Washington Excise Tax and Federal Camping Fees on CD 16

M

Marco Flamingo

Active member
I was just planning my next trip and it is in a Federal Park. Their boating info page went through all of the regulations that boaters had to meet, including a State of Washington boating education card that I had never heard of. Interesting, but it doesn't apply to me. The Feds also mention tags, titles, registration, etc., etc., all of which I think I have and I never see a ranger anyway.

Two issues are still unresolved. One of them is the camping fee. The Feds wanted "campers" to list the camping sites that they want to try to reserve, if there is space available, and pay a camping fee. I'm not going to use a campsite, but I was planning on staying overnight. Any idea whether I must apply for a camping permit by "facsimile only" (assuming I can find a fax machine) more than 72 hours in advance as they require? I thought that maybe some of you who have boated on Lake Yellowstone might have been through this.

The second thing was making sure that my State registration is current. It is supposed to be paid in the next month but . . . . in reading the Washington Department of Revenue website, annual excise tax is only due on boats 16 foot or larger. I know that it is called a C Dory 16, but a Cal 40 sailboat is only 39 feet long. A C Dory 16 is only 15' 11" according to the official C Dory specifications. And even that is a stretch. I just measured mine using a plumb bob and came up with 15' 10 3/8"

Unlike the State and C Dory, I don't have any reason to round up. I'm cool if calling it a CD 15.861 is more accurate. In fact, it costs me $50 every year to round up and call it a 16. I wonder what the State will say.

Mark
 
Marco Flamingo":1b7kyu6l said:
Unlike the State and C Dory, I don't have any reason to round up. I'm cool if calling it a CD 15.861 is more accurate. In fact, it costs me $50 every year to round up and call it a 16. I wonder what the State will say.
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They will most likely go by the HIN, so take a look at it. Scrolling through the Our C-Dorys list, it looks like up until sometime in 2004 they were listed as 15' in the HIN.
 
annual excise tax is only due on boats 16 foot or larger.
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MarK, I believe that you have to register your C Dory. This is common point of confusion: Wa. regs REF: exempt

:
Vessels less than 16 feet long with a motor of 10 horsepower or less, if used on non-federal waters only.
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This is like many states, even if the boat is 12 feet, if it has a motor over 10 hp, and not used in federal waters, then you don't have to register it.

The state is not going to let you get off without paying!
 
Bob,

It isn't the WA registration that is the issue, it is the excise tax paid when registering every year. I have an 8 foot aluminum skiff that is registered, but there is no excise tax because it is less than 16'. The Dept. of Rev. code says excise tax isn't required on boats under 16 foot. My CD 15 registration fee this year, according to the WA website, is $73.25. $48 of that is excise tax. Engine size also isn't mentioned in the WA code regarding excise tax. That's a registration issue.

http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.49.020

All info that I've found on measuring a boat is based on the length of the hull and doesn't include the outboard, the swim step, the pulpit, etc., if those items are attached to the hull in a manner that allows them to be removed. The prior owner gave me the original owner's manual and manufacturer's specs that came with the boat. It states LOA as 15' 11". Bingo. The CD 16 is exempt from WA excise tax. I paid it for one year by mistake. I guess I'll see what the revenooer man thinks of that.

Mark
 
In fact, it costs me $50 every year to round up and call it a 16. I wonder what the State will say.
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In WA State if it's one thing they love, it's citizens paying taxes, fees, tolls...name it. The gobment never has enough of YOUR money and they have an insatiable hunger to grab it and spend it...then come back for more. I suspect they will demand/make you pay. Like the mob; pay or else.
 
Mark,
I understand, thanks. This is what was called the "personal property" tax in California. Washington tried to get it on my Cal 46, when we kept it in the John Wayne Marina.
 
Just a follow up on the National Park camping fee (my getting out of paying excise tax is in another thread). A boater spending the night is considered a camper even if not using a camp site. The fee is required. I even had to rent a bear can, although I was going to have all of my food aboard and anchored offshore.

If there is a bear that can swim out to a CD 16 and climb aboard, I wouldn't be worried about whether my food was in a bear-proof container. I would worry about me being food.

Mark
 
Not sure where you are going. I have never been in a national park in a boat where I had to acquire a bear can...

Yes, bears swim very well, and I know of instances where they have climbed on boats--however the boats were larger than the C Dory 16. Humans are not a preferred food....

Unfortunately these days it seems like you have to have a back country permit, which is very detailed, if back packing. I had not heard of this in a boat previously .
What national park?
 
Marco Flamingo":2qfy6998 said:
I was just planning my next trip and it is in a Federal Park....Any idea whether I must apply for a camping permit...I thought that maybe some of you who have boated on Lake Yellowstone might have been through this.
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Looks like maybe it was Yellowstone (?)
 
Olympic National Park at Lake Ozette. I was told that if I was spending the night inside the Part boundaries I was a "camper" and needed a permit on my boat. Part of the rationale was that they wanted to know the number of people who were staying inside the Park, but they could obviously do that without charging a camp fee (which I had thought was a "camp site" fee). Of course, this could have been one Ranger's interpretation. Since there is no launch fee and no trailer parking fee, it's not a big deal.

Mark
 
Oops, not Yellowstone then. I hope you show us a little bit about the trip after you go. I made my maiden voyage on Lake Crescent - in the same area - and it was gorgeous! (I didn't spend the night though.)
 
Thanks for the info on where to look at the photos. Looks like a neat place to take the C-Dory:

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I'm also hoping to be on Powell in late Sept./early Oct. if all goes well :thup
 
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