s o wrote:
Hi all,

I planned on buying an old small fiberglass boat with an outboard on it
for about $400. The seller has no title or paperwork whatsoever. I
called dmv and they said bring in a bill of sale(like an invoice) and
they'll decide whether I could register it. Has anyone had similar
experience? how else can I get it registered? thanks.

The DMV should be able to do a title search using the hull number
(HIN). If the boat doesn't have a hull number for whatever reason, it
was probably never titled in CA - and perhaps was never titled
anywhere. Depending on how old the boat is, the hull number should be
on the lower starboard side of the transom... unless it is really old,
then the hull number (or manufacturer's serail number if it is too old
to follow the HIN format) could be anywhere - an orignal title on an
old boat may have used the original engine serial number.

If no information can tracked down, you or the seller may simply need
to file affidavit to get it renumbered.

A note of trivia... CA doesn't "register" boats, they "number" boats.
The piece of paper issued by the DMV for your boat that looks similar
to an auto registration is a "certificate of number," not a
"registration." Additionally, the state does not issue "title" to a
boat owner. The multicolored paper stock used by the DMV is the same
used for an automobile "certificate of title," but you'll find that,
for a boat, it is called a "certificate of ownership." I believe there
are very subtle legal differences between the "title" and "ownership"
but I can't tell you exactly what they are.