Boat documentation

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BillyK

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When a documented boat is purchased, is signing and notarizing the back of the non expired certificate all you need for transfer? When I bought the boat there was also a Department of homeland security bill of sale that went with it. Is this necessary?

Thanks,

Billy K.
 
Billy,
I never fully understand all the rules. That is why I use a service. Tradewinds services. Debby is girls name. They are in Shelton Ct. She handles it for me and not sure what she charges but it's cheap. I think there is more too it than signing old document but not sure. The coast guard website is pretty good as this year I missed my renewal and had to pay a larger fee to get it reinstated. Again Debby helped direct me but didn't charge since I filed it after she told me what to do. If not done right you get lost in paperwork.

Read this:

http://www.uscg.mil/nvdc/instr/inst exchange.pdf
 
You need a bill of sale, so that when the new owner registers it, they can tax him
 
Go to the National Vessel Documentation Website. There you'll find out exactly what you need to do to eithe un-document or continue the dpcumentation in your name. It's really silly to pay a service a couple of hundred bucks to fill out these easy forms for you.
 
Greg,
I don't think she charges a couple of hundred and I did it with my boat for few reasons. One, she does a title search, like a house to make sure the guy on the documentation is trully the owner. She also checks to make sure there are no open liens. She also follows the paperwork to make sure it is filed and completed. Billy pointed out he had a piece of paperwork he didn't know he needed. I had a similiar one. If you don't know if you need it, how would you know to ask for it. The documentation website is pretty straightforward for some things, but transferring from one documented name to another is confusing and I had read that if not done right, the USCG will hold it up. For me it was piece of mind. With a large investment, a hundred bucks is chump change!
 
There are even services out there offering to renew your yearly documentation for a fee! It used to be free and all you did was sign the form stating no changes. Now you sign the same form and pay $29. Not sure why people are intimidated by this simple process. I've done it myself twice on buying "new " boats. I know I saved more than $100 each time, more like 2 to 250. If a vessel has been previously documented, it's really easy. Anybody can do a title/lien search on a documented vessel. All you have to do is request an abstract of title from the Documentation Center. That will show all bills of sale, mortgages, and liens on the vessel. That's one of the adavtages to buying a previously documented vessel. All that information is maintained at the documentation center.
 
I'm not the sharpest tool when it comes to this stuff and I've got too many other headaches.
Dave, do you have a number? I googled tradewinds in Shelton and didn't see anything that looked like what I want.

Thanks,

Billy K.
 
And that is why they are there. We don't all have the time, the patience or the knowledge.

Debby Van Spel
Tradewind services
Tradewind at mags.net
203-929-4880

1077 Bridgeport Ave
Shelton, CT 06484-4622
United States

Good luck!
 
I used New England Marine Documenation services for many of the reasons outlined above.
I did not have a loan, it was all "out of pocket" so I wanted to be smart about things.

My boat was not USCG documented but is now. This allows a central agency (USCG) to track liens, clear title and such.
Instead, my boat was built in NJ, First owner was in CT, second onwer lived in MA but kept it in RI. They called each DMV and asked about liens, then documented it.

I happily paid the small fee compared to the money on the line....pennies on the dollar.

I also received a paper trail of all previous owners, which I was happy to have just in case!
 
The last boat I documented, I downloaded the forms. Filled them out, called the Vessel Documentation Center. Talked with a very helpful gentleman, told him what I was doing, reviewed what I had filled out, got his assurance everything was in order. Sent papers to his attention and gave him my phone # & asked him to please call me if everything wasn't in order. About a week later papers were in my hands.
 
The first boat I bought that was documented, The broker set up a service to handle it, because I was young and dumb and didn't know any better. My next 2 boats, I handled myself and saved a bunch of money. it was pretty simple and painless to do.
 
yep, a government agency that's not very difficult to work with.
 
Tradewinds wanted a little more than I have to spare right now, so I m back to my original question. I have a signed and notarized seller on the back of the Certificate of Documentation paper. Do I also need the CG-1340 bill of sale filled out? It seems redundant, but I want to send anything they want the first time.

Thanks,

Billy K.
 
Billy, go to the website for the National vessel Documentation Center. It clearly spells out what forms you need for the transfer.
 
Thanks all for your advice. After calling the NVDC, I only need to send the Certificate or the CG-1340. You do not need to send both.

Billy K.
 
Tradewinds wanted to do a title search. It was done when I originally purchased it 3 years ago. She would not proceed without one. I understand, everyone has their rules.

Billy k.
 
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