USCG documented vessels

[bad news travels fast]

Does anyone Know the benefits or tax breaks of having a documented vessel? Any info would be appreciated.
Tommky

[brianthomas]

It is normaly required by lenders of larger boats in many states since state boat title laws are different state to state and in some cases nonexistant. My state drastically discounts the annual tax stamp for documented boats. I know of very few tax savings available on either sales or personal property tax. I have heard of some vessels purchased by people who will document them to a state that has no sales tax but this can be difficult and all state, local and federal taxing authorities hate the old shell game. My boat is documented only because the purchase price was in the hundreds of thousands and I wanted to borrow a portion of the money. I don't remember the exact length but a boat needs to be around 32' LOA before it can be documented.

[voodoomedman]

Go to the coast guard website to calculate the size of your boat into net tonnage. I think you need to be at least 3 net tons or so to document which is right around 25 to 26 feet depending on the measurements. Advantage depends on where you boat. Keep in mind that you have register your boat where it is used 51% of the time. Let's say you lived in SoCal and boated on the Colorado river and kept your boat in Arizona. In California registration is cheap but then you get 1% luxury tax. With a newer boat then it is cheaper to register in Arizona as there is no luxury tax but the registration is based off the length and went up last year. Still cheaper than California though. Now if your boat is big enough then Coast Guard documentation is a one time fee. Make the hailing port an Arizona city and it is used and stored in Arizona and documented in Arizona so no taxes as Arizona does not charge them and California can want to tax it but it can't. Unless of course you start using it all the time in California and they find out.

[Wild Horses]

Also you don't have to put on those really cool bow numbers.:D
My state regulations are solid White or Black block letters, I used to get hassled and threatened all the time for the two tone script lettering.:mad:
I like having mine documented. It was fun schooling the state on documenting a boat.:sqeyes:

[brianthomas]

Another thing, if you choose to document, don't use a documentation service company that will charge roughly $700-$800. Do it yourself right from the USCG website for under $200. I learned this the hard way. It is a one time fee to document a boat and only requires yearly renewal that is at no charge as long as you own the craft.

[shueman]

Documenting a boat with the Coast Guard is a national form of registry that makes your vessel a "vessel of the United States." Establishing a vessel's nationality is useful to long distance cruisers in dealing with foreign authorities. In some countries, not having it precludes getting a foreign cruising permit and boaters must check in and clear customs in every port they enter, which can get expensive. As one veteran cruiser said, "It's like a passport for your boat."
The other big advantage is that documenting a boat makes it easier to obtain financing. By an act of Congress, owners of documented vessels can get a Preferred Ship's Mortgage which is a maritime lien having priority over other liens, should a default occur. Lenders especially like this designation and many require it as a condition of obtaining boat financing.
According to Thomas Willis, director of the documentation office of the Coast Guard, documentation of vessels is one of the government's oldest services. It was the 11th act of the first Congress in 1789 that created this system to foster interstate commerce. Only in the 20th century were recreational vessels allowed to document along with commercial and fishing vessels.
Perhaps because documentation has been around as long as recreational boating, there are some myths that persist. One Big Myth: that documentation is some sort of exemption from paying state sales, use or personal property taxes. It's not. Willis said his office does not routinely forward information to states on boats being documented; the states must request it. If they do, Willis said the Coast Guard will supply the information. Some are more diligent than others (and even send state employees to West Virginia to examine documentation records) and do so to assess whatever taxes may be due on vessels homeported in their state waters.
There are, however, 25 states that do not require documented vessels to obtain a state registration, however certain taxes may still be assessed. If a state does require a documented vessel to register, they normally do not require that it carry state numbers because the vessel already has federal numbers. They can, however, require a state decal.
Another myth -- that documentation arose out of the government's need to confiscate private boats during wartime -- is untrue. "The federal government can requisition any vessel at any time," Willis said. "It has nothing to do with documentation."
U.S. citizenship is still required for an owner to document a vessel and the vessel must be at least five net tons, using an admeasurement system best described at the Coast Guard's Web page, complete with a diagram. It works out generally to boats about 25 feet or larger.