Karin:

I bought a used and previously documented boat on March 11 of this year.
There was an outstanding lein on the boat from the current owner. There are
at least two steps towards getting a USCG document. The first is paying off
the previous owner's loan and getting the lender to issue a "Satisfaction of
Mortgage" certificate. The latter can take as long as the lender wants to
make it. I have seen this take several months and many phone calls to the
lender to get this done.

Then once the Satisfaction of Mortgage is in hand from the lender, it can
take many months for the USCG to process the application and return your new
document. It has been three months and I still don't have my new document.

But I have also enjoyed my new boat over the last several months. No
responsible law enforcement official and certainly no court is going to fine
you for not being documented- provided you have timely submitted your
application for documentation to the USCG.

I know how to document my own boat (I was a yacht broker for a short period
in my career), but I chose to pay a documentation service precisely for this
reason. They gave me a letter inidcating that documentation has been applied
for and the USCG was processing the application. If I am stopped (and I have
only been stopped once by the USCG in thousands of hours of sailing), I will
show them that letter and they will smile and let me go on my way.

And for the state police, harbor patrol, etc. What they care about is
getting their sales tax. So also keep a receipt for sales tax paid on board.

So, the bottom line is don't worry about it if you have followed the rules.
Enjoy your new boat.

David