Paper Work - What Should I Have Received with New (to Me) Boat?

[poddanell]

I have recently purchased a self build Bruce Roberts from a friend of mine in the UK. She first went into the water in 1999. Can anyone tell me what paper work I should have recieved.

[Hud3]

Hello, poddanell, and welcome to Cruisers Forum. Hope you enjoy the place.

In general, I would tend to think that the paperwork you should have received is whatever it will take to "register" or "document" the boat with whatever governmental agency handles that sort of thing where you live.

Is it the UK? Perhaps some UK members can chime in with more specific suggestions.

[bastonjock]

when i bought my boat,i received a load of papers that showed the original transaction and purchased of the boat,the then owner gave me a receipt for the moneys and signed over the boat to me. I also have the VAT cert which is most important if you are ever going to go sailing on the continent.

There were also old insurance certs etc,plenty of proof to show that the vendor owned the boat.

[barnakiel]

To have the boat, it is good to have a proof of ownership. The contract is one such a thing.

To register, you must approach the registering agency. I bet visiting your agency's website will lead you thru the process.

b.

[CharlieCobra]

All I got beside a photo album with copies of older reg forms was a signed off Documentation sheet. That's all I needed to Doc the boat under my name with the USCG. The Documentation is proof in lieu of title.

[Pblais]

You need an official form of boat title registration. This is normally from the country where you are a citizen. The documentation of the transaction of the sale may be part of the process for securing that document but on it's own means nothing. Some country needs to validate that you personally own this boat. A bill of sale is alone not sufficient.

Other than that a valid passport is required for all persons aboard. Visas may or may not be required. Licenses for any VHF / HF radios would also be a very good idea. Not knowing the requirements would not be a good idea. You will always be presumed to have known. Without proper documentation it could be assumed you stole the boat. Should the situation come to that they can toss you in jail and they do not need to probve the boat is not yours. It's serious stuff.

The Documentation is proof in lieu of title

USCG documentation is title - always - any place. It is renewed annually at no cost - don't forget.

[Zanshin]

Poddanell - what country are you in? If you are in the UK and the boat is UK then it might be registered as Part I or Part III (see UK Ship Register - Pleasure Craft/Small Ships)

[Roaring Girl]

As impotantly, financially, is whether the boat is in EU and if so whether you can prove VAT either on the sale to you or on the parts as she was built. It would help responses if we knew where you and the boat actually are.