I'm a boating newbie. I bought an American boat last year in Canada.
The guy I bought the boat off of was the owner but never ended up registering the boat in his name because he lived on a lake. So the boat is still registered in the previous owners name who is American. I don't think I can go ahead and license the boat in Canada because of this. I called the border last year and transport Canada to ask if they knew what I had to do to get my boat fully licensed and if I did anything illegal, they didn't help me. They did say she shouldn't have sold the boat in Canada but that it wasn't actually illegal (which doesn't really make sense). I want to be able to bring my boat to lakes without having to worry about being pulled over and fined. I have no issue spending money on tax or whatever, I just want the boat fully licensed and in my name. At this point I've been trying to contact the original owner with little luck. I don't want to end up losing my boat because of this.
Can anyone help me out on what I may have to do?
The guy I bought the boat off of was the owner but never ended up registering the boat in his name because he lived on a lake. So the boat is still registered in the previous owners name who is American. I don't think I can go ahead and license the boat in Canada because of this. I called the border last year and transport Canada to ask if they knew what I had to do to get my boat fully licensed and if I did anything illegal, they didn't help me. They did say she shouldn't have sold the boat in Canada but that it wasn't actually illegal (which doesn't really make sense). I want to be able to bring my boat to lakes without having to worry about being pulled over and fined. I have no issue spending money on tax or whatever, I just want the boat fully licensed and in my name. At this point I've been trying to contact the original owner with little luck. I don't want to end up losing my boat because of this.
Can anyone help me out on what I may have to do?