Boat Title Problem?

Question

I found a boat on the internet and i bought it. The Boat came from London, England and has no title. The original owner of the boat was from Florida. Is there anyway for me to get a title for this boat. I live in Ohio and i cant find the original owner of the boat to see if he still has the title.

Answer 1

I feel for you.  I've owned many boats and in running an outdoor program have been responsible for registering dozens of others.   Different states have different requirements regarding titles and registration, so trying to register a boat from somewhere that has different policies can lead to a beaurocratic h**l from which you may never exit with any sanity.  However, there is hope.

After dealing with this issue dozens of times, here is the tactic I have found most helpful:

1.  If you have no title or registration, get a bill of sale from the previous owner. (you did purchase it ligitametly right?)   Have it include a statement that the boat required no registration or title in the location they owned it.   Walk into your county recorders office, motor vehicles or where ever you are required to register the boat and confidently show them and bill of sale and state confidently that you purchased this boat in a location that did not require a title and therefore you have no previous title and do not require one.   A bill of sale is appropriate for this situation.    Most county clerks will have the training and instinct to enforce what ever is the regulation of their state, but the reality is they probably have no idea, how to deal with an international transfer.   That's why it's so important you sound confident and a be persistent about your stance, but don't be obnoxious.  The first response from the clerk may well be that you need the proper paper work and you don't have it.  Don't flinch.  Smile and politely, but confidently reply that the bill of sale IS the proper paperwork in this circumstance. (tap or hold up the bill of sale for effect). At this point the clerk may firmly say no, may agree with you or may pause.    If they pause, you need to make a decision based on what you feel.   It may be appropriate to ask if you need to talk to their supervisor, in which case, they will hopefully show they are empowered and register your boat.  Or.. it may work to compliment and thank them for understanding and taking care of this unique situation.   If, however, that particular clerk doesn't help you, don't push it.  Come back and try the same thing with another clerk.

2.   If the above doesn't work, go home and cry.  It won't be easy to sort it out, but don't just use the boat without having it properly registered/titled.  You may get by with that for a while, but it's illegal and eventually you'll get busted and this will lead to an even more serious bought of crying.   Instead you may need to consult a lawyer or if you have the information from the original Florida owner, you may be able to get the proper registration and/or title from them.  This of course will be outdated and you will likely have to pay not only back registration fees, but a penalty.   Just do this if it's an option.   It may not seem fair, but it's probably the cheapest and easiest option at this point.

3.  If you are dealing with a vessel that should be registered with the coast guard as a documented vessel in addition to your local registration, and you have no paper work, may god have mercy on your soul.

Answer 2

Contact the US Coast Guard.

Answer 3

ok you have a bill of sale for the boat?

Also if you take the vin number off the boat  ( the boat serial number) to you local veh licencing center they wil be able to tell you who the previous owner was. There is a problem with this....  whenyou contact them they could say the boat was stolen and  therefor its not your property.

BUt on a brighter note. ...  You should be able to register it in OHIO with the bill of sale and saying you bought it from Britain. However,  you will have to pay import tax, local tax state taxes too...

Answer 4

This is a common problem with British registered boats. There are two registries, called Part I and Part III (also called the Small Ships Register). The Part I registry is designed for big ships, though yachts and other small boats can be registered on Part I. To do that you have to prove title, so Part I registration itself is proof of title. Anyone can register a vessel under Part I (you don't have to be British). Part III is designed for yachts and small boats in the leisure market (ie. non-commercial). It's very cheap to register a boat on Part III and there is no requiremet to prove title, but you do have to be resident in Britain. So you have to be careful when buying a boat registerd via Part III because you have no proof of title. If the boat has passed through many owners and all used the SSR you may be unable to find actual proof of title at all.

My advice to you would be to consult a lawyer in the US familiar with your marine registration laws and ask him/her what steps you can take to obtain legal title. It must be possible because this kind of thing happens all the time.

All I have for my yacht is the Bill Of Sale from the previous owner and the original receipt from the builders (required in the EU to prove that VAT has been paid on her).

Answer 5

If the owner had the boat registered in Florida, there should be a title. Is the hull number still on the boat? If so it will start out wit FL then have numbers after that. You can also go to the Florida web-site and trace it down there.