Five Year USCG Documentation Guidelines

[bailsout]

My current boat is documented, came that way. Thinking about going to state registration. Cheaper and more in line with my rebel nature anyway.

[hellosailor]

" Now that they only have to process it once every five years, it's still $26 per year. For... uh... What??"
Yeah. Considering that even back in the 80's, the real cost of simply sending out a one-page letter was over $5 (and that's in 1980 dollars) because it requires not just the stamp, but also the envelope, the sheet of paper, warehousing and inventorying those all, the cost of a clerk's time and salary benefits, the....yadayada...
They REALLY ought to consider that a five-year renewal means "that's four less less times we're gonna have to update the database" and everything else, and at least make SOME nominal concession. NYS did that with various renewals years ago. Some states do, others don't give a damn.
Or is the five-year coming standard going to be priced at $130, so no "breaks" are being considered ever, at all?

Nickel-and-dime people to death, and then wonder why they go postal and vent the stress....

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by bailsout

My current boat is documented, came that way. Thinking about going to state registration. Cheaper and more in line with my rebel nature anyway.

Really, your state registration is less than $26/yr? My boat is both and the state is much more (still kind of cheap).

[s/v michaela]

[QUOTE=jewt;2786445]Check carefully to ensure you are actually dealing with the Coast Guard; last year I received an e-mail offering this service and contacted the "real coast guard" to enquire about the service. They would or could not say it was a scam but certainly left that impression. The USCG does not offer multi year renewals.

I got ripped off by that scam.....

[Diesel Bill]

I just renewed my documentation last week. The 1st site on Google for renewals was a fraud site looking like the official Coast Guard site. Only after filling out the form and going to the bottom was the fine print saying they were a private company charging a fee for service. It was $75.00 if I remember right. That's when my brain engaged and said WHOA! Deleted my way back out of that site and searched for a few mins. to find the real site. Also got the official looking letter that was a private company. Beware.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

Seriously? If $26 a year worries you then maybe owning a boat is not for you. I cannot remember the last time anything on my boat cost $26.

No, I don't begrudge the $26. I think I described it as "measly" in my post above, if you don't believe me.

I guess I'm just disappointed. I've found the NVDC to be a very well-run shop for a government office. Especially on a meager CG budget.

I thought they were trying to do us a favor.

Now I find out they just want the equivalent of five processing fees, while only having to do the processing once.

Even at $130, it's not going to break the bank, or make me switch to state registration. Many states are even greedier!

It's just such a let-down to wait so long for this new, improved process, then find out it's just a way for them to cut their workload without cutting revenue.

[Sailormantx]

This is really good news for cruisers! The end of the annual problem of getting a piece of paper at a random place overseas by a certain date. The cost is not that much of a problem, although paying an annual fee for something that I have already paid for is a bit irritating. I have gotten away with a photo of the original emailed from the States on a few occasions [emoji41]. The next step is to introduce them to this thing called email... there's no reason to be mailing paper documents in the age of the internet.

[OldMan]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

No, I don't begrudge the $26. I think I described it as "measly" in my post above, if you don't believe me.

I guess I'm just disappointed. I've found the NVDC to be a very well-run shop for a government office. Especially on a meager CG budget.

I thought they were trying to do us a favor.

Now I find out they just want the equivalent of five processing fees, while only having to do the processing once.

Even at $130, it's not going to break the bank, or make me switch to state registration. Many states are even greedier!

It's just such a let-down to wait so long for this new, improved process, then find out it's just a way for them to cut their workload without cutting revenue.

My bet is the law that created the $26/yr charge has no wiggle room to charge less for a 5yr renewal. Like you, I have always found the NVDC to be excellent to work with, I'm betting the charge isn't up to them.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

It's also interesting that they chose to keep the annual cost the same.

It is good to keep in mind that our lawmakers represent us.
I keep this in mind by saying, "we chose to keep the annual cost the same" instead of "they chose to keep the annual cost the same."

