Do I have to register my Weekender?

It varies by state here in the US. Here is the information on Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Lousiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Alabama (Bob Goodman)
In Alabama, all you do is call the local marine police division and they will send a man out to check that the boat is, in fact, home built. They will then give you two stickers with a HIN (Hull Identification Number.) You put one on the transom and hide the other one somewhere else. I don’t think it costs much if anything; I’m pretty sure its free. Its not a seaworthiness or safety inspection either, its just to make sure you aren’t trying to register your Sea Ray on the cheap.

Then you take the paper he gives you to the courthouse and buy a sticker for the registration. It costs $15. That’s it. No taxes, no title fee, nothing.

Sometimes its good to live in a 3rd world country! I may not be able to read, but by gosh I can get my boat sticker cheap!

Arizona (Bill Olney)
The Game and Fish Department handles boat registration in Arizona. Here is the link: AZ Game and Fish Department.

A Weekender without a motor doesn’t require registration. But with a motor they said the cost would be about $19.00. All I have to do is trailer it down there and they take a look at it, and issue the registration numbers. Here’s the wording they use:

DO I HAVE TO REGISTER MY BOAT?
All motorized watercraft operated, moored or anchored on the waterways of Arizona must be numbered. The owner must file an application for number with the Arizona Game and Fish Department on forms provided. The number issued must be displayed on each side of the bow along with the current registration decal issued by the Department.

Registration is staggered, similar to motor vehicle registration. Decals issued will be the color of the year of expiration.

If ownership of a watercraft changes, the new owner must notify the Department within 15 days if his address changes or if a watercraft is stolen.

No number other than the one issued by the Department may be displayed on the forward half of any watercraft.

The registration certificate (certificate of number) must be aboard when a watercraft is in use.

If a certificate of number is lost or destroyed, a duplicate may be obtained from the Department for $2.00.

The annual registration fee of $4.00 for residents and $20 for non-residents is required for each watercraft. Watercraft will also be taxed on the basis of length: 45 cents per foot up to and including 18 feet, and 68 cents per foot beyond 18 feet. Non-residents will be charged $2.90 per foot up to and including 18 feet, and $5.50 per foot over 18 feet.

California (Frank Hagan)
California’s Department of Boating and Waterways has a web site with the legal mumbo jumbo on it, but they don’t really clarify how to register a home-built boat. I’ll explain how you register a home-built boat to be in compliance with the Legal Mumbo-Jumbo.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) handles the boat registration. The only thing they require is that you fill out form Boat 101, available at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/boat/boat101.htm (thanks to John Wright in the rec.boats.building newsgroup for pointing out the correct form for me!) On Boat 101, you declare the value of the boat, which is the cost of the materials. In California, you have to pay sales tax on any new vehicle purchases, so you have to show that you paid sales tax on the materials to build your boat. I have over 100 receipts, but they were happy with seeing just 10 of the largest ones (for lumber, plywood, sails, etc.) that showed I paid state sales tax when I purchased the materials. Those 10 receipts were about 1/2 the declared cost of the boat.

Once they get the form and your receipts, they issue a state registration number, and two license tags that have to go on the boat. They don’t inspect the boat, they don’t need to see a picture, they simply collect your money and give you the number. For a sailboat 16′ long with a small outboard, with a declared value of $2490, the California DMV assessed a registration fee of $9. No kidding. Your local county is responsible for assessing the personal property tax portion of the bill (in my county, the county tax assessor sends a letter out asking for the value of the boat, and a picture, and they promise to send you a tax bill with your property tax bill. So far … 3 years now … I haven’t seen the tax bill.)

If I hadn’t kept the receipts, I would have had to pay sales tax on that $2490, which would have been many times the regular registration fee.

You also receive a HIN (Hull Identification Number) which must be placed on the starboard side of the transom, 2″ from the deck, and either engraved, burned (yikes!), embossed or otherwise placed so that alteration or removal will be obvious. Office Depot and other stationery stores sell brass nameplates that will work for this. I routed a recess in the transom, placed the plate in it, and covered it with a few thin coats of epoxy (and three coats of a clear varnish to protect the epoxy.)

Florida (Todd)
Here’s the link for the Florida boat registration info and the form you need to fill out: Florida Boat Registration Info and the Form to Fill Out (.PDF file; to save to disk, right click that link and select “Save to Disk”)

Essentially, any boat 16′ or longer OR any boat that uses mechanical propulsion must be registered. Keep copies of the receipts, that proves you built it.

