Another scam, now for boat name "registration"

Here's a new scam, sadly promoted by BoatUS.


boatnameregistry.com


You can "register" your boat name with them for $35/year and "protect" the name from use by anyone else. As most people in the US know, boat naming in the US is not unique, and there is no restriction on duplicate boat names. All this site does is allow only one boat name to be registered with them, with no enforcement of anything. It's like me telling you that if you tell me your name, I won't listen to anyone else who tell me they have the same name. Ok, great. So what?

They don't protect your name in any way. They only allow one name to be registered with them, a random web database of no significance to anyone.


I think the only thing sadder than people who fall for this, is that I learned about this "service" in a promotional email from BoatUS.

So if I want to officially rename to "The Office" or 'Wet Dream," I have to wait for a numbskull to lapse payment and I can swoop it? And if I want a star named after me I have to pay extra?

Jeez.....thanks for the notice.

Peter

Just another company trying to sell stuff nobody needs. A unique name/home port combo is required for commercial vessels in the US, but nobody cares about pleasure craft.

jgwinks said:

Just another company trying to sell stuff nobody needs. A unique name/home port combo is required for commercial vessels in the US, but nobody cares about pleasure craft.

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It's not required in the US for any vessels, commercial or not.

mvweebles said:

So if I want to officially rename to "The Office" or 'Wet Dream," I have to wait for a numbskull to lapse payment and I can swoop it? And if I want a star named after me I have to pay extra?

Jeez.....thanks for the notice.

Peter

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Simple, you just rename the boat via whatever registration/documentation authority you use, and ignore this website because it means nothing. You don't need their approval to do anything, and you don't need to register your boat with them and give them money in exchange for doing nothing for you. And registering with them doesn't prevent anyone anywhere from naming their boat the same as yours.

Reminds me of the official star registry, where the book containing your star and name is donated to the library of congress.

mvweebles said:

So if I want to officially rename to "The Office" or 'Wet Dream," I have to wait for a numbskull to lapse payment and I can swoop it? And if I want a star named after me I have to pay extra?

Jeez.....thanks for the notice.

Peter

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Be careful, you just devised a new revenue stream for them. A paid wait-list for the name of your choice.

I don’t want to disappoint anyone and I know I’m going way out on a limb to suggest that “Carpe Diem” is probably already taken. ��

Greetings,
I guess this name is taken, as well...

Porgy said:

I don’t want to disappoint anyone and I know I’m going way out on a limb to suggest that “Carpe Diem” is probably already taken. ��

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Now that you mention it, I don't recall seeing a search function. I wonder if they just accept all registrations, even if duplicate. I'd name that boat Gorilla Balls.

If you are not sure what name you want for your boat just go to the site and have your pick. (I won't tell anyone)

pete

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
I guess this name is taken, as well...

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Race horse names can be reused after 10-years, though there is a censorship function. Apparently, Hoof Hearted slipped through (try repeating that 3x over a VHF).

https://youtu.be/Kqj2hkbDnyM

Peter

twistedtree said:

Simple, you just rename the boat via whatever registration/documentation authority you use, and ignore this website because it means nothing. You don't need their approval to do anything, and you don't need to register your boat with them and give them money in exchange for doing nothing for you. And registering with them doesn't prevent anyone anywhere from naming their boat the same as yours.

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My comment was tongue in cheek. To be honest, I still lament the days when USCG documentation required a hailing port with a USCG office. I am just now about to afix "Weebles" name on her stern (do double enders have a transom???) and will keep "San Francisco" as her hailing port even though she is unlikely to return, at least under my watch

Peter

Absolutely a brilliant idea. I wish I'd thought of it first. Actually, I can set up a competing list!

DDW said:

Absolutely a brilliant idea. I wish I'd thought of it first. Actually, I can set up a competing list!

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Too late. I’m setting one up where you get a certificate of naming for your vessel, a free star named after your loved one, a Scottish Title so you can call yourself Laird DDW and an exclusive coin. ,All for just $400 payable in 4 equal instalments. Order today and I’ll send you not one but 2 eagle headed coins and a certificate of authenticity issued by the B.S. Mint. Don’t miss out for the holidays.

mvweebles said:

My comment was tongue in cheek. To be honest, I still lament the days when USCG documentation required a hailing port with a USCG office. I am just now about to afix "Weebles" name on her stern (do double enders have a transom???) and will keep "San Francisco" as her hailing port even though she is unlikely to return, at least under my watch

Peter

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You have a stern but not a transom, since yours' is a double-ender.

