Re: How do I get a coast guard plate on my boat?
I used to get this question all the time when I worked in the Office of Boating Safety.
First the law. The Capacity label is a manufacturer requirement, not an owner/operator requirement (unless you live in Pennsylvania, but that's another story) You can not be cited by anyone for not having the label. The difficulty comes from other sources. Insurance companies will void your insurance, if you try to sell the boat it can cause problems, law enforcement people like to see them so they know whether you boat is overloaded and so on. It's a good thing to have. Unfortunately they get power washed off or removed by someone and never seen again.
Here is what the USCG would tell you. First call Duracraft. They may be able to send you a new label. However since the boat is 14 years old they may not have them in stock anymore, and if they get their labels from NMMA they probably can't get any more for that boat. For boats made in 1994 they were only required to keep the boat in compliance for 5 years (now it is ten) so the odds are they won't have one.
If you run into a total stone wall call The USCG Office of Boating Safety at 202-372-1073 . Ask for **** Blackman, or Po Chang, or the boss, Phil Cappell. They may be able to help you. But they will need to know the make, model, model year, whether it has remote steering and so on. If you know what the capacities are that's good too.
You may end up having to have one made. This is not that difficult. There are companies that do that but they need to know the capacities. You may be able to find out that info from someone who owns a similar boat or from the BUC or NADA Used boat guides, or even on the internet. Good luck.
