Sure, the weather is cold outside. In fact, for the most part in America, the weather is downright frigid. However, that doesn’t have to stop you from taking your vessel out with family and friends. The truth is that a winter boat ride can be just what you need to break out of a seasonal…
Have you been researching a vessel that’s somewhere other than America and aren’t sure what information you can trust? Did you try filing an “Abstract of Title” on a boat in the United Kingdom and find that it isn’t applicable? This is something that happens more often than you might think. At the Maritime Documentation…
Are you in the process of completing your Coast Guard boat certification documents and want to make sure that your vessel is in perfect compliance? Do you have a clear idea of how you want to use your vessel, but don’t quite know how to make that work with the powers that be? There are…
I Have a Commercial Vessel. Can I Use It How I Want? Possibly. It depends on many different factors. Those factors include the commercial activities that you would use the vessel in, whether it was built in the United States or not, the net tonnage of the vessel, and other factors. What’s the Definition of…
Q: What is a Coast Guard Documentation Number? A: The Coast Guard Documentation Number is the official number of a documented vessel. This number is to be prominently displayed on the vessel, signifying its documented status. This number stays with the vessel for the vessel’s lifetime. When someone sends in their form to get their…
Do you want to start a Coast Guard vessel search to find the perfect boat for your needs, but just aren’t sure where to begin? When you begin to formulate a plan to research vessels, does it seem like there are too many options (few of which you can trust?) That’s perfectly understandable. Buying a…
There are certain specific regulations that United States law has in place for the sake of domestic commerce. In the interest of prioritizing American vessel-owners and United States-built vessels, for example, the Maritime Administration has certain protections in place to regulate who has primer access to commerce between domestic ports. It’s because of this that…
Do you want to use a vessel that wasn’t made in the United States to transport passengers and want to know how to do so in compliance with all pertinent rules and regulations? Do you feel confused about how the rules pertain to foreign-built vessels? This is perfectly understandable. The Coast Guard boat requirements for…
“So what is USCG documentation? Do I really need it for my vessel?” Of all the questions we’re asked by prospective customers at the Maritime Documentation Center, some version of those might be the most common that we’re asked. For one, it’s important to define what this documentation is not. It’s not registration for your…
An abstract of title refers to the record of all documents that have been submitted to the United States Coast Guard for one particular vessel. This abstract will only list the information that has been provided to the Coast Guard during the time the boat in question was registered, which means that there are probably…
IMPORTANT LINKS: FOIA | USA.gov | U.S. Department of Homeland Security | DHS Office of Inspector General | WhiteHouse.gov | MHS Notice of Privacy Practices
