C.G. Certificate of Doccumentation?

[ashedd]

I'm not sure if anyone here knows the C.G. regulations or not, but I'm having a hard time getting that info online.

I bought a C.G. registered vessel with an expired Certificate of Documentation(C.O.D.) The previous owner said that he tried to send a check to renew the COD and it got returned to him(he's old). The vessel does have a current state registration, so he just renewed that every year and forgot about it. I think the COD expired 1n 2012. In fact I have the last original COD for the boat in my possession, along with a few earlier years as well.

The previous owner has moved across the country, which is why he wanted me to have his boat. He's old and not very internet savvy and he's basically left me to deal with this.

The C.G. NVDC page says this:
"A Certificate of Documentation (COD) is not eligible for renewal if it has been expired for more than 30 days. Vessel expiration information is located on the COD (CG-1270), lower left corner. Fees submitted for renewals are not refundable or transferable if it is later determined that the COD must be reinstated. Please be sure of the Official Number, which can be found on your current COD or renewal notice before you submit your request. If you are unsure whether your COD is eligible for renewal, please contact the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) at 800-799-8362."

So I'm wondering if ownership can be transferred on a documented vessel with an expired COD? In which I can later reinstate the COD.
Or do we reinstate the COD first, then transfer ownership?
Then finally get an affidavit od title so show the state to renew the state registration.

I know the short answer will be "why don't you call the C.G.?"
But I'm just wanting to find info myself before going that far.

 

[Teamster]

I think the short answer is the best answer,.............

 

[gm280]

I've never had any C.G. Certification before for any of my boats. But then I don't boat in C.G. waters either. So I can't help with a quality answer. I don't even know if you need one to boat in such water. :sorry:

I'll keep watching this to learn something new.

 

[alldodge]

Once a boat is documented the original title is no longer valid. Banks prefer a documented boat because it cannot be taken to another state and titled. So what your going need to do is go to the link below and start the reinstatement process

https://uscgdocumentation.us/reinstatement/

 

[ashedd]

I'm going to have it reinstated then transfer ownership. I read someplace on the CG website that operating a documented vessel with an expired COD can lead to a fine up to $500/day lol. That would put my boat at about $900k in outstanding fines. I'm not very worried about it though, I think it's mostly for commercial operators.

 

[mr 88]

I wouldn't worry about the expired COD fines,it,happens all the time. Be aware that if you file now it will be about 6 months or possibly longer before your legal paperwork shows up,they are that far behind. If your a charter or commercial vessel then its about a two week wait. If you save/copy all your paperwork that you send in ,keep it onboard until the legal paperwork shows up. The USCG will not hassle you if you have that on board if your stopped before the official paper shows up. The COD number will remain the same on your hull. I believe there is paperwork that has to be Notarized from the previous owner for the transfer to take place. Check out the USCG web site for the exact facts and paperwork. Unless your a charter guy/take trips to out of USA ports or don't want numbers on your hull it may be easier in the long run to transfer ownership and register in the state as you noted.

 

[Ike-110722]

I am a retired CG officer and I used to field questions like this all the time. So far you have been given good advice. Do not worry about the expired COD if the boat is currently registered with a state. The point here is that no one should be operating a boat that isn't documented or registered. It's like driving a car that isn't licensed. You are going to need the paperwork, and may need the original Master Builders Certificate (or Manufacturers Statement of Origin). Anyway, contacting the Documentation office is good advice. They will tell you exactly what you need to do. If it gets too byzantine for you there are Documentation Services who will do all the leg work for you (for a fee of course) and get you the COD.

 

[ashedd]

I am a retired CG officer and I used to field questions like this all the time. So far you have been given good advice. Do not worry about the expired COD if the boat is currently registered with a state. The point here is that no one should be operating a boat that isn't documented or registered. It's like driving a car that isn't licensed. You are going to need the paperwork, and may need the original Master Builders Certificate (or Manufacturers Statement of Origin). Anyway, contacting the Documentation office is good advice. They will tell you exactly what you need to do. If it gets too byzantine for you there are Documentation Services who will do all the leg work for you (for a fee of course) and get you the COD.

Thanks for all the info everyone...
I don't think I could get the original Master Builders Certificate if needed since it was built in 1957 and the company is long gone. I don't expect there to be any issues with getting this done, I'm more currently interested in making some repairs on neglected systems on the boat. I'll start this paperwork adventure in the next couple weeks.

 

[jbcurt00]

Might put off spending a lot of time and money working on it if it'll be 6mo to resolve the COD