Fish-Hawk.Net

Okay This may seem like an odd question but here goes..

About a month ago I relized I didn't have anything other then my bill of sale to say I owned my boat
I didn't think about this at all last season since I was so excited to have the boat and be out on the water. (but I did carry the final bill in the boat)

When I purchased the used boat, the marina took care of the trailer plates and the boat ownership transfer. I got my plate permit but nothing for ownership.

Should I have gotten something from our ever efficient government or from the dealer

This past week I've tried contacting the dealer but they are closed till after the boat shows. I figured I'd ask here before being on hold for 3 days to the gov.

Andre,

If the motor is more than 10hp you should have gotten a pleasure craft license issued by the Coast Guard and stamped by Canada Customs and Revenue.This is the official ownership document and must be carried in the boat at all times similar to a car registration.They are not a very official looking document as it usually filled out by hand.

If the boat was bought second hand I suggest you get hold of your dealer asap and ask where this is.Otherwise if new you probably have to go a Government office.

Ron

Andre: Take your bill of sale along with pertinant information, such as serial #'s of the boat and motor and boat registration #, to the local Canada customs office and they will do the transfer. The office in Ottawa is located on St aurent just South of Walkley. This should have been done by your dealer. The registration paper must be available on the water if you are ever spot checked by the police.

Ed oobinator Puddephatt

Hi Andre,

Toobinator is right. I just went through this a few months ago. You need to go to the Customs Office and re-register your pleasure craft. You will need some identification, your bill of sale and the license #. Make sure they take a photocopy of the bill of sale that shows you have paid taxes on the purchase. In my case the guy at the office forgot to photocopy my bill of sale and I ended up getting an "Unpaid Taxes Request" in the mail. Fortunately, I was able to resolve the issue without going back to the Customs Office. Cheers!

Thanks Guys

I had this nagging feeling that something was forgotten. I guess I'm fortunate I wasn't asked for it the 2 times I was stopped last year.

Just looked at the bill of sale and it has the Serial#s of the boat, motor, trailer and the registration # of the boat on it. It also has the taxes paid on it.
I'll give the dealer a few more days to respond then its to the gov. I go.
Does the Customs office at the border crossings do this ? Hopefully they do since I cross at Johnstown everyday.

Andre;

the nice thing about this, it's free. Not tooooo many things are free
from our Goverment, lol

fishachaser

what if you are 'given' a boat and there is no bill of sale .
Does a letter from the givee suffice?
Tinbanger

tinbanger;

I believe they'll take the Black Book value to determine your Taxes
owed when transfering the Title.

fishchaser

tinbanger wrote:what if you are 'given' a boat and there is no bill of sale .
Does a letter from the givee suffice?
Tinbanger

If it's notarized - probably, don't know about the taxes but I suspect if it's between family it would be tax exempt (as it is for cars).

I went through this all last year when I bought my boat through the classifieds. Didn't have a shred of documentation other than (thankfully) a bill of sale. It was actually fairly painless, and like others said free (except for getting the letter notarized). This website was a big help.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/BoatingSafety/pcl.htm

This is what you'll probably need:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/BoatingSafety/declaration.pdf

You should have no problem at johnstown,I had mine done at cornwall took about 10 minutes to do.just make sure you have your bill of sale and ID