Documenting my boat?

[friz]

Regardless of my reasons, if I don't document my boat, what are the ramifications of putting a name and home port on the stern?

 

[rslifkin]

If the boat is state registered you can absolutely still put a name and hailing port on it (and most of us do). It's just not required unless you're documented.

 

[denverd0n]

Ramifications are, none, whatsoever.

 

[kthoennes]

Ramifications are, none, whatsoever.

Yep, as a practical matter, there you go.

 

[Comodave]

The ramifications are that you need to select a good name for the boat, have at it.

 

[rgano]

Regardless of my reasons, if I don't document my boat, what are the ramifications of putting a name and home port on the stern?

None. Your boat, your choice of what you want scibbled on it.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Ramifications are that name must be run by the forum in advance for approval.

 

[AKDoug]

I am often hailed by overtaking vessels based on having my boat name on the stern. I am sure fast boats don't have that issue, but I don't have a fast boat... No down side to having your vessel name on the stern!

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Having name also helpful for bridges and locks.

 

[Shrew]

I suspect the scope of the question may be around the concept of the home port, rather than the name.

USCG requires that each "Documentated" vessel have a unique combination of hailing port and name. You can have multiple vessels with the same hailing port and different names. You can have multiple vessels with the same name, and each a different hailing port. You simply can't have multiple "Documented Vessels" with the same hailing port and name combination.

None of this applies to vessels which are not documented. Do anything you want. I have no hailing port on my boat.

 

[BandB]

I suspect the scope of the question may be around the concept of the home port, rather than the name.

USCG requires that each "Documentated" vessel have a unique combination of hailing port and name. You can have multiple vessels with the same hailing port and different names. You can have multiple vessels with the same name, and each a different hailing port. You simply can't have multiple "Documented Vessels" with the same hailing port and name combination.

None of this applies to vessels which are not documented. Do anything you want. I have no hailing port on my boat.

Wifey B: And home port is part of the name so anything said for name is also for home port. For documented vessels it must be an officially listed postal location, but for undocumented you would make it anything you wanted. Perhaps, "Bourbon Street" or "French Quarter" or "Olive Garden" but not "Hooters."

 

[friz]

The ramifications are that you need to select a good name for the boat, have at it.

Leaning towards "Quazimodo, Paris France or Notre Dame" Comments range from "that is the ugliest boat I have ever seen" to "Wow" to "how unique". Of course the name and homeport would be tongue in cheek. I didn't want to transgress any regs etc. But as I said before, "it is a thing of beauty".

 

[Chuck34]

Regardless of my reasons, if I don't document my boat, what are the ramifications of putting a name and home port on the stern?

MANY, MANY undocumented boats have names and hailing port plastered on the stern.

 

[markpierce]

Documented boats' fonts (size, style) must meet USCG standards.

 

[DWJensen]

I suspect the scope of the question may be around the concept of the home port, rather than the name.

USCG requires that each "Documentated" vessel have a unique combination of hailing port and name. You can have multiple vessels with the same hailing port and different names. You can have multiple vessels with the same name, and each a different hailing port. You simply can't have multiple "Documented Vessels" with the same hailing port and name combination.

None of this applies to vessels which are not documented. Do anything you want. I have no hailing port on my boat.

Unless things have changed recently, there's no requirement that the vessel name/home port combination be unique. Per 46 CFR § 67.117 and § 67.119, the only restrictions are:

Name:
(1) Must be composed of letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals;
(2) May not be identical, actually or phonetically, to any word or words
used to solicit assistance at sea; and
(3) May not contain nor be phonetically identical to obscene, indecent, or
profane language, or to racial or ethnic epithets.

Home Port:
(a) Upon application for any Certificate of Documentation in accordance with subpart K of this part, the owner of a vessel must designate a hailing port to be marked upon the vessel.
(b) The hailing port must be a place in the United States included in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 55DC.
(c) The hailing port must include the State, territory, or possession in which it is located

 

[Comodave]

Agree that they don’t have to be unique as far as I know.

 

[Circumnavigator]

Leaning towards "Quazimodo, Paris France or Notre Dame" Comments range from "that is the ugliest boat I have ever seen" to "Wow" to "how unique". Of course the name and homeport would be tongue in cheek. I didn't want to transgress any regs etc. But as I said before, "it is a thing of beauty".

