How many have documented vessels

[Sabre602]

What happened to your sense of humor/jest?

Whew! You have reassured me. I haven't yet caught on to the dry wit of some of you trawlsters....

 

[Salish Nomad]

My current boat is documented, as we're most of the boats that I operated/ crewed on in S.E. Alaska.

 

[Chuck34]

Not sure what "documented" means. My boat is registered with the USCG rather than the state. I was told that if the boat is not registered with the USGS they will not go beyond a certain number of miles if you call in a Mayday.

Don't know if that's true or not. I'll look in to that. What is documented?

Then yes, your boat is Coast Guard Documented...not registered. You received from the CG a "Certificate of Documentation"

Pretty sure if you call in a May Day, they will not ask you if the boat is documented or not.

 

[Group9]

The main reason we document our big boat is that its just too easy not to. Our state doesn't require any state registration for documented vessels so its not even redundant for us. Our center console and dinghy are both state registered because they don't meet the tonnage requirement for documentation

 

[Comodave]

Documentation has absolutely nothing to do with Coast Guard response to a SAR case. They will respond whether the boat is documented or registered with a state.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Old School is documented.

 

[Chuck34]

Not trying to be a hard ass, but what's the purpose of this poll? Does it really matter who is or who isn't documented? Since the vast majority of boats on US waterways are too small to be documented, suffice it to say the vast majority of boats aren't documented.

 

[BandB]

Not trying to be a hard ass, but what's the purpose of this poll? Does it really matter who is or who isn't documented? Since the vast majority of boats on US waterways are too small to be documented, suffice it to say the vast majority of boats aren't documented.

The purpose of the poll was to answer Nomad Willy's question. In another thread we were talking about marking names on boats and the rules for documented vessels. He brought up the question of how many people here even had documented vessels. Periodically documentation issues arise. Nomad Willy felt very few here had documented boats and I admit I felt it was more than he thought but still a minority. So, we gathered facts. It helps to know in discussing some topics. Very important when discussing the sale of a boat and the process of transfer. Doesn't mean one is better than the other, but often relevant.

I'm of the school preferring not to speculate on how many documented but find out and I'm shocked by what I've learned.

 

[Chuck34]

The purpose of the poll was to answer Nomad Willy's question. In another thread we were talking about marking names on boats and the rules for documented vessels. He brought up the question of how many people here even had documented vessels. Periodically documentation issues arise. Nomad Willy felt very few here had documented boats and I admit I felt it was more than he thought but still a minority. So, we gathered facts. It helps to know in discussing some topics. Very important when discussing the sale of a boat and the process of transfer. Doesn't mean one is better than the other, but often relevant.

I'm of the school preferring not to speculate on how many documented but find out and I'm shocked by what I've learned.

Ok, that's good.
To simplify matters, I would say no boats under 25-26' are documented. Very few in the 27-33 range. The bigger you get the more likely to be documented. Quite a few over 40, probably the majority.
I've owned 4 boats that qualified and 3 were documented. My next boat will be as well. I live in VA where state registration of documented boats is optional.

 

[BandB]

Ok, that's good.
To simplify matters, I would say no boats under 25-26' are documented. Very few in the 27-33 range. The bigger you get the more likely to be documented. Quite a few over 40, probably the majority.
I've owned 4 boats that qualified and 3 were documented. My next boat will be as well. I live in VA where state registration of documented boats is optional.

That doesn't simplify anything as it doesn't answer the question of how many people here have documented boats. I know the rules and requirements but that's not the question asked. Simple question. Simple poll. We have many boats not documented from 6' to 33'. But the issue was how many even care about the rules for choosing port and marking of documented vessels. Apparently the vast majority here do.

 

[sunchaser]

Not trying to be a hard ass, but what's the purpose of this poll? .

Humm. Kinda like "How many power boats have engines?" But, 5 pages of 90% "I do" and still going. Lots of hits that's for sure.

 

[caltexflanc]

Here in NC, you must register a documented boat. You just don't have to display numbers on the hull, a decal works. This was put in place just a few years ago with a bunch of other new "fees" so the politicians could say they didn't raise taxes. Some of the money does go (or is supposed to) towards dredging projects... a good concept to the extent the gov can actually execute it.

 

[Comodave]

When a boat is documented, it isn’t a case of not having to display the state numbers, you can not display the state numbers.

 

[Nomad Willy]

BandB did a fairly good job of explaining how this thread evolved except that the contention (by me) that most boats should list the port that the boat is moored at and quite a number of TF boats use the place of the owners residence. That has nothing to do w the boat IMO. I think where the boat usually resides should be home port or Hailing port. What’s home for the boat or where the boat hails from.

Anyway things were as they were/are having something to do w whether or not the boat is federally documented or state licensed. At that point BandB launched the poll. Nobodies going to change anything (it appears) but we’re still putting opinions on the table.

 

[BandB]

I think where the boat usually resides should be home port or Hailing port. What’s home for the boat or where the boat hails from.

.

