Caveat - the last time we were out in the old boat was 2015.
Our old boat was state registered, and we visited more the 50 countries in her, and never once got questioned.
Central America,
South America (west coast), Pacific Milk Run, SE
Asia,
Africa, Med/Europe, Caribbean, and back to US to close the loop. Two-and-a-half full laps of the globe and never a
single question. The state in which we were registered is also a titling state, never once even got asked to show the title (which is a bit fancy and a full-size page) all we ever showed was the registration card (3 1/2 x 5 or so). Not one question, anywhere, ever.
I'm sure the naysayers will pop up to tell me we were not "flagged" as a US vessel, and if not 'resident' in the state then we could not be registered there (our state
taxes boats, and requires proof of permanent moorage elsewhere before they will stop taxing - which flies in the face of 'you have to be here to be registered here'), but we had no issues over decades of cruising.
Our new (to us) boat is USCG documented, but only because it was easier, and avoided the tax questions since we did not buy her in the US and did not bring her back here until 5 years after we bought her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kettlewell
The process has always been awkward, slow, and convoluted. It is particularly difficult for older used boats that were foreign built and never previously documented.
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Our boat was 16-years-old when we bought her, foreign-built, never documented, and had a string of previous owners and we had no issues, found nothing convoluted, and it really did not take very long. And we did it all ourselves, no agent. If you can read, comprehend, and follow the USCG directions it is pretty straightforward and, IMO, easy.