On Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:36:31 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:19:07 -0400, bruce@not. wrote:

I bought an old 1977 runabout and want to get it registered in
GA, but the last time it was registered was in FL. So far I
haven't been able to contact the last person who registered it,
or even find out who they are. The GA DNR told me to contact the
FL DNR, but it looks like in FL the DMV handles boat
registration. Can anyone tell me the best way of going about
this?

I have heard from reliable sources that it is easier to register a
boat in Georgia if the chain of ownership is unclear. Essentially it
is an unregistered boat now. Go to Georgia with a notarized
bill-of-sale and that should get you started.

I agree with Wayne - if you have a notarized bill of sale you should
be fine. Georgia is a non-title state, so even a non-notarized
bill-of-sale should be sufficient. There isn't a title registration
process so there shouldn't be any question as to chain of ownership.

If I remember correctly, there are something like 12 or 13 states that
do not require or issue titles. In New England, it's Connecticut,
Maine and New Hampshire. Down south it's Alabama, Georgia and
Louisiana - as I remember it.

In fact, a few years ago, there was an interstate theft ring who would
haunt interstate highways looking for late model boats from non-title
states. They would steal a boat with a CT registation for example,
re-register it in say Alabama, then flip that registration to a title
state like Mississippi. A friend of mine had his Ranger stolen a few
years ago and that's what happened. They finally found the boat in
New York two years later and only because it was insured through the
same company that originally insured it. The serial number gave it
away.