Licensing with the Coast Guard

[gcpiantanida]

How do you mark your hull with the Coast Guard compliant numbers

 

[captain's cat]

Do you mean for a documented boat?

If so, this is a good place to start.

See the part about "how do I mark my vessel"..

Charlie

 

[abcandjrc]

Most people now mark their boats by using the typical letters that are used for putting on the state registrations, then laminating over them with a layer of fibreglass cloth and resin. They must be laminated in to make them "non-removable".

On our Atlantic 44 (built in the "good old days") there was a major structural beam just inside the engine room. The number was carved in that.

It is obvious that either can be readily defeated regardless of the rules, but those are the standard methods and are acceptable.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

On our R27 I choose the support beam in the port side genset locker. I first cleaner it with a solvent to dewax the gelcoat, then lightly scuffed it up with sandpaper and re cleaned the area with solvent. I applied three inch black stick on letters/numbers purchased at West Marine. I then blocked the area around the letters/numbers with blue painters tape....to make the final resin job look neat and clean. I only applied a clear resin over the numbers/letters and removed the tape before the resin set.

Jim

 

[abcandjrc]

.......I only applied a clear resin over the numbers/letters and removed the tape before the resin set........

That should be fine, too. The real answer is how easy they are to remove, and yours would take some work. I don't think anyone would squawk about them.

Like I said before, there is nothing that is 100% foolproof like the USCG site implies. Ours that were under cloth could have been painted over or even ground off. The ones carved in the timber could have been filled, sanded, and painted over. The law was written when wooden boats had large timbers with no finish and filler hadn't been invented yet. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) they haven't updated the law and don't go crazy enforcing it, at least not on recreational boats. I suspect some day it will be an RFID chip. (Darn, now I have given them an idea.....)