Coast Guard Documentation

[Lucky Day]

Washington, DC government recognizes USCG Documentation and waives the District's 6% tax. Only a registration fee of $25 a year applies to documented vessels. Using the CG's online measurement tool, the CD-25 appears to qualify for documentation.

[mikeporterinmd]

[C-Pelican]

Wow, a topic I have experience with! I am a first time boat buyer and started out right with a C-Dory 22' Cruiser I bought thru a contact from this site. I lucked out and met Bob and Marie. He had it documented so I thought I'd keep up the "tradition". I thought it was easy to do and I liked being a bit different anyhow with no numbers on the side and such....

I went to the Coast Guard web site for the instructions and paperwork; filled them out with the help of the Coast Guard phone number in WV (number at web site) and mailed them in.

*Btw, know that all fee's are non-refundable.*

The only down part I experienced was the wait time. I do not recall off the top of my head as I am at work, but it took nearly two months to get the required paperwork back. Without it, you are technically not "legal" to operate it the Coast Guard told me, but then again, one lady at the CG told me to keep a copy of all the paperwork I submitted and that she doubted they would ticket me.... And I did go without it and was never stopped nor questioned.

Write me if I can help in any other way.

Also!!!! you need not list your actual town you live in for your home port. You can list any town in your state. It worked for me to cut down to Topaz, CA instead of Apple Valley, CA for asthetic reasons (number of actual letters; regs say they must be 4" high), as you must list the hailing port on the stern or on each side (I had to put it on the sides).

It is a conversation starter often also.

Must run as a previous writer mentioned before they blow up my science lab too!!!!

Cheers,
Jeff

[teflonmom]

If your state titles boats most banks are satisfied with the title. Today almost all states require you to pay a sales/use tax if you keep the boat in that state or even use it on their waters. The extra cost of documentation is not worth the hassel.

Pat and Fred Messerly
Red Lion, Pa.

[lloyds]

I purchased a documented vessel once, and as I recall, there was a small fee to maintain that, with virtually no benefit. I guess if you owned and financed a megayacht the banks or financial institutions might require documentation because of the likelihood of it being taken out of the country periodically. Easier to bring it back to the states if it is foreclosed or part of an estate or something. I guess there actually used to be some advantages 40 or 50 years ago, like mariners insurance and things. But no more. I had to hire a specialist in seattle to get it undocumented. Cost a couple hundred dollars. And took some inordinate amount of time.

[thataway]

There is no maintance fee to the federal government. Self documentation or undocumentation is easy and all of the instructions are on line. You can pay some one to do these for you if you wish--but it is not at all necessary.

Many states do require stickers (but not the state number) to allow the water or tax police to know that you have paid the state their due. For example a 16 to 26 foot boat in Florida costs about $22 a year in registration fees. There are a few cases where taxes may be avoided, but they are few. The documented status is slightly more secure than some states titles. A lien search as well as a chain of ownership search is easily preformed on a documented vessel.

There used to be some advantages, like the boat could be taken by the defense department and used for sub partrols during war time, or the marines could be sent to reclaim the US vessel. It is actually a little easier checking in and out of foreign ports with a documented vessel--just because the officials are used to working with a document, than a state registration. I would not carry my title aboard--but you are required to have the document aboard. I have documented the vast majority of my vessels--if nothing else to get away from the numbers on the bow. However the Tom Cat 255 came with numbers--and I have not yet transfered it to document status (the factory didn't send the correct information--and I suspect that they had not done a builders certificate previously).

[Lucky Day]

Glad to see some positive info on documenting. I am definitely going to document my boat as soon as I complete the purchase. It will be docked in Washington DC waters - so skipping their 6% sales tax will save me more than a year's slip fees.

[Lucky Day]

My CD-25 has been documented. I am getting the markings into compliance now. For the vessel's document number on the hull in 3" numbers -- does the finished, smooth, white surface under the v-berth cushions qualify as the hull? And if so, would CG inspectors readily recognize that surface as the hull? Looks like an easy spot to put the numbers with a coat of epoxy. Thanks for any info.

[K7MXE]

If I remember things correctly
You sealed up your boat and put it in a swimming pool. Sank the boat
underwater and weighted the water that splashed out of the pool that
would be what the boats displacement would be. No water could enter
the boat and all the water would need to be gathered. It has nothing to
do with what a boat weighs on a trailer. The specifications should be
on the C Dory web page but I have not checked.
Bob Heselberg

[mikeporterinmd]

[Lucky Day]

Thanks for all the replies.

Mike - the dremel is on my list.

In reply to Jeff on C-Pelican: The lettering is going on the cabin sides on my boat too - there's really no other place for the 4" lettering. And, unfortunately, there's no way to shorten up Washington, DC. So there is some visual clutter.

But the documentation for a DC-based boat has worked out really well. As I mentioned at the beginning of the thread, with the boat in DC waters, the total cost to register the documented boat was just $25 annually. The documentation procedure was very easy using the CG's online simplified measurement tool. The DC govt was very easy to deal (a most welcome surprise!). I provided them with copies of the documentation filing papers and they issued a temporary registration which I was allowed to use until the final document arrived (took about 6-8 weeks). I went ahead and checked out Maryland's requirements, in case I went to spend some time on the Chesapeake. No MD registration is required for a boat unless it spends the majority of the calendar in MD waters. Won't be a problem unless the boat is in their water for more than five months a year. (I guess I'll open a ship's log to document its whereabouts.)

My next job is to re-register as a C-Brat with my boat's new name and a new username so I can properly introduce myself to the board. Anyone know how I can make those changes?

[Larry H]

Catbird,

RE: changing your username.

Send a Private Message (the link is in the menu at the top of the page) to Tyboo requesting the change. He may still be on vacation right now, so have a little patience.

[Lucky Day]

Good deal -- I'll email him.

[Gene Morris]

I am being forced to document Reefmadness. I believe that the simplified measurement method requires the Tomcat to be calculated as if it were a monohull vessel. I am waiting for the FACT OF BUILD BUILDERS CERTIFICATE, from C-Dory. The formula for calculating the tonnage has two constants that have to be dealt with, hull shape and keel type. Has anyone calculated the tonnage on a TC255?

Gene Morris

[thataway]

I did calculate the tonage for the Tom Cat: there are two peculars which apply: first is that the boat does not qualify as a multihull:"For the purposes of simplified measurements, twin hull and tri hull vessels are defined as only those which have no bouyant volume in the structure which connects the hulls together."

At rest, the Tom Cat 255 the wing deck under surface is under water when the boat is at rest or at low speeds.

The second issue, is that the Armstrong Brackets provide bouyancy when at rest, so that the boat's length becomes 27feet six inches rather than 25 feet 6 inches. This should be refected in the Master Builder's certificate.

The beam is 8' 6". The depth is 3' 9" and this calculates to 5 net tons.

The newer PDF forum does not allow as much fooling around with the numbers as did the interactive site. But it does show the tonnage in the upper right corner.