The fee for a smaller pleasure craft are:

• Class A-1 — All vessels less than 12 feet in length, and motorized canoes $7.25
• Class A-2 — 12 feet or more and less than 16 feet in length $14.25
• Class 1 — 16 feet or more and less than 26 feet in length $22.25

Georgia (Glenn Ashmore)
Glen Ashmore is a frequent contributor in the newsgroup rec.boats.building, and he wrote that the process there is pretty straight forward:

In Georgia you fill out the standard registration form and write ´Home Built´ in the HIN field. The state will assign a HIN with the registration. You also have to provide ´invoices for materials´. As my invoices fill an entire filing drawer I called for clarification. What they need is enough invoices to prove that it is new construction and not a rehab. On larger projects they actually come out to inspect and affix the HINs.

Louisiana (John Henry)
The Louisiana registration system is pretty straightforward. You need two forms: One is the standard Boat Registration form, and the other is a Homemade Boat Inspection Application. You can download them both from the Louisiana Wildlife & Fishery Site

Inspection of home built boats is required so the state knows the boat isn’t stolen. The Homemade Boat Inspection form has to be notarized. The inspection fee is $25 and the fee for the Boat Registration is based on overall length (bowsprit doesn’t count.) I think I ended up in the under 18′ category with my Weekender, which is about $32. Mail both forms in with a check.

Once the state gets the Registration form approved, they forward the Homemade Inspection request to the Enforcement division who will call and make an appointment to inspect your boat. During the inspection the officer will affix an assigned hull number in two places. One is 4 x 6 vinyl form that is supposed to be hidden. I had him affix it to the mast box in the forward hatch. They will also attach hull numbers on the right side of the transom.

Pennsylvania (Richard Frye)
The registration cost for my boat (a Weekender) was 50.00. In Pennsylvania you must have a title issued just like any other recreational vehicle. And for homebuilts, they like to have receipts for the material you bought and where. Mostly interested in the amount I think..such as wood, glue, paint, nails etc. I bought a sail kit from polysail and since it was out of state I had to pay the PA tax before they issued me my numbers, and title. About 6.80 or something like that. They go by the length of the boat here. That $50 fee was for boats under 20 feet.

North Carolina (Matt Langenfeld)
Another rec.boats.building newsgroup contributor, Matt Langenfeld, found the process very easy:

For NC, I was able to do it all by mail and telephone. A painless process compared to what I’ve heard about other states.

South Carolina (jpf):
In a comment on this post, jpf provided information for South Carolina:

May 30, 2009 at 7:20 pm
SC registration details are listed here:

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/boating/registration.html

Section 11 on that page covers homemade boats.

Tennessee (Paul Stevens)
I e-mailed the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (which handles boat registration for Tennessee) about registering a homebuilt boat and got the following in reply:

Take any receipts from the materials used to build the boat to a Tennessee county clerk’s office. The clerk will determine if taxes need to be collected. Then the clerk will provide the boat owner a certified application to fill out and mail to TWRA for registration.

The owner keeps the yellow copy of the application for a temporary operating permit.

Texas (Phil Davis)
Updated 8/30/03

Thought you would like to know about registration in Texas:

First of all, there is boater education for 13 to 18 year olds described here with the law detailed here.

Boating is handled by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. The main site on boating is at Boating.

Homebuilt boats must be inspected by a Texas Game Warden prior to issuance of a title. He will fill out the back of PWD 143A, the Application for Homemade Vessel, and PWD 736, an Affidavit for Proof of Ownership of Vessel or Outboard Motor. You will need Proof of Materials (i.e. receipts).

The fees as of 8/30/03 are:

• $25.00 Inspection Fee
• $25.00 Title
• $50 Registration (for 16 to 26 feet)

Virginia (Scott King Walker)
Your FAQ made me wonder what it will take in Virginia. I just ordered the plans today. (Wing Dinghy and Weekender, not sure where to start.)

It appears that boat registration is handled by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, and that the first form (which specifically deals with boats that have not been registered before because they are homebuilt) would be required. The second form MAY be required as well. I have no information yet on fees, or how easy/hard the process is. Both of these are .PDF files, so if you want to save them off to disk, right click and select “Save As”
New Boat Registration and Hull ID Form.

Help us complete this FAQ! Email your experience registering your home-built boat to Frank Hagan