Yes, you think that. The CG disagrees. But that's fine. I do have one question about your view though. Many here cruise and their home port changes often. In your theory, should they change their hailing port on their documentation every time that happens? Do you have a time period in mind, like 90 days at another location or something?

Now, one set of addresses the CG does specify, the physical and mailing addresses of the managing owner.

 

[Insequent]

Well a slow day today so I'll throw in $0.02 to the nit-picking/semantics discussion.

Where a boat may hail from is one thing, but a Hailing Port ought to at least comply with the definition of a Port. Eg as in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port

It is an oxy-moron to use a place as Hailing Port where the only water more than 6" deep is in a bathtub!

 

[Comodave]

As to hailing ports, we used to keep a boat in California, we lived in Tucson, AZ at the time. We had our documented boat with a hailing port of Tucson, AZ rather than any place in California. We did move the boat several times in California and if we were to have the hailing port in the city where the boat was actually located, we would have had to amend our documentation several times and also change the lettering on the boat itself. Instead we had it as Tucson, AZ. We wanted it as Tucson because we were proud of Tucson, we didn’t want the hassel and expense of constantly changing the hailing port. Also it is allowed to have the hailing port where you live.

 

[BandB]

Well a slow day today so I'll throw in $0.02 to the nit-picking/semantics discussion.

Where a boat may hail from is one thing, but a Hailing Port ought to at least comply with the definition of a Port. Eg as in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port

It is an oxy-moron to use a place as Hailing Port where the only water more than 6" deep is in a bathtub!

Air port? lol

The key really is hailing and it's only purpose is to make it easier to specify which boat you're talking about. Going the conventional route can cause trouble for you too. If you use a name that is at all common and put Fort Lauderdale or any major port as your hailing port you might easily get into trouble if one of the other boats with the same name and same hailing port is involved in a bad situation or suspected of crime. There have been boats stopped and "arrested" when they were really after another boat of the same name and hailing port.

It's much like airport clearance where it's name and hometown they quickly look at and I had a friend named Jerry Johnson who got held on a return trip from Colombia for a couple of hours until they could confirm he was the wrong Jerry Johnson.

Hailing port is at least better than email id's where you would see "Seas the Moment, Seas the Moment 1, Seas the Moment 2, ad infinitum."

I could see the physical address of the managing owner making sense.

My personal preference would be the opposite of what you are saying. It would be that there could be no two boats with the same name and hailing port so if you wanted the name you had to look for a hailing port not already in with that name.

 

[dirtdoc1]

I live in Redwood City and keep my boat at a Redwood City harbor. West Point Harbor. That is my hailing port. My current boat has never even been to CA but will eventually be kept at West Point Harbor. I plan on cruising up to Alaska and down to South America. My boat may not see West Point Harbor for quite some time but that is my hailing port because that it where my family, home and business are. When I take a break from cruising I will go home to Redwood City and dock my boat at West Point Harbor. It seems pretty clear to me what a hailing port is.

 

[Island Cessna]

I have owned 4 vessels bigger than canoes or rowboats. Three were documented (including a Canadian Blue Book) and one not, all based on the state of the ownership style prior to purchase.
For purposes of the poll the current vessel is USCG Documented, and pays registration fees to the state regardless.

 

[Comodave]

Form CG-1258 is the form for initial documentation. Block E is the hailing port. When you read the instructions for Block E it says it must be marked (and some marking directions) and that the hailing port must be in the US. Nothing about actually being a port as in a harbor. So in the US a hailing port is anywhere you want it to be, but most people use the actual port location where the boat is kept or their home.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Should we put a password on our stern?

 

[BandB]

Should we put a password on our stern?

Wifey B: On our stern or our boat's stern? :lol:

 

[David Hughes]

Yes. I documented True Love after purchase.

 

[LongStoryGB36]

In another thread, this question was asked so thought this might be a way to find out.

Ours was at purchase and we have kept it current. Also state registered as is required in WI. State numbers not required, my sticker has the documentation number on it.

Side question - how do you display your vessel name and port when the dinghy is up?

 

[BandB]

Ours was at purchase and we have kept it current. Also state registered as is required in WI. State numbers not required, my sticker has the documentation number on it.

Side question - how do you display your vessel name and port when the dinghy is up?

We prefer not having the dinghy on the swim platform. When we did, we had a jet RIB which sits very low and the name and port were still visible. My next choice would be on both sides of the boat. Others here have encountered this problem more than I have and probably have more suggestions.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Wifey B: On our stern or our boat's stern? :lol:

I’d hafta see.

 

[Comodave]

We do store the dinghy on the swim platform so we put the boat name on the sideboards that surround the sundeck and the hailing port just below and above the hull to deck joint. You can easily see both when the dinghy is on the platform.

 

[markpierce]

No doubt I could have legally delayed paying California use tax on my foreign-built, self-imported boat for about six months if I'd documented its port as Goldfield, Nevada rather than Vallejo, California. The good news is that the use tax is lower in Vallejo in Solano County as opposed to my dirt home in Contra Costa County.

 

[renny]

We purchased our trawler this year. It was USCG registered by the previous owner and we also registered.