"Shakedown" cruise without registration?

Merlin Clark · Nov 11, 2011

I really don't think they would, especially with the gov't shut down for the holiday. "I meant to do this Friday Officer...".

Don S/V ILLusion · Nov 11, 2011

It cost my son $175 for doing precisely what you are considering. Harbor Patrol is always there when you least want them. Nobody can guarantee it won't happen to you so do you want my advice?

31seahorse · Nov 11, 2011

A "Nice Officer" on a lake in PA made mincemeat of our first day out with out with our newly restored 1962 GW Hatteras wooden powerboat.

I had forgotten to put the appropriate registration numbers and sticker on the hull after the refinishing we did in our barn. He stopped us and asked why they were not displayed. I told him (and it was the truth) I had them "in the glove compartment of the truck".

He did allow me to motor back to the launch ramp and get the stickers. He also watched me apply them to the hull. Then, without giving me a ticket or fine, he said, "Have a safe afternoon." I wasn't any safer or better as a boater with the stickers on the hull, but I was legal!

Ray Bowles · Nov 11, 2011

About 8 years ago we spent about a total 30 days in Marathon Florida over a period of 10 months. The local harbour police and anyone else that had a badge stopped almost every dingy and small boat in that area for safety checks or any violation they could find. Boat numbers and licence stickers were high on their list. If you had a beard or an appearence that might put you in their undesirable catagory you were sure to be stopped. It was true "profiling" at its rankest level.
I have a true respect for the work of law enforcement officers, at all levels. That is why I felt this was such a foul program.
Chose your pond carefully and fair winds for your adventure.
Ray

patrickfarley · Nov 11, 2011

I have never been stopped and checked. I would not risk it. There are bad apples in every bunch and you might get Barney Fife out there.(or some guy who just got nailed in divorce) They could get very mean.

Florida also has a large boat theft problem and they don't like it when your paperwork is faulty.(Florida Marine Patrol guy told me this when I bought an old Venture 22 with no ID number. He had to come out a verify the information while it was on the trailer before I could register the boat.)

Merlin Clark · Nov 12, 2011

I guess it comes to location and personal experience. The FWC (old Marine Patrol) around here are thin on the ground and looking for people violating laws like speeding thru manatee zones, drunk boaters, etc.
I've been boating here since 1988 (mostly sail) and have only been stopped once and that was for straying into the slow speed zone next to the channel. The guy was courteous, let us know what we did, I apologized and he wished us a good day.
I think the response we get from law enforcement is usually in reaction to our attitude towards them and what they are doing.
My best friend is a cop in Denver and my brother in law a retired Albuquerue cop and both admit that a**holes are 100% more likely to get ticketed than people that are courteous and respectful and don't try to BS the officers.

Doug L · Nov 12, 2011

There is a reason they change the color of the registration stickers every year. They can see that you are not registered from half a mile away. I have a South Coast 22 that I bought this fall, I did not get out on the water yet, but the boat and trailer, are registered. On the other side of that coin, I towed it home from 150 miles away with the PO's expired plate on the trailer and never got a second look. How much of a gambler are you? If you are caught, it will cost you more than the registration fee.

justsomeguy · Nov 12, 2011

merlinuxo said:
I guess it comes to location and personal experience. The FWC (old Marine Patrol) around here are thin on the ground and looking for people violating laws like speeding thru manatee zones, drunk boaters, etc.
I've been boating here since 1988 (mostly sail) and have only been stopped once and that was for straying into the slow speed zone next to the channel. The guy was courteous, let us know what we did, I apologized and he wished us a good day.
I think the response we get from law enforcement is usually in reaction to our attitude towards them and what they are doing.
My best friend is a cop in Denver and my brother in law a retired Albuquerue cop and both admit that a**holes are 100% more likely to get ticketed than people that are courteous and respectful and don't try to BS the officers.

