Labeling the inflatable

vavolotis said:

I overheard our local harbormaster say to another boater to fix a plate below where motor is mounted on the inside for viewing with letters and decal ...so I did that and hope it will work !!!

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Outside on the transom makes way more sense than inside, and avoids inflatable tube pressure change issues. May infringe US location requirements but here,most tenders don`t require registration.

markpierce said:

Having a manually-powered dinghy, I don't need to register or display numbers.

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Just what I was thinking. I would rather row than have an explosive on board my boat.

On the inside of the transom , has proven to be protected and visible yes not legal or correct at least on board .......

vavolotis said:

On the inside of the transom , has proven to be protected and visible yes not legal or correct at least on board .......

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Protected isn't the goal. Legal is. As to visible, it's not at all visible for it's intended purposes which is for law enforcement or anyone else to be able to quickly identify the boat, much like a license plate on a car. You can't drive your car around with the license plate sitting in the back seat and visible from the front seat. That doesn't work.

BandB said:

much like a license plate on a car. You can't drive your car around with the license plate sitting in the back seat and visible from the front seat. That doesn't work.

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Well, maybe you can. I carry the front license plate of my Sky Roadster between the seats and if stopped I show it. The back one does not block air flow to the engine.

jimisbell said:

Well, maybe you can. I carry the front license plate of my Sky Roadster between the seats and if stopped I show it. The back one does not block air flow to the engine.

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Well, of course you CAN do anything you like, but that doesn't make it legal. There are no states in the USA where it is legal to display boat registration numbers on the transom, whether inside or outside. Every state has almost identical rules for the display of these numbers.

But, again, you CAN do whatever you like. Plenty of folks use "tender to" rather than a state registration when it's not legal to do so but no one has called them on it (yet).

I did the Sharpie thing (actually Papermate permanent marker). Touched it up about once a year.

Seemed to get the job done. No one ever mentioned anything about it.

Here in San Diego we have a sign shop that will make the registration number decals at no charge. I've had them on our inflatable dinghy for three years and they still look good.

ancora said:

Here in San Diego we have a sign shop that will make the registration number decals at no charge. I've had them on our inflatable dinghy for three years and they still look good.

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How do they stay in business? I need to use their business plan!!

jimisbell said:

How do they stay in business? I need to use their business plan!!

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Free? Oh that hurts. I'm feeling pain. lol. We won't do it free. Never even crossed our minds.

Someone mentioned putting "Tender To xxxxx" on the dingy. First that does not satisfy the marking regulations...AND.....second, it invites theft. If you go ashore in a dingy that tells everyone on shore which boat is now vacant, you are asking for your boat to be either stolen or in the lesser case, ransacked and valuables removed.

I dont want my dingy to point back to my empty boat in any way, not even color matched.

They more than make up for it with their sales of vinyl transom and side board lettering.

Oh, then they are not really free. They are priced into the transom art you had to buy to get the free ones, right?

You do not have to buy anything. Just have your dinghy registration with you and they have their printing machine do the rest.

ancora said:

You do not have to buy anything. Just have your dinghy registration with you and they have their printing machine do the rest.

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Do you think they would do mine if I drove in from Texas with a TX number. I have relatives in Vista and might be out there soon. Would it help if I told them I was born in SD...LOL

We had our dinghy numbers replaced over the winter. They've held up great so far after 1 season.

Fawcett Boat Supplies

Jeremiah