Boarded by the Coast Guard..Terminated Voyage

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by svmariane

Ummm... I think you had a bit of an oops there in your understanding of my post. My sojourn down the USA west coast in 2007 was years after the terror incidents in the US of Sept 11, 2001.

YEp BIG OOOPS!!!,memo toself engage brain before opening mouth, I am still recovering from a stroke [/EXCUSES].

Edited to add:- However when terror has precipitated drastic restrictions of individual freedoms and freedom of movement then the terrorists are winning the battle. look at air travel pre and post 9/11 and then the rules around cruising boats, including having to pass well away from any navy vessel in case they get jittery. I believe there was even a suggestion, thankfully dropped(?) to require all recreational vessels to carry an AIS transponder

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Some interesting comments. We too have been "boarded" by the USCG, even tho we are not in their "jurisdiction" - But they seem to think they own the ocean 2000 miles from US shores as well. We were bringing our 50 custom cat to the Bahamas to transfer ownership. We were nearly sideswiped - 150 miles north of the canal. They didn't ask to board us, they just slipped alongside and did so. It surprised my mate on deck and he went for his sidearm - because we had been in a previous situation the year before off Colombia we started carrying Colt Commanders.

After the surprise and everyone running for their weapons and turning on the floodlights - they finally identified themselves. They almost got shot ~ and so would we.

.................

[sabray]

I lost a dink from my boat yard it turned up at a restaurant. Because it had registration I was able to recover it. One plus on registration. My rowing dink doessnot have any marking. It is unique but I need to scribe in a contact name. Not required to be registered in any if the east coast states I have visited.
I find this unbelievable that visitors can't move their boats around with out being fined and stewed about. I see foreign flag vessels quite a bit and really doubt that they are required to check in and out even when changing a dock. Some other bureaucratic hang up must be going on. Please tell me I am right?

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by Therapy

.................

I don't they have one to show you krapping your pants

[Ocean Girl]

Good point, sabray, I built a little lapstrake row boat, she was stolen, had to go through some loops to get a title made to show its existed and and value. Never got her back. So you see a Whitehall with pearl while paint and a void two inches below her breastplate...well say hi, it's been too long to claim her.

As far as registration, I don't think it is as complicated as we are making it out to be.

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by Robin3

Not withstanding any of the previous and any slightly side issues, we have a further complication in that we ARE a Us documented vessel, Me Brit, her American (and documented owner as I cannot be). We shipped quite a bit of stuff over from the UK as we were going to be liveaboards and that included our top of the line fully automatic Inflatable PFDs with built in harnesses. Now unlless thngs have changed I believe these Crewsaver Crewfit PFDs are not USCG approved (they are not labeled as such, only as CE approved) and therefore they cannot count towards the USCG safety requirements for PFDs to be on board. We do have the very basic PFDs that came with our boat and enough of them to comply (we have 6 and we sail as a couple) but heck we want to use our own stuff which is much better. It seems like we should maybe just put theUSCG approved stuff in a bag in the RIB hung off the back so if asked anytime by USCG we can easily point to them ( and they will be there if stopped in the dink), and then keep our good stuff for when we properly at sea and need something rather better that can be worn routinely underway and allow clipping on, without making normal deckwork any more difficult by it's sheer bulk .

OK, so keep some $8 PFDs aboard that meet the spec & wear the nice PFDs that you brought with you. There is no rule against wearing an unproved PFD that I am aware of.

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

OK, so keep some $8 PFDs aboard that meet the spec & wear the nice PFDs that you brought with you. There is no rule against wearing an unproved PFD that I am aware of.

I came to that very same conclusion just like I have worked on finding a way to carry the original dinghy documents on board it as I am required to do, without them being destroyed by damp. I am also working on a way that I can install the full set of navigation lights on it too that are required for use after dark because it is capable of more than 7kts (I think that is what I was told) even though I might actually chose never to go that speed in the dark. I have bought someself contained battery operated lights (bicolor plus separate all round white) but fitting them to an inflatable is a bit of a challenge. The all round white is easy and is on a pole that can clamp to the transom, but fixing the bow light is harder since I reallydo not want to drill the inflatable tubes. Hopefully when & if boarded for an inspection we will not meet the jobsworth in chief that really nitpicks the written rules!