True. And Doug L., also true. The cost of the infraction usually exceeds the tribute paid to the PTB. How much does a proper registration actually cost?

And to the OP, I'll bet you a nickel I'm cheaper than you!

CrawJac · Nov 12, 2011

Since you're on the topic, I would ask if you have tow insurance? I would much rather invest the $ upfront for Sea Tow or Boat US before something happened (which it will, trust me) and then you have to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Rick I · Nov 12, 2011

You are in the worst area of Florida to try this - New Smyrna Beach. The Fish and Wildlife guys down there are notorious for stopping sailboats and giving tickets.

Technodad · Nov 12, 2011

If you intend to keep the boat and trailer just go and get the stickers now and it is all over and done with, your legal. If you go out now and find anything wrong with the boat or rigging you are just going to fix it and want to try it again.
That would really suck to get burned, like flushing money down the toilet, then you have to go get the stickers anyway after that.

rgranger · Nov 12, 2011

If it is only a 17 foot boat and you don't have an out board on it... you don't need to register it..... at least I think that is how it is in Virginia. For instance I have an 18' canoe with a flat transom and when I asked the people at Game and Inland Fisheries about registering it, they said that as long as I don't put a trolling motor on it, I don't need to register it. If I put auxiliary propulsion on it, I need to register it. A shakedown cruise in a lake???.. bring a paddle just in case.

Benny17441 · Nov 12, 2011

In Florida you have 30 days from the date of purchase to register a boat. The law does not say you can't use the boat in the mean time. Keep the title transfer documentation with you showing the purchase date inside the 30 day window and you should be fine. I would be more concerned about driving the trailer with no tags. A great majority of small boat trailers get registered as homemade and this makes it easy (not legal) to borrow a friend's trailer tag and registration. The length on both trailers should be similar. What you are trying to do is best done without calling attention to yourself. If you are the only boat in the area you choose and if the PO did not have a current sticker on the boat chances are you may be stopped. On the other hand if you launch at a place frequented by other boats and you have the right color sticker chances are you will be fine.

dscribner · Nov 13, 2011

If you can sail without registration borrow the plate and registration for the trailer from a friend. Then drive very carefully. Whatever you tow is covered by your auto insurance.

KD3PC · Nov 13, 2011

dscribner said:
If you can sail without registration borrow the plate and registration for the trailer from a friend. Then drive very carefully. Whatever you tow is covered by your auto insurance.

In DC/MD/VA this is an invitation for serious fine...it tells the LLEO that by "borrowing" the tag and paper from a "friend" you intended to bypass the law and do what you are going to do anyway.

Depending on the officer this could be a confiscation of the vehicle/trailer and your license or a trip to the jail house and claim your vehicle later with a hefty fine, towing charges and storage...

save yourself the trouble and the $$$ get things legal, before you head out

jepomer · Nov 14, 2011

State laws for registrations vary for both boats and trailers. But because you have announced in a public place, if anything "tragic" happened, I suspect a lawyer would make what seems to be a harmless trial run become something very expensive.

MrBill_FLL · Nov 16, 2011

AFAIK, registration is controlled by your birthdate. so getting the registration just after your birthday is cheaper... unless you get caught.

I've been stopped for an expired sticker. they sent me back to port with a warning.... but you don't have ANY paperwork, so thats different...

and you're area is easy to patrol, unlike biscayne bay with lots of room to get lost..

I would not chance it... the state is paying for the departments with tickets... fines have gone way up everywhere.

($250 for 16 mph over limit!)

Ron20324 · Nov 16, 2011

CurtCarver1 said:
.... would like very much to spend an hour actually on the water to establish that A: the boat actually floats. B: The rigging functions and C: the trailer functions normally, etc.... Thanks in advance for advice.

Advice? Yeah. Next time do all that BEFORE you buy the boat and let the PO sweat it.

Merlin Clark · Nov 16, 2011

been waiting for an opportunity to use this one.