[a brickhead]

I found a guy on CraigsList who wants to sell for $50 a 14ft fiberglass flatbottom boat (no motor) for a friend who has left it in his garage for over 2 years. He has NO title, there are NO decals or numbers marking the sides, and more concerning is there is NO hull plate with ID number or power rating or anything!!! I live in Maryland and was wondering if this gonna be a MAJOR hassle to get this in the water or should I leave well enough alone??? Will a Bill of Sale be enough to get a title from DNR?? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[sea wolf]

I would call the state DMV office & see what they say before you have to go thru a paperwork nightmare.

[tashasdaddy]

in Florida it is impossible to register or title a boat without a title. It has made criminals out of a lot of us, as we have to register our old restorations, as homemade.

[BillP]

Actually, in Florida you can register old used boats in thier own mfg name (not homemade) without a title and no bill of sale...IF they were NOT previously titled. Pre VIN or VIN era, it doesn't matter. If it has a VIN they check for previous title, if no VIN you need a bill of sale and if you don't have a bill of sale there is form you fill out and "swear" it isn't stolen, etc. Sometimes the clerks don't know about it and you have to persude them to call Tallahassee for the correct procedure. It's the same deal you may have to do if wanting antique registration here...they usually don't know about it and you have to push the idea forward to people in the know.

bp

[tashasdaddy]

Bill, i've been fighting this for years at the Duval county taxcollectors office. if you know a contact, let me know. or atleast which office to contact in Tallahassee.

[sparticus]

I would definetly check with your DMV first! For example in Utah they won't title a boat if its older than a 1985. Saved me some grief when I got my 1965 hydroswift.

[Coors]

Years ago, I bought a bass boat hull; never registered ( came from Alabama), supposedly a factory test hull.
Had water and game, or CG reserve (can't remember) come to the house, and they gave me numbers, as home made...

[BillP]

Originally Posted by tashasdaddy

Bill, i've been fighting this for years at the Duval county taxcollectors office. if you know a contact, let me know. or atleast which office to contact in Tallahassee.

I don't have a contact in Tallahassee but wouldn't expect a clerk up there to know any more than a clerk in a local office does. The first time I went to the local tag office and told them what I wanted the cleck said it was impossible. Then I spoke to a supervisor and asked her to check with Tallahassee. She did and came back with a form to fill out...no bill of sale, pre-VIN, no previous registration/title and I swore on paper (their form) the boat was legal. It's really about finding a tag office that has employees who want to help instead of just watching the clock.

Renewing antique registration this yr on another (65 Cobia) was just as difficult. Even when it was registered first in 2005 yr by me as an antique, they wanted to renew for 2007 as an antique in "boat type" (on the registration) but charge the regular $27.50 instead of the $5 for antiques. I asked for them to contact Tallahassee for info and ended up receiving the antique registration again boat for $5. To make it worse some decals say antique and others don't. My Cobia's antique registration decal looks just like a non-antique decal.

[dchris]

If it doesn't feel right, back out. Getting stuck without a title can be a long process. 1 cent on the dollar might make it worth while. AZ doesn;t title boats but they are still numbered and tracked with game and fish.

[rndn]

New York does not title boats pre 1985.

[crb478]

NC has a form that you can fill out for abandoned or old boats of unknown origion and they will assign numbers. I would at least get a bill of sale from the seller. Also in NC boats do not require hull numbers or registrations until you power them either gas or electric.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

I'm in Louisiana and just bought a 78' Aquasport from a guy w/ no title/ registration....what can I do?

[zinc]

Check the date please...........this an old posting

[jay_merrill]

Oooops - old thread. Mods, any chance of using a larger font on the date/time block? The tiny font now used really doesn't catch your eye and makes it easy to respond to an old thread!

[JoLin]

Originally Posted by rndn

New York does not title boats pre 1985.

My 1985 Pro-Line doesn't have a title, just a transferrable registration. Maybe the cut-off is 1986?

[MudSkunk]

-delete-