Weebles boat is “Double Entendre”

I solved this problem by picking a boat name that nobody else will ever want. Actually, there are two other vessels in the world with the same name, but I think both are commercial barges without AIS, so a VesselFinder search only shows me.

Now everybody will want to change to CHiTON. Not.

White colar crime pays. Prosecution doesn't happen.

Just another $$$ suck

Typical of an organization that's lost its way. They're in too deep with Geico for insurance, and running any idea that seems likely to generate revenue regardless of how much damage it does to their reputation. The real tragedy is the people who'll register then see another boat with the same name, and try to use it as the foundation for a lawsuit.

I just checked the vessel doc center - can't get specific owner information any more like you could in the past, but I find about 170 boats named Xanadu, and those are just the U.S. federally documented ones. Wonder if that registration website can force the other 169 boats to change their name...

(My family has always joked it's such a common name -- although not as common as some others -- that someday we're going to end up hailing a boat with the same name. "Xanadu, this is Xanadu..." Of course we'd be happy to swap boats for this one too.)

https://youtu.be/js2Sggy7Hmg

Hubris

I wrote to BoatUS about this many months ago. They claimed they have no connection, and they’ll take ad revenue from anyone willing to pay. Seems cheesy to me.

Last time I checked, I recall they only enforce uniqueness within a state, not nationally.

I feel sorry for anyone gullible enough to be taken in by this scam.

jimfrens said:

I wrote to BoatUS about this many months ago. They claimed they have no connection, and they’ll take ad revenue from anyone willing to pay. Seems cheesy to me.

Last time I checked, I recall they only enforce uniqueness within a state, not nationally.

I feel sorry for anyone gullible enough to be taken in by this scam.

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I expect that the boat registration racket is the same people as the documentation renewal racket. As mentioned earlier, the USCG stopped making ownership info publicly available, which will impact the documentation renewal scam because they no longer know who to solicit for that scam.


But wait, create a boat registration scam so people start to voluntarily give you their contact info. Now you have extracted money from them to give you their contact info so you can also solicit them for the renewal scam. It's brilliant. And there's more. Now you have info for state registered boats too and can expand your registration renewal scan to state registrations rather than just USCG documented boats.

jimfrens said:

Last time I checked, I recall they only enforce uniqueness within a state, not nationally.

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How can they enforce anything without regulatory authority?

Portage_Bay said:

How can they enforce anything without regulatory authority?

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That's the point. They can't enforce anything. All they can do is reject a registration in their private database on a private website that has no relevance to anyone anywhere.


It's like me deciding that I will only talk to one person with a certain name. It doesn't mean people can't have the same name. Nobody needs my permission to pick a name, and to suggest they do is at best disingenuous.

We should start a new thread on unusual names. The best I heard was "Mother Ducker". First I heard it was on old LowFreq 2182 Kc (they didn't call it Khz back then). It got my attention coming over the air back then. I've had Baja Duck, still have Kona Duck with a dingy of Quackers and Ugly Duckling

Boat name

Sorry, I didn't see any mention of BoatUS on the site (boatnameregistry.com) you provided a link for.

Can you verify a link or the BoatUS name on the site?

Here it is. It's an 11/25/2022 Black Friday Member Deals email.

It's your boat. Your boat name. Register it.
Register your boat's name with Boat Name Registry and protect it so no one else can claim it. BoatUS Members can join as a VIP Member and get 25% off your first year!

twistedtree said:

Here it is. It's an 11/25/2022 Black Friday Member Deals email.

It's your boat. Your boat name. Register it.
Register your boat's name with Boat Name Registry and protect it so no one else can claim it. BoatUS Members can join as a VIP Member and get 25% off your first year!

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Sad that the leadership of BoatUS would green-light an initiative predicated on the belief that BoatUS members are ignorant dumba$$es. Next play: for $99.99, order an engraved certificate, suitable for framing, stating that your boat's name is registered with BoatUS. (VIP members only pay $79.99).