Re: Titles
A lot depends on the size of the boat. Does the boat have MN registration numbers on it? If it does and it's under 16', it's all pretty easy to deal with. Go to your local city hall or whatever. They'll be a "deputy registrar." Play dumb, and tell your story. Bring a bill of sale for the boat, but don't show it unless you're asked for it. The nice person there will look up the registration number, and if they are in a decent mood, they'll take your registration fee, your name and address, and there you go. I've bought two boats under 16', and that was that. They don't need titles...just registrations. Trailers are another issue. If it hasn't been converted to lifetime tags, it'll have a title. It's easiest, for trailers with under 2500 lb. capacity to smile at the nice person and say it's homemade. They'll give you a lifetime tag and take your name and address. Don't bring the old license plate in with you. It can be pretty casual, if the person behind the counter wants it to be. If they are in a bad mood, though, it can be something else.
For boats over 16' and trailers over 2500 lb. capacity, it's titles all the way. No fun at all if you don't have the title. There are some provisions for stuff that hasn't been registered in over "n" number of years, since they don't keep records past a certain age on registrations that have been unpaid. You can deal with that pretty easily.
Frankly, for any boat over 16', I would just pass unless there's a title. It's a hassle.
Outboards have no titles in MN.
Don't tell anyone I said this, but lots of guys don't bother with the trailer business if it has lifetime tags. The cops just look to see if they're on there if you get stopped. They don't care. They do care about boats, but not about small trailers. The one for my boat has lifetime tags from three owners ago, and nobody even knows who the original person who put the tags on it was. If anyone bothers you about it, just play dumb and they'll probably shine it on. The whole lifetime tag deal was put into place because they were losing money on trailer registrations. So they bagged the whole deal.
