Certificate of documentation

[Guidera48]

I am purchasing a registered sailboat whose certificate expired in 2011. I have a copy of the expired certificate. Boat has been on the hard. I cannot ascertain wether selling owner needs to re register with the coast guard and receive a current certificate in order for me to request an exchange in my name or it can all be done at the same time using form cg 1258 . I am not clear on this point. Any sudgestions?

[SF Bay Dude]

I just bought my boat with the most recent doc dated 2009. As long as you have the notary and previous owner's signature on a doc (no matter what the year) you're fine. I got my new documentation in the mail a few weeks after posting in the mail.

[gts1544]

If I understand you correctly, your are buying the boat from the owner whose name appears on the expired documentation certificate, in which case you should have no problem with a reinstatement other than the fees. The USCG is very big on chain of title, so certainly use the current USCG Bill of Sale form completely filled out in your purchase (available online).

When I purchased my boat, the last documented owner was about 3 owners back, but fortunately I had copies of the bills of sale creating a chain of title. Since not all of the bills of sale were USCG forms, some of them lacked the USCG required information. The National Vessel Documentation Center (USCG NVDC) has a waiver procedure that enables you to get around defects in the chain of title. Just bring money! George