USCG Documention Boards

Anyone have a good source that is reasonably priced.
A through search revealed the lack of one on my boat. Oops.

You don't really have to have it on a separate board, it just has to be put someplace in the engine room where, if it was removed the removal would be obvious.

GFC said:

You don't really have to have it on a separate board, it just has to be put someplace in the engine room where, if it was removed the removal would be obvious.

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Mine was painted onto the FB under the starboard lazarette, basically inaccessible with everything packed in there, so I ordered a plastic plaque and glued it to a more visible spot.

Well, in fact, the documentation number is not supposed to be removable; it is supposed to be permanent. But, if you want it on a board that's pretty, many sign shops can engrave one for you with the right size and style of numbers. I had one made here in Philly for about 1.5 boat dollars, on my own piece of Makore which I then glued into the boats' woodwork.

The documentation # must be of proper size and form as outlined by CG (NO.######) and carved or affixed to your boat in a way that can not be easily removed without damaging structure. Don't exclude the NO and period(NO.) before the number. screwed in no good, epoxy glue behind a wood plaque probably ok if affixed to a none removable structural component (not a cabinet door etc.,) a simple and cost effective way I suggest particularly on FG boats is to paste the same #s sold in chandleries for state #s to the inside of the hull in motor room or locker wall and then cover the #s with a six inch FG tap all soaked in epoxy. The black #s show through the somewhat translucent tape clearly. On metal or wood boats engraved #s on a structural or inner hull section are advised. As a certified CGAUX vessel safety inspector I have to verify that documented vessels comply and many do not.

This is where I had mine made:


Documentation Boards Inc.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

This is where I had mine made:


Documentation Boards Inc.

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For what it's worth, I used Documentation Boards Inc for my boat and was very disappointed in the service. It took forever to get the board. I would not recommend them. I just went back and looked and it was three weeks before they even started to make it, and over 4 weeks before I got it.

My builder-installed documentation board.



I documented the boat before construction was complete.

I ordered vinyl numbers. Same as boat name. I think the pictured example would fail the difficult to remove requirement. Mine are installed on a wall in the head.

While I understand the screw on boards don't technically meet the requirement, I have never heard of an issue for recreational documented vessels. Commercial may be a different story.


If they are epoxied on as well...not sure why they wouldn't.


The USCG probably does understand that ever since wooden boats, changing a doc number on a boat and hiding the old one isn't rocket science.