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by Robin3

I have worked on finding a way to carry the original dinghy documents on board it as I am required to do, without them being destroyed by damp.

I find that having documents laminated at Office Depot makes them pretty darn close to indestructible. It only costs a buck or two. Before that, I used to roll them up & stuff them inside a PVC pipe that was capped with a rubber lid & a hose clamp. That stuff was all available at Home Depot for under $10.

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

I find that having documents laminated at Office Depot makes them pretty darn close to indestructible. It only costs a buck or two. Before that, I used to roll them up & stuff them inside a PVC pipe that was capped with a rubber lid & a hose clamp. That stuff was all available at Home Depot for under $10.

Thanks I had forgotten the simple lamination option since it is forbidden to laminate the USCG document for the big boat but of course it will be OK for the dinghy stuff. I have bought a sealable map/chart pouch to use also and we have a fitted underseat waterproof bag on the RIB thwart too, we try for perfection and are trying hard to comply with all the rules!

[dohenyboy]

You can buy the plastic lamination sheets and seal them with an iron, using a pillowcase on top of the plastic.

[markpierce]

Life is simpler staying in my estuary.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by DotDun

The USCG does not administer US cruising licenses, they are issued by and administered by CBP, hence a foreign vessel operating with such license does not contact the USCG. As far as notification when moving a foreign vessel that has been issued a CBP cruising license, that is only required when moving between CBP jurisdictions. The foreign vessel is free to move within a single jurisdiction without notification.

Would you care to expand on this? Who is the CBP? What are the Jurisdictions?

By the by - with the reporting requirement - how does one anchor out? Or is that not allowed for foreign vessels?

[ghostrider]

That would Customs & Border Protection. The name answers your question. We don't generally find them out at sea, however we have found one to be that case in the Bahamas - as the country is within 55nm of Ft. Lauderdale.

[estarzinger]

[QUOTE=DotDun;1365841 As far as notification when moving a foreign vessel that has been issued a CBP cruising license, that is only required when moving between CBP jurisdictions. The foreign vessel is free to move within a single jurisdiction without notification.[/QUOTE]

Can you provide support for this statement?

I ask because the most notorious notification case involved a vessel moving between marinas inside fort Lauderdale. In that case, CBP said the rule was designed to allow them to locate the boat and there was no exception inside a CBP zone.

We get asked to help foreign cruisers with these sort of problems, so I would love to know if there is a "only when changing CBO zones" clause.

Regarding dinghy registration papers . . . Can anyone provide link/text to a rule that requires this? I do not have any, never been asked for them. I believe (but could be wrong) they are not required in Vermont (my home port), and not required as I transit other states (spending less than 60 days in each). But there are so many rules I could be wrong about all that.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

Can you provide support for this statement?

I ask because the most notorious notification case involved a vessel moving between marinas inside fort Lauderdale. In that case, CBP said the rule was designed to allow them to locate the boat and there was no exception inside a CBP zone.

We get asked to help foreign cruisers with these sort of problems, so I would love to know if there is a "only when changing CBO zones" clause.

Regarding dinghy registration papers . . . Can anyone provide link/text to a rule that requires this? I do not have any, never been asked for them. I believe (but could be wrong) they are not required in Vermont (my home port), and not required as I transit other states (spending less than 60 days in each). But there are so many rules I could be wrong about all that.

In Michigan dinghys with motors must be registered because they are not in the exempt class.



Watercraft exempt from registration are:

• Those 16 feet or shorter, propelled by oars or paddles, and not used for rental or commercial purposes;
• Nonmotorized canoes and kayaks not used for rental or commercial purposes, rafts, surfboards, sailboards, and swim floats, regardless of length; and
• Watercraft registered in another state and used only temporarily in Michigan.

If you don't put a motor on the dinghy you don't need to register it in Michigan.
Interestingly, the question of what to do in the case of a craft temporarily in Michigan that is exempt in another state but might be, for example 18 feet long. I think you could chase your tail forever on this topic.