most economical environment wither documented or not.

 

Consider that you must list the boats hailing’s port (city, state) when documenting. It also must be put in the boat. Changing the hailing port require amending the documentation.

 

Good info. Add that a prospective buyer purchasing a used documented boat will know if their are liens on it.

 

Hailing port has no connection to where the boat is kept. Our hailing port is in Texas. Boat has never been to Texas.

May not be an issue in MD. In Florida it can be an issue. If you are stopped for inspection by a state agency, they will inquire about registrations. I have known (not just heard from someone) of State agents inquiring on a boat they have seen in a marina for a long time without a FL sticker.

It's revenue. Every state wants their piece of the pie.

 

Our boat was documented. We avoided the need to have registration numbers, which are kind of ugly, on the hull. We displayed a small registration decal on the side windows. For us the benefit was mostly cosmetic. I do believe it made our sale a bit easier as the buyer had a trusted source (USCG) he could check with that showed the boat as a one owner vessel with no liens that would encumber his title. So it made the paperwork easier. There is a federal form that you download to transfer the documentation. The USCG charges a fee for doing this although it is fairly cheap as I recall.

 

USCG doesn't care what the state law is... Weed is still against the law by Federal statute !!!

 

And since all navigable waterways fall under the jurisdiction of the USCG....you get the idea.

 

From the post above......
Hailing port has no connection to where the boat is kept. Our hailing port is in Texas. Boat has never been to Texas.

I thought the whole idea of "hailing port" is to know where you hail from / or berth port . , How do you have a hailing port there if the boat has never been there. I don't think they want to know where you live.

 

I asked the question. Read on the uscg website.

can be either where the home port of the boat is or the city where the managing owner of the boat lives.

 

This is correct.

 

There it is, the registration number thing. If your boat is just in side the confines of the US then, as I see it , the Documintaion of you vessel really has no advantage. Well other than getting rid of those funky ass state required registration numbers. Non documented you can still grace the stern of your boat with what ever you think appropriate; name, home port and so on, you just don't have to adhear to the UCCG regulations in the matter.

My last two boats were purchased with the intent of going to the Bahamas. Documintaion makes a little more since. There is a Documintaion perk of get this nifty official paper work declaring you as owner and the name of the vessel and so on. But for most recreational boaters it's pretty much like having the AKC papers on a neutered pure bread.

 

I'd cut off my nose to spite my state. Documenting means I don't have to pay California for annual registration. Any nickel less I have to send to the Republik, is worth...well....a nickle.

 

I have no idea about California laws. In Florida, documenting does not remove taxes and registration to the state.

 

Same here in The People’s Socialist Republic of New York.
Comrade Cuomo and his merry band of thieves don’t care about documentation. They just want the money.
It’s worth the $26.00 a year I pay the USCG to keep the ugly state registration numbers off the hull.
I put the small NY stickers in the side windows so they know I paid the sales tax and their registration fees and they leave me alone.