Fairly good analysis, Matthew
As a 30 year regulatory professional, terminology is critical.
Documented and registered are two entirely different concepts.
USCG "documentation" is a very formal thing. It is analogous to placing
the mortgage for your house with a clerk of court. All liens, actions,
ownership changes, etc. are documented through the USCG. If you haven't
already, order an abstract of title from the USCG Documentation Center.
The abstract will show every legal action taken against the vessel since it
was documented.
Touche's abstract shows five owners, a lien for $62,400, and a couple other
things. Interesting history.
On the other hand, state "registration" is often a money grab by most
states. Usually it's required for any powered vessel over 16 feet (give or
take). As Matthew said, many states require a decal to show that the
periodic registration fees have been paid. Displaying a fee decal does not
conflict with the federal numbering regulations. In Louisiana, there is no
exemption for documented vessels to forego the display of the state
registration numbers. However, my impression is that enforcement of the
requirement is "soft". I have a laminated placard that I can place in a
window that shows the Louisiana registration number. I keep the current
fee decal in the boat's log. No issue so far.
As a further note, when I registered Touche' with Louisiana, Touche's
pre-1972 HIN did not conform to the 12 digit format so they issued a new
vessel hull identification number.
Dennis C.
Touche' 35-1 #83
Mandeville, LA
On Feb 7, 2018 9:41 AM, "Matthew L. Wolford via CnC-List" <
cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
I reviewed the first two bullet points from the BoatUS recital, and at
least in PA they are not (or may not) be correct:
- Vessels may only be identified as either a State Registered Vessel or
a Federally Documented Vessel - NOT BOTH.
Not true in PA. There is a difference between titling and
registration. In PA, Federally documented boats are not required to be
titled under the PA Fish and Boat Code (and, I believe, cannot be State
titled). However, they must be registered. This change was made to the
State statute in the 1990s and became effective on March 1, 1998. Under
the old requirements, federally documented boats were exempt from State
registration. Under the new requirements, federally documented boats used
for recreational purpose must be registered. As far as I know, no one has
challenged this scheme, and I doubt a court would conclude that State
registration requirements are preempted because they are help the State
keep track of boats and are not in conflict with federal law regarding
documentation.
- When a vessel becomes federally Documented, the State Registration
Numbers and Letters must be removed.
This I don’t know, but I suspect BoatUS is correct. The reason is that
federal law has requirements about how a federally documented boat must be
identified. To get around this issue, the PA Fish and Boat Commission
requires decals (not State registration numbers) to be placed on the boat.
Most sailboat owners place the decal on the mast.
As we discussed in a previous thread about this issue, this is a
complicated and unclear area of law which, not surprisingly, the U.S.
Supreme Court has not addressed. BoatUS would be wise not to give legal
advice in promoting the sale of graphics.
*From:* Bruce Whitmore via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, February 07, 2018 9:22 AM
*To:* C&C List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
*Cc:* Bruce Whitmore <bwhitm...@sbcglobal.net>
*Subject:* Stus-List Recent discussion regarding Federal v. State Boat
Documentation
Hello All,
Given the discussion that came up the other day regarding boat
documentation, you may want to see the link below posted by Boat U.S.
Boat Documentation Requirements - BoatUS Graphics
<https://www.boatus.com/boatgraphics/uscg-requirements.asp>
Boat Documentation Requirements - BoatUS Graphics
Find all boat documentation requirements whether your boat is state or
federally documented.
<https://www.boatus.com/boatgraphics/uscg-requirements.asp>
While not authoritative in & of itself, it might cause local law
enforcement to pause and rethink if they ever pull you over because you
don't have state numbers displayed on your boat.
At least in Florida, this does not eliminate the need to display the state
registration sticker.
Hoping you find this helpful,
Bruce Whitmore
(847) 404-5092 (mobile)
bwhitm...@sbcglobal.net
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every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal
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