Colorado River Tragedy

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
I have a USCG Documented vessel, it is not a state “registered” vessel.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
I have a USCG Documented vessel, it is not a state “registered” vessel.
Regardless of documentation there is still state registration required, at least that is what is required in MI, how else would the state get more $$ out of me.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
I have a USCG Documented vessel, it is not a state “registered” vessel.
It is still "registered" in the MD computers, though not "licensed". Every 2 years a new sticker to show it is documented.
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
State vessel registration requires a state vessel number, and a state title. I don’t have either. I do have to pay Maryland for a “documented use” decal. No state can register a documented vessel, only the USCG.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Regardless of documentation there is still state registration required, at least that is what is required in MI, how else would the state get more $$ out of me.
That is not the case in FL. I did not think that any state required a state registration for a federally documented vessel, but there may be room for me to learn something new there.

I got pulled over by the feds near the Port of Miami a few years ago while in a large center-console power boat. The first question from the well armed feds was "why don't you have registration numbers on the side of this boat?". When they found out it was a documented vessel with a licensed captain on board, they let us be.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
That is not the case in FL. I did not think that any state required a state registration for a federally documented vessel, but there may be room for me to learn something new there.

I got pulled over by the feds near the Port of Miami a few years ago while in a large center-console power boat. The first question from the well armed feds was "why don't you have registration numbers on the side of this boat?". When they found out it was a documented vessel with a licensed captain on board, they let us be.
Indeed, MN does not, but WI requires state reg of documented boats. BlueJ is documented and while based in MN does not required state reg. No one has every hassled us; most water LEOs will notice the name and port in san serif font on the transom and recognize a documented boat.
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Wisconsin boat registration law regarding Documented vessels has never been challenged in Federal court. Federal law supersedes state law regarding Documented registration. I suspect most Wisconsin boaters don’t care, and never challenge the flawed law.
 
Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
I'm a bit disappointed in the direction this thread has deviated to.

Who cares whether a boat is a Doc or State. There are people that died & it doesn't matter if it happened
in a lake, a river, coastal or inland...........people died.

It happens all the time anywhere & unless better Regs & enforcement are implemented, I'm sorry but,
I could care less about vessel documentation.

How bout we get back On-Track in this thread..............
 
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Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
Ron Thanks,

I know you say this from experience, seeing where other threads had lost the main original focus & deviated
onto other un-related tangents. How does a thread beginning with people needlessly dying, morph into vessel
registration posts & responses? I just don't get it. Wherein lies the discussion that should have evolved
from whence & continued forward based on the subject at hand?

This was NOT the original subject matter AL was addressing.........Again, people DIED.
Let's try to stay on course for this one....huh?
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,432
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Thread drift happens in the normal course of any conversation. There really isn't a lot to discuss on this one. It's a high speed crash with power boats. It's not a lot different than an illegal drag strip accident or a head-on collision with a drunk driver involved. It doesn't really have anything to do with sailing or Colregs or any kind of licensing. It's what happens when people get stupid with an expensive toy and a throttle.
 
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Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Maybe someone should explain how two speeding motorboats colliding on an impoundment in Arizona has something to do with sailing? Head on collision at 50mph in the dark? Nothing to learn here that we didn’t already know - don’t sail where these idiots boat.
 
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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
How does a thread beginning with people needlessly dying, morph into vessel
registration posts & responses?
The question of "state with most boats per capita" was brought up, and whether or not a documented boat was included in that state census.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Regardless of documentation there is still state registration required, at least that is what is required in MI, how else would the state get more $$ out of me.
I just looked up the MI rules. I don't see any specific exemption for federally documented vessels, but I do see an exemption for boats that are temporarily in state. https://www.dmv.org/mi-michigan/boat-registration.php

If you take your boat out of state on occasion, would you then not be in state temporarily when you are there????

That is more of a question than a statement of interpretation. I don't do much boating in that area, so I don't know what is considered normal practice there.
 

FDL S2

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Jun 29, 2014
485
S2 7.3 Fond du Lac
Just wondering, what are the advantages of having a USCG documented vessel?
I'm assuming Jackdaw's BlueJ is documented because he had it imported, but what about others? Is it for if you sail often to other countries like on the Great Lakes, Vancouver, New England, etc? Is there any other advantage?
Not anything I'm considering sailing on an inland lake in Wisconsin, but I am curious.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Michigan Rules for Registration
DOCUMENTED WATERCRAFT [MCL 324.80302]
Due to federal law [46 USC, Chapter 121, § 12106] and state law [324.80302], watercraft documented (registered) by the U.S. Coast Guard are not eligible for a Michigan watercraft title. The U.S. Coast Guard Certification of Documentation (CG-1270) serves as proof of ownership.

However, documented watercraft must obtain a Michigan watercraft registration at the regular fee. The registration (MC) number does not have to be displayed on the vessel. The watercraft decal must be displayed on each side of the forward half of the hull as high above the waterline as practical.

When selling a watercraft that will be documented through the U.S. Coast Guard, sales tax is due. Attach copies of the documentation papers to the WR-11L registration application. Because the application process to document a watercraft can take up to six months, a copy of the owner’s application for documentation showing it is in process may be accepted. The application form is “Application For Initial Issue, Exchange, or Replacement of Certification of Documentation; Redocumentation” (CG-1258). Page 7
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Just wondering, what are the advantages of having a USCG documented vessel?
..
I know some people in Miami that travel to the Bahamas a lot. They claim that they documented their vessel because it gives them better immunity from foreign intrusions. According to them, if a vessel is documented & a foreign agency wants to board them, that agency needs to get permission from the USCG or US navy first. I have not done the research to confirm this.
 
Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
I know some people in Miami that travel to the Bahamas a lot. They claim that they documented their vessel because it gives them better immunity from foreign intrusions. According to them, if a vessel is documented & a foreign agency wants to board them, that agency needs to get permission from the USCG or US navy first. I have not done the research to confirm this.
Yeah, no.
 
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