Ahhh....registration fun!

SnowHunter

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
285
So I finally remembered to call the Boating registration people.

Asked about a title being required; nope, not in GA! YAY! Cuz all I have is a B.O.S! What she does tell me, though, is I will need the registration card. Hmmmmm

Gave them the hull ID# to check thier system...nothing :eek:

Get the registration # stickers that are on the boat, gave her the #... 1980s Fisher, with a different hull ID# :eek: (last registered in 05, according to thier system, which the stickers verify)

Now, this boat is VERY clearly marked Bayliner, and the Hull ID# confirms this (blbw42u1177-w)

I'm thinkin someone pulled the stickers off another boat, and stuck it on this one.

Now I get a visit by DNR LEO in a week or so, for them to come check out the boat (SOP for this kind of problem) Only, its not a whole boat right now :eek: Its in the process of resto...

Somethin tells me this is gonna get interesting...I REALLY feel like an idiot, for not dealing with this prior to teardown. Lesson learned, at least. :redface::redface:
 

CATransplant

Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
6,319
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

It's an old trick, used by many shady do-it-yourselfers. You find an old boat, untitled and untitleable. So, you put the numbers off the crummy old boat you sank in the river when you hit that rock on the new find. Nobody ever bothered you with the other boat, and they probably won't bother you with the new one, so you're golden.

Then, you sell the boat to someone else, who goes to register it in a legal sort of way, and the deal catches up with you.

Now, it's not like that trihull boat (or Tri Haul, as it usually appears on CL) is stolen. Hard enough to give them away. If you have a nice DNR or DMV type, they'll take pity on you and your project and register it for what it is, an almost homemade boat. The HIN number doesn't match anything in their records, the value is low, so who really cares.

OTOH, if you get one of the people who wake up every morning with a shoulder chip in place, it may not go so well.

I found a really, really nice lady at the local suburban city hall who handles these boat registrations with a shrug and a grin. If the boat doesn't show up as stolen, she just asks if you're willing to pay the registration fee. You say yes, and you get a new registration card with your name on it. Now, that's only for boats 16' and under, but it works pretty well.
 

MyViewGS

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Messages
83
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

It will help your need if you have progress photos of the resto project.
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,064
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

It will help your need if you have pregression photos of the resto project.

A simple ling to the iboats restoration forum ;)

As firm as I can sound........ STOP working on the boat. If that boat turns out to be a previously stolen boat....... you can be without a boat and not a leg to stand on. There was a case where an iboat member was given a boat.... restored it and then lost it because the paperwork was not completed.

Take a breather from the boat work until the paperwork is cleared up.
 

SnowHunter

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
285
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

A simple ling to the iboats restoration forum ;)

As firm as I can sound........ STOP working on the boat. If that boat turns out to be a previously stolen boat....... you can be without a boat and not a leg to stand on. There was a case where an iboat member was given a boat.... restored it and then lost it because the paperwork was not completed.

Take a breather from the boat work until the paperwork is cleared up.

Yup, exactly what I was thinkin too!!! At this point, I am still in the grinding phase, which I can't do anyways, cuz the kids took my respirator out and it got all wet....so I'm just gonna let it sit, till this is all settled.

No point wasting time if it turns out stolen...

Hopefully this goes smoothly. GA DNR usually aint too bad to deal with.
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,064
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

Oh I am sure it will work out..... but it is better to work on something that you can legally float!!! Can the same LEO verify your trailer?
 

MyViewGS

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Messages
83
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

No point wasting time if it turns out stolen...

Hopefully this goes smoothly. GA DNR usually aint too bad to deal with.


Exactly ...... I know here in FL i've skipped a years registration while working resto on my boat. I had to show photos to justify not regestering. And, I had to deal with GA DNR last year and they were pretty helpful. Good Luck.

MyViewGS:cool:
 

SnowHunter

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
285
Re: Ahhh....registration fun!

Oh I am sure it will work out..... but it is better to work on something that you can legally float!!! Can the same LEO verify your trailer?
Aint that the truth... :D

Nope...trailers are through the local tag office. Reminds me....gonna hafta run down there tomorrow n double check somethin with em...

Exactly ...... I know here in FL i've skipped a years registration while working resto on my boat. I had to show photos to justify not regestering. And, I had to deal with GA DNR last year and they were pretty helpful. Good Luck.

MyViewGS:cool:

Yup, that was the main reason I hadn't dealt with the registration yet. I think, the only slight hitch, sorta, would be the title of ownership.

Oh, and I called them back with the correct HIN (gave em one letter off before) and that didn't come up in their system either *shrug*
 
Top