Note that the correct spelling is Quasimodo. Unless, of course, the z is part of the tongue in cheek.


Jim

 

[Capt Ray]

Imagine a boat named...

Documented or not, how about:

Boat Name: "My Position"
Hailing Port: Nowhere OK (an actual place)

((For those of us live-aboard nomads.))

Now, imagine having this boat name if you need to place a VHF distress call! LOL <wink>

A while ago there was a thread of "cute" boat names on one of these forums.
My favorite was "Change Order"
Dinghy name: "Original Contract"

 

[Leo Reise]

My only comment regarding documentation (I am not a US resident or citizen) would be if you are planning to travel to foreign waters, I would suggest you document your boat.
A licensed (boat with numbers on the bow) on the Great Lakes, can travel to the other side without a problem.
Exiting the Great Lakes into foreign water requires a Canadian vessel to be registered (documented).
Documented vessel provide proof of ownership and origin to custom officials.

 

[rslifkin]

The same about documentation and foreign travel applies in the US as well. I don't think it's explicitly required by the US, but many other countries will expect a documented boat, not state registration. I know Canada is fine with state registration and I think the Bahamas is as well (plenty of smaller local guys making the run from Florida to Bimini, etc.). But I wouldn't count on going anywhere other than those 2 with state reg.

 

[denverd0n]

Per 46 CFR § 67.117 and § 67.119, the only restrictions are...

(b) The hailing port must be a place in the United States included in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 55DC.

Absolutely correct. Now try to find a current, valid copy of Publication 55DC. I once spent hours and hours doing that, including a phone call to the Dept. of Commerce. As far as I can tell, the document does not exist. There once WAS such a document, but it has not been updated/maintained in something like 20 years. (Not that the USCG knows that!)

 

[jgwinks]

Absolutely correct. Now try to find a current, valid copy of Publication 55DC. I once spent hours and hours doing that, including a phone call to the Dept. of Commerce. As far as I can tell, the document does not exist. There once WAS such a document, but it has not been updated/maintained in something like 20 years. (Not that the USCG knows that!)

That rule is for documented vessels only. If state registered only, you can put whatever name and port on it you want, and change them whenever you want. Port can be anywhere, real or imagined.

 

[rgano]

That rule is for documented vessels only. If state registered only, you can put whatever name and port on it you want, and change them whenever you want. Port can be anywhere, real or imagined.

Based upon the fact that the DOC doc no longer exists, the USCG has no basis upon which to contest anything you might put on it including Hong Kong if you've a mind to.

 

[DWJensen]

Based upon the fact that the DOC doc no longer exists, the USCG has no basis upon which to contest anything you might put on it including Hong Kong if you've a mind to.

No longer exists? Hmm, wonder what Secretary Graves would say about that...

 

[denverd0n]

No longer exists? Hmm, wonder what Secretary Graves would say about that...

Never talked to secretary Graves, but the person at DOC that I did talk to said that she believed that document was obsolete. Note, she "believed." She wasn't certain. She couldn't find it, nor any reference to it in their current list of publications. Search all you want, you will find no current and maintained copy of Publication 55DC.

(Or, if you do, please let me know how and where you found it. Because I put a lot of effort into trying to find it.)

Edited to add...

Actually, I should add one comment to the above. All the searching and calling that I did was 5-6 years ago. Perhaps they have finally updated and re-published the document recently. I don't know, and I'm not going to go through the time and effort to try to find it yet again.

 

[psneeld]

In 1995, that pub was reissued or mentioned in the Federal Register...it is online... (typed in Microsoft Bing... DOC Publication 55DC and it was the first thing that popped up)

https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/FIPS/fipspub55-3.pdf

This one was from a 1995 Federal Register entry and referenced it.

https://www.niatec.iri.isu.edu/(S(5pvzas455hrdzsrxbwh1ndqb))/GetFile.aspx?pid=29

I did not see an updated version...but I also didn't see and expiration meaning its current until revise (but I could have missed it).

There were other WWWeb entries that discussed the 2017 Census (instructions maybe?) that discussed Publication 55DC and NOT using this time so it is still floating around as a guide for "coded locations in the USA".