Coast Guard Documentation

[jfurry]

Does the C-Dory 25 qualify for Coast Guard Documentation?

[journey on]

Yes, by the virtue of the overall length being >25 ft.

I documented our (ex-) sailboat about 10 years ago. It was pretty simple to do by yourself. I don't know if the procedure has changed, however there's a company in San Diego that does it for ~$400. I did talk to them about documenting Journey On.

On the other hand, I was never sure what benefit it gave us.

Boris

[TyBoo]

May I trouble you for an brief education on what exactly Coast Guard Documentation is and is supposed to do for you? Sounds like it is optional for private guys, but this is the first I have ever heard it mentioned on here. Just curious more than anything.

Thanks.

[B~C]

I'll throw some links on here later, I don't think you can get it done as the vessel has to be at least 5 net tons. With a documented vessel you can thumb your nose at the state as your vessel is now a resident of the US.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/vdoc/faq.htm
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/msc/T3/cg5397/cg5397.form.htm

gotta go before somebody blows themself up in the lab

[Alyssa Jean]

Using the formula from BCs post the 25 comes in at 1 ton.

[B~C]

did you count the superstructure and the BEER

[TyBoo]

If I leave the trailer hanging under it, I could get 3.5 tons. Guess I need a couple more dogs.

B~C - get back to work. Ain't you on the taxpayers' ticket?

[B~C]

I'm researching marine propulsion slave driver

[JamesTXSD]

It's based on volume, not displacement. There is a formula for it, but I don't recall it right off hand.

Documentation does NOT exclude you from following the registration rules of all states. Some people have tried to use that as a basis for not paying state sales tax... one day, the tax man will come calling (depending on your state)

What documentation DOES do is give your boat a "standardized" registration (since all states are different for their boat registration). If you are financing a large vessel, is is almost a certainty that the lending institution will require that the boat be documented (as their way of recovering it in a repossession situation). Some foreign Ports of Entry don't know what to do with a state registration, so documentation can make entry less hassle.

You do not have to put state registration #s on if the vessel is documented, but there are requirements for where the name (and size) must be, including your home port. You also have to have the documentation # permanently affixed to the boat (so it would leave evidence if it were to be removed); no requirement where that has to go.

Our bigger sailboat is documented. I had to learn some of this while getting a USCG Captain's License years ago.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
James TX/SD

[teflonmom]

We have owned a documented vessel, a Monk 36. There was no advantage for us because we kept the boat in Md. with a Baltimore home port on the stern. Maryland has a 5 per cent excize tax that we had to pay. We did not have to put MD numbers on our boat

[Sealife]

Documented vessels must be at least 5 net tons. If over that weight, and used exclusively for pleasure, it may be documented by the Coast Guard, or registered in the state in shich it resides, at the owners option.

The document identifies the vessel by it's home port, port of documentation, official number, net & gross tonnage, and owner's name and address. The original Certificate of Documentation must be carried on board at all times. The vessel must have the official number marked by any permanent method on some clearly visible interior structural part of the vessel.

They must display the name and hailing port, including city & state in letters at least 4 inhes high on some clearly visible, exterior part of the vessel.

[Chuck S]

Our sailboat, a San Juan 28 (another Seatlle boat) was documented. Still had to register the boat with Ohio state authorities every 3 or 4 years and display the state sticker, but no OH-NUMBE-RS were required as the vessel was documented. Name and Home Port on the stern.

There used to be some simplified customs procedures as I recall. Also it used to be the "rule" you couldn't fly the Yacht Ensign unless you were documented. Like Joe Sixpack paid attention to this!

Documentation is also the title, so if you move around you don't need a state title -- but you'll probably need registration.

As noted the Net Tonnage is an "admeasurement," not a weight.

There's a link to the USGC "simplified" measurement interactive page above. Someone with LOTS of time on their hands could certainly figure this out. Good for one. Good for all.

-- Chuck

[dave]

B~C

Using your links above, I found the following formula.
GRT=(Hull Volume+ Deckhouse Volume)/100

Using the line drawing for the 22CD, it appears to me that even the 19 Angler could be documented. Since they both use outboards, the Gross and Net tonnage formulations would be the same. Both CDs would meet the 5 ton minimum requirement the way I figured it.

dave

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[Sawdust]

My recommendation:

Don't document unless required by a lending institution. I've done it both ways many times, and a documented vessel can (rarely of course) cause grief big time. BTDT. Selling a documented vessel out of country can create a mountain of paper. And trying to reposses one out of country an even higher paper stack. My unbelievable experience trying to bring my repo documented vessel back into the US is a sea story worthy of the SBS. Seized and sealed by the USCG dockside with a 6-figure bill.

There were advantages, of course, to documentation, but I suspect most of the perks have gone away...

Merry Christmas!

Dusty