Regarding the Documentation of boats... The Coast Guard has a lengthy procedure
that was once of great value to people loaning money for boats and for the
owners of the boats when in foreign waters. Documentation is a form of registry
similar to your state registration only on a federal level. A Documented boat
is considered by law a United States Vessel. Therefore it comes under very
specific protection against seizure by a foreign government, and in like,
receives special protection against theft or vandalizm through the Maritime Law
agreements. Documentation made it easier for reposession of a boat by a loan
company, therefore making the loan of money for such vessels less likely to be a
loss for that institution. Some folks would apparently borrow the money for an
undocumented boat and sail off to some Caribbean state and declare citizenship
and at the same time cease payment on their boat. The boat could not be
repossesed. A boat must have a continuous paper trail all the way back to the
time it was built and provide specifications regarding its construction. Only
boats 26 feet or longer and displacing 5 tons or more can be documented. I've
talked with people about the merits today, and both Coast Guard personnel and
Brokers have told me that there just aren't enough benefits now to justify the
process and the cost.
There's a whole lot more info pertaining to Documentation that you can find in
Chapman's.
Perry
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Perry W. Phillips
"A better world begins with you!"
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http://www.prayercircle.org
prayercircle@prayercircle.org = For Prayer Request
1970 C Type West Wight Potter "Frodo" Un-numbered Hull
http://www.prayercircle.org/pwphil/index.html
Port Arthur, Texas (Sabine Lake/Gulf of Mexico)