Ohio boat title rules

[Ratherbesailing2]

I recently purchased a pile of junk that used to be a catamaran from a guy for 25.00. I thought it would be a worthwhile project to attempt to put the thing back together and take it out sailing.

Being the stickler for rules that I am I decided to find out what I needed to do to get the thing registered. I e-mailed the BMV and they promptly responded with a shocking letter telling me that it is a felony to purchase a boat over 14' long without a title in the State of Ohio...OK, Drug pushers, murderers, burglars, rapists and me the 14' boat buyer.

I tried to make the situation right but it's just not possible. I ended up hiding the contraband in my garage covered in blankets hoping that the authorities don't come busting in for a raid.

Determined to have fun this spring I scanned the classified ads and found another boat, this one a wind surfer and only 11' long. Surely this one would be legal. I had the guy write me out a bill of sale, just in case. Armed with this bill of sale and the actual boat for proof that it's under 14' long I went to the BMV. To my amazement I was unsuccessful getting the boat registered because the person who gave me the receipt is not listed as owning the windsurfer, it is registered to his friend. Now I have to get a title... I guess because I had the wrong name.

This is just amazing to me. A wind surfer is like a skateboard with a sail on it. I have to have the same documentation as a car? Anyway I put the windsurfer under the blankets with the catamaran. Now I have committed 2 felonies and I'm out a total of 75 bucks.

Being the fun loving optimistic fool that I am I pulled an old canoe down out of the attic. This one is mine, surely I am allowed to paddle my own canoe around...NOT. I went to renew the registration and to my amazement I am now supposed to get a title for it. It was built in 1959! This is MY canoe!

Are you sure this is America?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

OMG you are going to be added to the LONG list of iboater's in prison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ohio_Correctional_Facility

It actually sounds like you need to get with a human in person and sit down and ask. I feel your frustration.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

That's just too funny! It sounds like you're gioing to need a bigger blanket pretty soon. ------- Reason #463 why not to move to Ohio.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

You need to move to another state. Documentation of older boats is a PITA, but there must be somebody in the BMV with enough gray matter to help sort this out.

On the smaller craft, you could probably get some documentation from the 'friend'.

 

[Alan_Scott]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I recently purchased a pile of junk that used to be a catamaran from a guy for 25.00. I thought it would be a worthwhile project to attempt to put the thing back together and take it out sailing.

So your the guy that bought that thing from me

 

[CoffeeHound]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

Ah -- so there are more fools out there such as me !! Took 3 boats and a arss chewing from TPW cleak to clear some of the cobwebs . Not to menton several trips to TPW for more information .. Presently i own 2 Legal , with all the paper work , boats.. Boats Titled, Motors Tiled, Trailers Titled, and
will never stand still but RUN from any deal the person say we dont have title but will get you a bill of sale !!

Never buy a boat, unless it is a toy for the bathtub without title ,,same with motor and trailer

Even a parts boat can get you in trouble down here !!

 

[hoppy22]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I bought a boat in KY and brought it back to Ohio and am having just about as much fun trying to title it in Ohio. I have the Kentucky title to the boat, and the Kentucky title to the trailer. First deal was at the bank, they were lost trying to loan on a boat, finally got than done, then the title comes back need an out of state inspection, drag the boat to BMV for inspection, draw a number wait for 30 min only to be told I don't need the inspection on a boat, Title bureau mistook the title for an auto, send title back to Title Bureau, comes back again, need motor info on the onboard, year, make, HP, and serial # still waiting to see if it comes back again.

Now on to the trailer. I have the Kentucky title in hand, trip to Title Bureau, want to transfer to my name, Ohio will not title a trailer under 4000 lbs. KY title does not have weight of trailer stated, so I have to go take unregistered boat drop it in a lake somewhere, tow untagged trailer to weigh station to get it weighed so I can take weigh slip to BMV to get licenses plates. The price one will pay to play in Ohio

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

so you ohio boaters must really have a fun time if you buy from a state that doesn't have boat or motor titles! In my state, there is no such thing, it simply doesn't exist. Trailers are titled, but the only legal proof of ownership on a boat is the registration card. (which has to be signed to transfer ownership, much like a title would be)

 

[glust]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I bought a boat in KY and brought it back to Ohio and am having just about as much fun trying to title it in Ohio. I have the Kentucky title to the boat, and the Kentucky title to the trailer. First deal was at the bank, they were lost trying to loan on a boat, finally got than done, then the title comes back need an out of state inspection, drag the boat to BMV for inspection, draw a number wait for 30 min only to be told I don't need the inspection on a boat, Title bureau mistook the title for an auto, send title back to Title Bureau, comes back again, need motor info on the onboard, year, make, HP, and serial # still waiting to see if it comes back again.

