Re: New to forum, working on getting an aluminum resto project for first boat
I can't speak to what it'll take in Virginia, but in WV, there are some rules & a few steps to get a boat w/out a title registered & titled in WV. It's easier for boats under 16ft, so although the current boat that interests you is 17ft, I'll deal w/ an under 16ft'r:
Boats built before 1972/73/74 didn't have a HIN (it's a hull identification number, like a VIN on a car, just for a boat) originally when built. It may or may not have had a serial number. Many states don't require titles, so if there's no HIN, and the boat happens to be in a non-title state, I can get it registered to me 1st, then apply for WV title & registration. But only if it's under 16ft. If it has ANY numbers on it, serial or HIN, when a Sheriff's deputy or police officer inspects the boat (trailer too) they will run what ever number they find on the boat and see if it's been reported stolen. If it comes back clean, I can proceed. Else :faint2: Haven't had any trouble yet.
However, if the boat has ever been bought, sold, or transferred amongst family, post 1974 AND it's in a title state, the state likely issued their own state HIN for the boat. It will be a VIN conforming 12 (13?) digit number that is supposed to be permanently (rivets NOT screws) attached to the hull on the starboard corner of the outside skin of the transom. If that number gets run by an officer at the inspection, it'd better come back not stolen & registered to the person selling it to me, I think. It's never come up, so I'm not sure about the process after the state issued their own HIN.
So, to get an untitled/registered under 16ft boat registered to me, I register it in Wisconsin, for @$30, and wait for the registration sticker to arrive. Once I have that, I get a cop to inspect it, and fill out a form that states it does, or does not have a HIN. Then as the registered owner of the boat, I take that form & my Wisconsin registration to the DMV & apply for a WV title & WV registration. If there is no HIN, the state sends me a little HIN plate when I get the title. If there is a HIN, AND its a conforming 12 digit number, they use that on my title. Either way I take temporary registration w/ me the same day and can start using the boat anytime. Takes 2-3wks for me to get the permanent registration #'s to put on the hull & the title comes about the same time.
DO NOT forget to ask about the rules & process for trailers, here in WV it can be more complicated & requires more paperwork, but it can be done. Most of my registered & titled trailers are listed as homebuilt because there was no VIN tag and no title paperwork.
For a 16ft+ boat, you can't go online & register a boat in Wisconsin first, they also want a cop to visually inspect it, and to date I haven't attempted to register 16ft+ boat.
ALSO IMPORTANT: You DO NOT want there to be any evidence of tampering w/ or removal of a HIN on a boat, or a VIN on a trailer. In WV, it makes it EXTREMELY more complicated & requires that I find the last registered owner & track its sale thru to the seller w/ affidavits of ownership & sale to me. If the HIN/VIN have been damaged, how do you find the last registered owner, if it wasn't the seller......
