Vessel "Validation" Sticker

[kodiak486]

So as my family and i were out fishing last weekend, we were inspected by the Troopers. Everything checked out fine, except that my boat doesn't have the right sticker. I believe that it is given by DMV kind of like a registration for a car. But i am also under the impression that if your vessel's name is on the bow and stern, and registered with the USCG, then you don't need the sticker.

For future reference, when AST approaches your vessel without the intention to board, keep them away. They struck my boat TWICE in fairly calm waters. I was more than a little pissed. Good thing the beer hadn't came out yet.

[Daveinthebush]

Don't know where you are getting your information from but yes, you have to register your boat with the State. I have never heard of registering your boat with the CG.

[spoiled one]

If it is a documented vessel it does not need to be registered with the state. It is one or the other.

[Lone Wolf1]

If your boat is a "Documented Vessel" registered with the USCG, it is exempt from state registration. However, just putting your name on the boat doesn't constitute "documentation". If your boat is, in fact, a documented vessel, then you would probably know it, as you must recertify and renew your paperwork annually with the USCG. (I just mailed off my recertification...)

Here's a link to some FAQs about USCG documented vessels.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvdc/nvdcfaq.asp

Here's a link to AK DMV if you're an "undocumented" vessel:

http://doa.alaska.gov/dmv/reg/boat.htm

Hope this helps...

[kodiak486]

It is a documented vessel with the CG. I tried to show the paperwork to the troopers, but was afraid to let them get too close, someone might loose a limb.

[JR2]

Did they give you a ticket?? My boat is in the process of becoming a documented vessel (just waiting for the CG to process the paperwork) so I did a renewal on the state registration until I get the docs. Seems like maybe the Trooper doing the stops needs to read the rules.

[kodiak486]

No ticket, more of a "get it fixed."

[bkmail]

Did they do any damage to your boat?
BK

[Lone Wolf1]

It is a documented vessel with the CG. I tried to show the paperwork to the troopers, but was afraid to let them get too close, someone might loose a limb.

It sounds as though the Troopers were incorrect, as the AK DMV rules exempt documented vessels:

Exempt under State Law from Registration in Alaska:

"...A documented boat. The documentation may be either from the U.S. or a foreign country."

[JR2]

I spoke to a Chief Warrant officer in the Coast Guard about this very thing. He said a documented vessel is exempt from the state sticker. Maybe when I finally get my documents I will print out a copy of the rules for DMV and coast guard and put them in the folder with the docs. That way I can educate anyone who things otherwise.

[Rod in Wasilla]

Just curious about what the Troopers were looking for/at... Is there a sticker that's supposed to be on the documented vessel in lieu of the State sticker? Or is it just a paperwork thing with no sticker? Any other visible markings necessary on the documented vessel?

[Myers]

How the bleep did they hit your boat? Were you helping "catch" their vessel? Were you making them "side-up" to your boat without you assiting them? Were they being aggressive and acting like you were going to get away? They have a giant foam gunnel around the whole thing, how could this hurt another boat? I have been boarded by the CG before and they were very pleasant, even liked our fish we caught, we took pictures together, it was fun.

[JR2]

Just curious about what the Troopers were looking for/at... Is there a sticker that's supposed to be on the documented vessel in lieu of the State sticker? Or is it just a paperwork thing with no sticker? Any other visible markings necessary on the documented vessel?

There are a few requirements. You have to have the boat name across the back of your boat and you have to have the documentation number permanently engraved or otherwise attached on a bulkhead of your boat. No stickers are needed.

[Bullelkklr]

The troopers don't always know all of the rules. Last weekend they asked me for my up to date flares on my 15' zodi.....They were super nice, did not try to board (I was full), didn't even take a look at the paperwork when my wife showed them the shrimping permit in the baggie (I was hand pulling pots), they also didn't ticket me for not having my state registration sticker stuck on the boat (it was in the boat box in a baggie also). I politely mentioned that my boat was not 16' and that although I did have flares, they were not up to date.

[AK_Kid]

There are a few requirements. You have to have the boat name across the back of your boat and you have to have the documentation number permanently engraved or otherwise attached on a bulkhead of your boat. No stickers are needed.

Is there actually a state or federal requirement that the vessel name be clearly identified on the back of the boat? If so, can somebody provide a citation to the applicable statute or regulation? When I purchased my boat, the name was only on each side - not the stern. It has remained that way for half a decade, and I haven't received any grief. I was boarded by the Troopers once, and they didn't raise the issue.