Now on to the trailer. I have the Kentucky title in hand, trip to Title Bureau, want to transfer to my name, Ohio will not title a trailer under 4000 lbs. KY title does not have weight of trailer stated, so I have to go take unregistered boat drop it in a lake somewhere, tow untagged trailer to weigh station to get it weighed so I can take weigh slip to BMV to get licenses plates. The price one will pay to play in Ohio

Had the same issue. Asked BMV if I could get letter from boat MFR stating boat weight, weigh them both, subtract the boat, TA DA!!! No way, can't do that because it makes sense... Can't put the boat in the water in November because the ramp gates are closed to keep crazies off the ice in winter. Also, can't put the boat in the water because it has no safety inspection sticker. Can't get a sticker without a title for the boat and the trailer. Also got stopped and popped for driving the trailer around without tags. Can't get tags because it has no weight, can't get it weighed because you have no tags... Trailer is under #4000 so no title needed, but can't get tags without a certified weight. Did not know there was such a rash of felony boat owners destroying truth, justice, and the American way. All this because they might miss out on tax money that has already been paid when the boat was originally sold. Pick a number!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I went through the same thing last year bough my boat in KY and had to title it in WV. and In KY a lot of people don't title a trailer its not required. It only took 6 trips and 10 weeks to get it done. But OH is a lot worse.

 

[Slide]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I'm about to go dance with the Ohio DMV over the puddle jumper on Friday. I HOPE I've got everything in order... old trailer registration, boat title, numbers and HIN written down, but you never know with them. Our DMV really is a big PITA.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

It seems that the rules vary among the states. So, it is probably a good piece of homework to do prior to committing those $25 acts of felony.

With bigger ticket boats, you normally would expect to need proper title, but the older and lower ticket items often never had these documents to begin with, yet now the states want them (???)

Of the 2 bigger boats that I purchased over the past 10 - 15 years, I had a small problem with one, because I did not know what I needed at the outset. My last purchase (bought in New Jersey, registered it in Massachusetts) went perfectly, because I had NJ title in hand, and propmtly got issued a MA title.

 

[jmerritt]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I just got introduced today to the fiasco of registering a boat in Ohio. Bought this 19' Hurricane Deck Boat down in Ky last November. Boat was in terrible shape and I have since rebuilt it and am ready to put it in the water. Title I have is a notarized one from KY listing the boat only. Go to the title agency to get it transferred to Ohio so I can get the boat and trailer registration and tags. No good. They tell me I need to get a notarized bill of sale for the motor, notarized weight of the trailer, picture of trailer and motor along with a scratched copy of the model and serial nos from the motor. I ask how I can get the trailer weighed separately since the boat is not registered so I am subject to fine for putting it in water without registration to weigh the trailer. Blank stare from clerk at the title agency. I then ask if I can just go back to Ky and have the boat registered there instead. Agent asks will I be using the boat more in Ohio or Ky and I respond that it will probably be used more in Tenn than anywhere else. Again blank stare. I am registering the boat in Rocky Top and having my son who lives there take care of it for me. Wonder how much revenue Ohio is missing out on because of this craziness.

 

[snowforfun4]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

I just went thru a similar process. I needed to get a weight for the trailer for tags so I take it to a feed store (recommended by BMV) with the boat on the trailer. She weighs it, steps outside to eyeball the boat and says, your trailer can't weigh more than 360 pounds, so that is what she puts on the weight slip. Cool, no problem there. The registration numbers on the trailer faded away, so I could not confirm them. I asked the clerk to look up the previous owner (who had passed away) and she said she would not. I got on a website for de-coding trailer VIN numbers and took a stab at making one up. Cool again, she was fine with it, I could have told there the VIN was "4" and it would have sailed thru.

Fortunately I did get a title with the boat. First time the boat and trailer were both legal in 3 years....used expired tags from a snowmobile trailer for 1 1/2 years.

 

[Slide]

Re: Ohio boat title rules

Ohio title laws still suck, but this thread is almost 4 months old.