USCG documented question

skunkman

skunkman

Active Member
May 27, 2014
452
Longboat Key
Boat Info
2014 330 DA sold
Current boat 2021 Formula 350CBR
Engines
Triple 350 Mercury Verado
I recently received my USCG documented vessel form. The letter said I have to place a number on the inside hull. Where do you place the numbers?

TIA
 
From the Coast Guard site: "he official number assigned to documented vessels, preceded by the abbreviation "NO." must be marked in block-type Arabic numerals at least three inches high on some clearly visible interior structural part of the hull. The number must be permanently affixed so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious and cause some scarring or damage to the surrounding hull area. The name and hailing port of a recreational vessel must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull."


You can put them on the wall in the engine room and it would meet the requirements.
 
That along with a NEW yearly fee of $26 Bucks!
 
When I purchased the boat the sales associate told me that if it were documented then I did not need to register it with the state.

Just a sticker on the port side window.
Is this true?
 
I just went through this, was told that if the boat would be Fl for more than 6 months had to register.
 
Capt Bob F said:
That along with a NEW yearly fee of $26 Bucks!
Click to expand...

I missed this. When does it take effect? I just faxed my renewal in last month and got a new certificate in the mail last week that expires in November 2015. No fee was charged.
 
Your sales guy is wrong. You still need to register the boat with the state of Florida. If you are documented, Florida does not require you to display your registration numbers on the hull, only the registration sticker needs to be displayed. It can be placed on the forward most windshield glass on the port side of the vessel instead of on the fiberglass at the bow.

The quickest and easiest way to put the USCG Doc No. on the boat is to use vinyl lettering and place it on an easily accessible part of one of the main stringers, mask around the number then coat the vinyl lettering with liquid epoxy:

docno_134.jpg
 
fwebster said:
Your sales guy is wrong. You still need to register the boat with the state of Florida. If you are documented, Florida does not require you to display your registration numbers on the hull, only the registration sticker needs to be displayed. It can be placed on the forward most windshield glass on the port side of the vessel instead of on the fiberglass at the bow.

The quickest and easiest way to put the USCG Doc No. on the boat is to use vinyl lettering and place it on an easily accessible part of one of the main stringers, mask around the number then coat the vinyl lettering with liquid epoxy:

View attachment 37701
Click to expand...
Thank God I am in California!
Great post Frank! Our Documentation Numbers are on the starboard main stringer between the engines, so they can easily be seen with the hatch open. In California, the same Coast Guard Documentation accepted around the world as proper documentation for US flagged vessels is also accepted by our state. Florida is one of the few looking for the extra duckets for requiring state registration on Documented vessels. We do have to "register" the boat with the county in which it is kept, and we do have to pay the 'appropriate' property taxes, but the DMV is out of the loop for Documented vessels in CA. At least for now. For the record Florida has insane rules for Documented vessels from other states as well. If I decided to boat there I would be required to jump through more hoops than if I took my boat to Mexico, or France. "A vessel, federally documented or not, that is not covered by a registration from another state or by the USCG in a state without a federally approved numbering system, is not provided that 90-day reciprocity time and would need to register with DHSMV.”

Okay, so we need to register our documented boats, but where? Apparently, it must be done in person in one of Florida’s county tax collector offices, meaning you will technically be in violation of the law if you wait to do this until you and your boat are in Florida. Boaters report that most law enforcement officers give a warning ticket and allow you to register in Florida within two weeks.

But the problems don’t seem to stop there. Of course there is a fee. For boats from 26 feet to less than 40 feet the annual state fee is $85 with an optional county fee of $39.13, and for boats from 40 feet to less than 65 feet it is $134.50 with an optional county fee of $63.88. Transient boaters from out of state might be surprised to discover that the registration form (HSMV 87244) for a non-titled vessel requires you to list the “owner’s street address in Florida.” This item is labeled “mandatory.” So, what is a transient boater, with no address in Florida, supposed to do? Maybe we write down the address of the Marina where we are based??
 
2000SR380 said:
. In California, the same Coast Guard Documentation accepted around the world as proper documentation for US flagged vessels is also accepted by our state. Florida is one of the few looking for the extra duckets for requiring state registration on Documented vessels. We do have to "register" the boat with the county in which it is kept, and we do have to pay the 'appropriate' property taxes, but the DMV is out of the loop for Documented vessels in CA. At least for now. For the record Florida has insane rules for Documented vessels from other states as well. If I decided to boat there I would be required to jump through more hoops than if I took my boat to Mexico, or France. "A vessel, federally documented or not, that is not covered by a registration from another state or by the USCG in a state without a federally approved numbering system, is not provided that 90-day reciprocity time and would need to register with DHSMV.”
Click to expand...

While we all know states vary in how they collect the money, they almost all do collect it somewhere. California collects a personal property tax on boats worth more than $400 is what I saw in a quick Google search. That is what many states are collecting with their registration.

BoatUS says to the question of "If my boat is federally documented, does it still need to be registered with a state?"

"Generally, yes. For those who keep their boats primarily in U.S. waters, federal documentation in no way replaces state registration, nor does it exempt boat owners from complying with state laws. In fact, most states require documented vessels kept in state waters for a certain period of time to register and get a state sticker to indicate that the required state taxes have been paid. However, a state cannot require you to carry state numbers, as a documented vessel already has federal numbers."

I would understand that to mean most states require registration of boats, even USCG documented.

MM
 
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Lets not get carried away with how unfair Florida is............it is really a boater friendly state for those who understand the law and abide by it.

Taxes? Registration fees? If you buy a boat in Florida or buy a boat and move it to Florida within 6 months of ownership, then you owe FL sales taxes. After that you just register or renew your registration annually. FL has no property or advalorem tax on boats, once the sales tax is paid.

What catches a lot of people is thinking because they live out of Florida, they are exempt or can avoid some or all of the above. If your boat lives in Florida, you owe the sales tax and have to register it in FL, even if you live on Mars.

On Federally documented vessels, the USCG documentation takes precedence with respect to ownership. When you register a boat in Florida a state title is generated and you need to surrender it to Florida if you later document the boat when you get your documentation certificate. If you let your documentation lapse, you must request a duplicate title thru your County Clerk's office
 
All states are different when it comes to registration of documented vessels. Here is Minnesota.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED ON ALL BOATS EXCEPT NON-MOTORIZED WATERCRAFT 9' OR LESS IN LENGTH, A SHIPS LIFE BOAT, DUCK BOATS DURING DUCK HUNTING SEASON, AND RICE BOATS DURING THE HARVEST SEASON. COAST GUARD DOCUMENTED VESSELS ARE EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION.
 
I'm getting a headache just reading this.....but.....I'm willing to bet that somewhere, somehow, it has to be about the Benjamins. If it weren't, why are the players all flagged in the Caymens?
 
AKBASSKING said:
I guess I am one of the lucky ones. In Alaska, if the vessel is documented, you do not have to register with the state at all!

Also to anwser the OP question, here is what I did for my documented number board:

http://www.documentationboards.com/products.htm
Click to expand...

Where did you mount the plate?

It must be states starting the letter "A" are more boater friendly because here in AZ if I document the boat I am about to buy, then I do not need to register it with the state at all as confirmed by phone this morning with the Fish and Game Dept .:smt038
 
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