state registration vs. documentation

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by LeeV

And honestly, I’m still confused by the DNR fellow who told me I can put the sticker at the base of the mast!

Maryland DNR has a pretty good website and on-line operator's training course.

It says -

"Larger recreational vessels owned by U.S. citizens may (at the option of the owner) be documented by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Call the USCG at 1-800-799-8362 for more information. Documented vessels must apply to the MDNR for "documented use" decals and pay vessel excise tax.

Registration Questions?
Call the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Licensing & Registration Central Service Center at 410-260-3220 or visit our website. Vessel trailers are registered through the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. They can be reached at 1-800-950-1682."

If you are still uncertain, I'd suggest you call the above DNR number.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Cpt Pat

After several months of calling and writing the DMV to sort it out, I finally got my title. Within days, I'd switched to USCG documentation. I did it myself, by the way. It was a breeze.

You don't "switch" a California titled boat to CG documentation. A CG documented vessel owned and kept in California must still be titled and registered by the State of California (DMV).

[Sand crab]

You can switch a state titled boat to fed doc or vice a versa. It requires paperwork and fees and is done all the time. What you can't have is a boat with 2 titles. Doc is a title and none of the states require a state title for a doc boat. They can enforce state registration and fees. This is true in WA and I thought in Cali. Curiously the CA dmv website says a doc boat can't be registered there. That doesn't seem right.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/de...vZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

You can switch a state titled boat to fed doc or vice a versa. It requires paperwork and fees and is done all the time. What you can't have is a boat with 2 titles. Doc is a title and none of the states require a state title for a doc boat. They can enforce state registration and fees.

You are exactly right (as you knew), and I am wrong. State registration requirements apply to both documented and undocumented vessels, but documentation and state titling are an either/or proposition. As you correctly say, you can not have 2 titles for the same boat.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

You wrote - "The Fed regs override the state's." That is incorrect. They do not. You are required to follow the boating registration rules of your state. Most specifically you are required to obtain state registration for your boat if required by your state, even if your boat is CG documented. (Much has been made here of the normal practice of states requiring the registration stickers but not the large state numbers to be displayed on the hull in the case of CG documented vessels. Yes, that is correct and is spelled out in the state regs in every state where I have owned a boat.)

I really do not appreciate words being put in my mouth.

Yes, the states are not allowed to contradict the federal rules / laws. In **any** topic area where jurisdiction overlaps.

WRT the **display** of the numbers **only**, once a boat is USCG documented, the state is not allowed to require registration numbers to be displayed.

That is all I said.

AFAIC we are not disagreeing.

[Chuck34]

When it comes to fed vs state in any issue, yes, fed always trumps state whenever there is any conflict of regulations. If the CG says no state numbers allowed on a documented boat and a state says that state numbers must be displayed on all boats, that is a conflict and fed regs will over-rule the state.

When is comes to boat documentation, there is no conflict. The CG says boaters must adhere to state regs and to my knowledge, there are no state regs that conflict fed regs.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Yes, the states are not allowed to contradict the federal rules / laws. In **any** topic area where jurisdiction overlaps.

Originally Posted by Chuck34

When it comes to fed vs state in any issue, yes, fed always trumps state whenever there is any conflict of regulations.

Several posters have made this point. It happens to be an area I worked in most of my adult life, and it is not that simple. Yes, as a matter of law, federal statutes take precedence WHEN the federal government chooses to assert primary jurisdiction. As a matter of policy, the federal government chooses to follow state laws under most circumstances. The instances where the federal government does not are ones in which there has been a determination that there is a substantial national interest. I presume consistent identification and registration of commercial shipping falls into this category. Generally speaking, states try to avoid conflicts as well. Thus you see the examples of state statutes which attempt to make state boat licensing procedures consistent with procedures for CG documentation. Lots of other examples out there for those who are actually interested in the legal aspects of this.

[john61ct]

My original assertions, misinterpreted here, were in response to **my** misinterpreting, that someone was claiming MD required USCG documented boats to display the MD reg numbers.

So again, apologies for this clusterf*** but maybe some thread readers have had these issues well clarified for them? 8-)