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by KP44

It is good to keep in mind that our lawmakers represent us.
I keep this in mind by saying, "we chose to keep the annual cost the same" instead of "they chose to keep the annual cost the same."

yea not so much. Your "representatives" are bought and paid for by others.

In this case they got a fee attached to a service, then "found" a way to lower the cost-of-goods to supply the service while keeping the original fee.

But I might have a jaded view of how my government "serves" me...

On a positive note I'll only have to deal with this every 5 years now.

[hellosailor]

"Like you, I have always found the NVDC to be excellent to work with, I'm betting the charge isn't up to them."
Going back to the Reagan years, government agencies including the USCG and presumably the NVDC were all mandated to charge fees based on the cost of the service they were providing. So, presumably someone submitted the papers to justify $28/year for an annual process--and if there is now to be a new process which involves different costs, the mandate would still apply, to recalculate and resubmit and put a new price on it. Many agencies have ignored the mandate and refused to comment on their creative cost-accounting. (Someone tell the Washington Post there's another Pulitzer waiting for them, please.)

tx-
"The next step is to introduce them to this thing called email... there's no reason to be mailing paper documents in the age of the internet."
Quite the opposite. Anything you can email, I can counterfeit. Especially if the document is to be viewed halfway around the world, either you need a secure and encrypted email that can be verified (which means an internet connection) or you need a way for the locals to log into the US agency server to verify the document. If you have ever been in a major retail store during heavy rainstorms and heard "Our credit card processor is down right now" you may know how reliable the internet can be. (Yeah, they forget the old knuckle-bangers can still be used.)
Not that fancier "documents" can't be counterfeited, but email printouts are especially quick and easy to forge.
Heck, since the Carter administration secure email signatures have had the same legal status as manuscript signatures in the US, under federal law, and it is only in the last 2-3 years that Realtors have been making use of this. Brokers and banks still have no clue it has been the law for decades. Overseas? ROFL.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by KP44

It is good to keep in mind that our lawmakers represent us.
I keep this in mind by saying, "we chose to keep the annual cost the same" instead of "they chose to keep the annual cost the same."

I think it depends on your definition of "us."

Even assuming a perfect democracy, the concept of "majority wins" means that, frequently, the minority loses.

Boaters are a minority. There will be no political will to decrease fees for boaters, and every reason to increase them.

I'm not saying anything against democracy, just stating the way it is. It's still much better than many of the alternatives.

As for electronic documents, I think something could be done. In the US, if you are pulled over by the police, and left your driver's license home, it really doesn't matter. Whether they have your license in hand or not, they're going to call up your record on their computer, verify that the license is valid, and check the picture in the state database to be sure it's really you.

Likewise, there's already a US Coast Guard Port State Information Exchange web site anyone in the world can use to search for your documentation information.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Even assuming a perfect democracy, the concept of "majority wins" means that, frequently, the minority loses.

Not the place for politics.
The US is a republic, where every citizen has a voice; rather than a democracy where only the majority has a voice and a vote.
That is the framing of a republic vs a democracy.
That said; boaters are a minority that often are not heard.

[mlydon]

to those who would prefer to pay year-by-year to not 'loan' $104 to the feds....

This year $26, maybe $126 a couple of years down the road.....with a couple of increments in between to see if the masses revolt
I'd rather have the paper in hand and give up $100 if I happened to sell my boat next year.

Also, I bought a new (to me) boat in August, put in the documentation paperwork in mid-september, and just got my documentation last week.

Matt

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by KP44

That said; boaters are a minority that often are not heard.

Right. "We" are not the ones who made this decision. I don't think that's a partisan, or even a very political, statement. It's just a reflection of reality.

Originally Posted by mlydon

This year $26, maybe $126 a couple of years down the road.....with a couple of increments in between

Good point, Matt. That alone may justify locking in 5 years' worth of renewals at today's rate. And per the comment above, the "masses" won't revolt. If a few boaters are ticked off, that won't impact anyone's re-election chances. So it would be a good way, tactically, for any government to raise some revenue.