Coast Guard documentation

[JSS]

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?



joels@ids.net

[Ben Thomas]

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?

Joel, Don't really know that much about it. But if you go out of country it may be easier task through customs. Here is the us coast guard web site. they have all the info. go to www.uscg.mil/ use search feature vessel documentation. good luck



btlandscapers@imagina.com

[John Baker]

If you plan to take the boat outside of US waters you should get Coast Guard documentation.(Canada, Mexico, Bahamas etc.) There is a single fee paid at the time of documentation. The Coast Guard sends annual "tickets" without additional annual charges. In the time of war the Coast Guard may conscript the boat.



micaelaf@earthlink.net

[Don Craig]

for a vessel to be documented, and I don't believe the 27 would officially qualify. I documented a CD-28 years ago, and I had to "fudge" displacement on the application. Maybe you could do the same. I strongly recommend documentation for cruising boats: You don't have to mess with state bureaucracy (or deface your boat with state numbers--ugh); fees are minimal or non-existent after the initial paperwork; it vastly simplifies customs on foreign check-in; and it keeps boat ownership below state bureaucratic "radar." Most yachting centers have services that will handle the paperwork for you for a fee. But it's not difficult, and the CG is very helpful in walking you through the process. Good luck.

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?

[M. R. Bober]

We documented our CD27 several years ago. If memory serves me correctly, the calculated displacement was 6 tons. Unless the reg have changed, you should be OK.

If financing is involved, your lender may require documentation.
Good luck.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

[Jon]

Joel,

Congratulations on your new boat!

Jon
s/v Sovereign

[Jerry J Commisso]

If you live in New Jersey all Documented Vessels are required by law to be registered with the State.You won't have to put registration numbers on the hull, but you will have to display the registration sticker somewhere adjacent to the helm.This information is on the forms you will get when applying.You pay the Coastguard only once but the registration you pay every year.It cost me about $90.00 about 1 1/2 years ago. You can download the forms right from their website.Good luck.

Jerry J Commisso
CD30C
Chelsea Rose

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?

liasboat@aol.com

[Ken Cave]

Check with John Vigor on documentation (a frequent visitor to this site) He owns a Cape Dory 25D, and is documentated with the feds.

Ken Cave
Cape Dory 28 227
(also documented)



bcave@whidbeynet.

[M. R. Bober]

Had the vessel been documented at any time in the past?
M

[Bob]

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?

Documentation allows protection of your vessel under the laws of the US Government. Should someone steal your boat or vandelize it, it would be a Federal Offense and prosecutable under Federal Law. Documentation however does not allow you to "fly under the state law radar" as commonly thought(to avoid taxation)unless your thinking of incorporating under the laws of Delaware. This is not normally economically feasable unless you have a very large yacht. Otherwise you would still have to pay the appropriate sales tax upon registration with the state in which the Home Port resides. Documentation also allows the full protection of your vessel as that of other US flagged vessels. We have had our CD25D, Ranger, documented since the day we bought it. Documentation is not difficult to do and once registered will not cost anymore other than afixing your updated sticker each year to your Certificate Of Documentation.
If you are contemplating cruising your boat offshore to foreign ports it would be a good idea to have your vessel documented with the US Coast Guard.

Bob

S/V Ranger
CD25D #144
1984



Ranger1442@hotmail.com

[Chris Cram]

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dm/vdoc/instr.htm

JUST COPY AND PASTE TO YOUR BROWSER

This is the Coast Guard Website where all questions regarding documentation are answered. My bank required that the vessel be documented in order to facilitate the loan. It is a protection for you and the bank (as already mentioned).

*****PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO****** the file concerning annual renewal of your documentation. Basically, it is FREE, if you do it within the prescribed time frame. If not, it is 84$ plus 29$(recreation fee) ++++ I have some questions about when these fees actually apply. One this is clear!!!! If you miss the deadline you will be notified and then it is 500$ to renew.

Chris Cram



cccobx@prodigy.net

[Don Sargeant]

The requirement is not for minimum displacement but, rather, for minimum net tonnage -- 5.5 tons if I remember correctly. The formula is calculated from internal volume. My CD25D is documented and my old folkboat also met the requirements and was a lot smaller inside. The CD27 certainly meets the requirement. There's really no advantage when coastal cruising, except you don't need to cover your bow with numbers. In CT we have a certificate of documentation sticker on the bow instead of a registration sticker and numbers. The tax load and registration fee is the same as with registered boats. There are other requirements such as the height and content of the transom name and hailing port, and the need to inscribe the documentation number PERMANENTLY on the hull somewhere. Mine's inside the port rope locker. You also need a detailed trail of ownership from the builder's certificate through all the previous owners to the guy you bought it from.

Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~
CD25D #189
Documented in Greenwich Cove.

Check with John Vigor on documentation (a frequent visitor to this site) He owns a Cape Dory 25D, and is documentated with the feds.

Ken Cave
Cape Dory 28 227
(also documented)

don@cliggott.com

[Clay Stalker]

I will soon be the new owner of a 1977 CD-27.
The yacht broker mentioned that he will prepare the bill of sale so it is suitable for obtaining or extending coast guard documentation. What are the pros, cons, and costs of CG documentation vs State registration ??
Should I want it and why or why not?

Hi Joel:
I may be the only one who isn't sold on documentation....The research I did simply showed no real advantage for documentation and some extra expense. It is important if the bank requires it for a loan, it is helpful if you sail to foreign ports, and it makes theft of your vessel a federal offense (big deal, when did that stop a thief). We still have to register our boats in Rhode Island, so I just don't see any real benefit to it. It certainly can help prove that there are or are not liens on the craft, but if there aren't any, there's no real advantage to someone who just coastal cruises from Maine to Long Island like me. Good luck with your new boat, can't wait to see it at Apponaug....Clay



cstalker@cheshire.net

[Neil Gordon]

>>You also need a detailed trail of ownership from the builder's certificate through all the previous owners to the guy you bought it from.<<

I didn't need/have that when I documented LIQUIDITY last year. Just had to send the bill of sale and a copy of the title. I can see where it might be a problem if you're in a state that doesn't have a title certificate.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Don]

The reason I couldn't document my folkboat was that the factory (Whitby)had had a fire and the builder's certificates were lost. The GC said no go without one. My Cape Dory had been documented when first purchased so I just needed the bill of sale from the first owner to the second -- I'm the third.
Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~~

>>You also need a detailed trail of ownership from the builder's certificate through all the previous owners to the guy you bought it from.<<

I didn't need/have that when I documented LIQUIDITY last year. Just had to send the bill of sale and a copy of the title. I can see where it might be a problem if you're in a state that doesn't have a title certificate.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167