How many have documented vessels

[Nomad Willy]

Haha I do loath bumper stickers. Never had one.

But I hardly have any problem w official boat stickers.

Gotta say the “we are documented” is incorrect. It’s the boat that documented.
As in “our boat is documented”. Maybe that’s connected to the home port on some peoples boats being their place of residence. Just a thought.

[Nomad Willy]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Certainly, a boat not US-documented but rather a state-registered boat, does not qualify as a yacht.

Mark that would be more likely a qualification for commercial rather than yacht.

[Steve Jackson]

I was amazed when I documented my boat it came back as 7 Net Tons. It is a 24' 10 trailer boat. yes it does have a nice cabin and a fair amount of free-board.

[koliver]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

I was amazed when I documented my boat it came back as 7 Net Tons. It is a 24' 10 trailer boat. yes it does have a nice cabin and a fair amount of free-board.

Registered Tonnage v actual tonnage is a Whole Other Issue.
In the old days, when the Registry system was being thought through, finding out how many tons of coal a vessel would carry was important. A system of measurement was devised that did only that. It had no relevance to actual tonnage then, and (at least in Canada) has never changed. So my boat that has been accurately weighed on a Travellift at 22 tons, is Registered at 19 Tons. A difference will almost always exist, often far greater than the difference on my own boat.

[bshanafelt]

Yes, my single cqr anchor is documented

[BandB]

Originally Posted by Donna

Documented. I’m not surprised at the poll results.

Then I should have consulted you before I gave my estimate of expectations as I'm definitely surprised at how overwhelming it is.

I thought that since most here don't have mortgages and don't travel internationally, we'd have far more just registered in the state.

But that's why I did the poll, to learn, and it's been very informative.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by Nomad Willy

I was wondering who would post this. I wanted to but was criticized for repeating myself. Re that that’s about all we do here and most of the time repeating is egged on by the previous post.

This is a good point here and much like who has all chain rode. Here it may have produced different results if the poll had asked “how many here have state registered boats”? But in any case there are probably more doc boats than I had thought. I did notice that a lot of members not only voted but proudly proclaimed that they were documented. Could have just voted. Some to many certainly did. But Sabre’s point that this poll isn’t very accurate is valid however I’m going to accept as fact that there are a lot of documented boats here. But as Sabre points out the majority are probably state registered. Too bad we didn’t have to claim what kind of reg we had joining TF and then perhaps it would be in our profile and a simple tally could be performed.

We all have state registered boats. That's not an issue. Some have our documented boats also registered. Some have non documented boats state registered. And nearly everyone here has a dinghy or smaller boat of some sort that can't be documented. We have 8 or so state registered, non documented boats. Most built out of Hypalon. Could toss in some kayaks too and perhaps even paddleboards. The majority of primary trawler type boats owned by members here though are clearly documented. A surprise but not now an arguable fact.

[koliver]

Originally Posted by BandB

We all have state registered boats. That's not an issue. Some have our documented boats also registered. Some have non documented boats state registered. And nearly everyone here has a dinghy or smaller boat of some sort that can't be documented. We have 8 or so state registered, non documented boats. Most built out of Hypalon. Could toss in some kayaks too and perhaps even paddleboards. The majority of primary trawler type boats owned by members here though are clearly documented. A surprise but not now an arguable fact.

A boat that you designate as the "lifeboat" to your Registered Vessel has an exemption (Canada again), as do all of your engineless Kayaks, SUPs, rowboats, etc. So those smaller vessels simply don't count unless they carry 10 hp or more.

Many Registered Vessels carry one or more "lifeboats" that are Provincially Licensed, though that is not required. If used as a lifeboat, it is proper to wear the designation "Tender to" and the Registered name.

[FootballFan]

Yes, documented.

[Donna]

Originally Posted by BandB

Then I should have consulted you before I gave my estimate of expectations as I'm definitely surprised at how overwhelming it is.

I thought that since most here don't have mortgages and don't travel internationally, we'd have far more just registered in the state.

But that's why I did the poll, to learn, and it's been very informative.

My boat was documented from the original owner and second owner. I kept it documented as I do like to travel internationally. It’s only 26.00 a year to keep it documented. I see no reason to do it any other way. I keep with the rules, have no mortgage on it, and for some reason, gives me peace of mind.

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

ASD is documented. As such, the State of Alaska does not require me to register it.

[tiltrider1]

As I said earlier my boat is currently documented but I am not sure why. So far the facts seem to be $26/yr vs no numbers on the bow. Neither are a big deal to me. Do we have any other real facts to why or why not?

If you were to look at all boats in the United States with 10hp or more you will find that the vast majority live on trailers and are not documented but what does that mean.

[AKDoug]

No stickers on my boat, none on my cars (except the harbor parking pass inside the windshield). I do enjoy not having to replace my State registration sticker every other year, I don't believe there is any cost difference between registration and documentation. I kind of think the state probably gets the money for it anyway...

It was part of the purchasing process for my vessel, as it had never been registered anywhere in any way since it was built (boatyard stored). The Certificate of Origin was lost, which created real issues for getting documentation. The good news was that Willard was still in business and was able to certify the vessel was built by them and when.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by tiltrider1

If you were to look at all boats in the United States with 10hp or more you will find that the vast majority live on trailers and are not documented but what does that mean.

It means they're under 5 tons displacement and not eligible for documentation anyway.

[Bob Cofer]

Originally Posted by Nomad Willy

Gotta say the “we are documented” is incorrect. It’s the boat that documented.

Actually Eric I think we may also be documented since we both have NEXUS cards and are assigned BR numbers from CBP.

[Shrew]

No lien holders, and we don't travel internationally with the boat.

[BandB]

I'll elaborate on one often overlooked advantage of documentation.

Every state handles boats differently. Some Title, some don't. Some are easy to register in and some difficult. Boat theft rates are rather high in some areas, especially those near state lines it seems, just as car thefts are. Chattanooga was long known as the chop shop capital of the country. Why? Four states right there and at that time Alabama was the easiest state around to register and title a car. The shops were located primarily right at the border with Alabama.

When I was very young, I think NC didn't title boats and SC didn't title boat trailers or something like that. Regardless, Charlotte and Lake Norman were high volume areas for sales of stolen boats. There were constantly deals that were too good to be true. Stolen boats. Even now, easy in most states to register and title a stolen boat. Just need a bill of sale and if you're willing to steal a boat, certainly you have no hesitancy toward falsifying a bill of sale and claiming lost title. In our area, you registered and titled boats at Food Lion grocery store. Only recently have states even begun sharing information to be able to check hull id's. Basically, I can create some documents, go to the grocery store, and get a title and registration.

A vessel documentation is just far more trustworthy than a state registration. We have 50 states, all with different rules and many without good controls. On a documented vessel it traces all the way through, starting with a Certificate of Origin and original Bill of Sale.

[Nomad Willy]

Originally Posted by Bob Cofer

Actually Eric I think we may also be documented since we both have NEXUS cards and are assigned BR numbers from CBP.

Well then there matey deal me in.
We are almost certain to do that very soon.
Plan on spending quite a bit of time north of the border in 2018.

[AlaskaProf]

Seeadler is.

[Nomad Willy]

BandB,
Never had a trailer or a boat stolen. Count me lucky probably.
But your point about security is well made.