Hippie459MN wrote: ↑Mar 25, 2024 9:50 pm
Boat is coming out amazing!!!!
kameix1 wrote: ↑Mar 24, 2024 9:45 pm
Yeah, I think anyone who looked at the boat probably got scared away between the "no title for boat or trailer" and the amount of rot that was in it. I was able to get a trailer title, and the boat registered to me with some help from the DMV and a couple days of leg work.
Well, I might have questions. I have 2 boat I got for free. One I got like 10+ years ago, it was last registered in WI, and the other one I got (1982 Hydrostream Vamp) a few years ago that was also last registered in WI and I dont have a title for either of them. The Vamp I got from a guy here in MN and he had it for a number of years and he didnt have a title, and the other one was at a marine repair place that was selling one of their storage properties and it had been there for like 5 years at that point. Someone brought it in for an estimate or something and once he heard the price he didnt want the boat back or something and they never heard from the guy again. Its a really nice old jet boat that I want to convert to an outboard but I dont want to do anything without a title.
Ok, so titles on vamps are a little goofy and depends on what states it has been registered in, and what the length reported at sale is.
MN and WI both do not require titles on boats 16 feet or less, just a bill of sale. Some people list the vamp as over 16 feet and get a title, some people put them at 16 feet and dont get a title.
Other states might require titles for boats under 16 feet also, but I have not checked other states. Once a boat has a title, its titled and needs the title for sale. So if the boat was registered in a state that has titles for under 16 foot, then its sold in MN, that title is still required even though MN doesnt require titles for 16 feet or less.
What you can do is fill out a "due diligence" form that will force transfer the titles into your name. The forms pretty much say that you tried to contact the last owner, but you cant get ahold of them.
So, take pictures of the registration numbers, hull numbers, trailer registration numbers, trailer vin if you can find it (not terribly important). Then you need a far out picture showing the whole boat and trailer. Take those to the DMV and they run them to verify there is no theft reports on those numbers and you can start filling out the forms. You can either print the pictures, or just bring them on your phone and they will have you email the pictures to them.
I had to fill out a due diligence for my trailer title, but the boat was just a bill of sale since it lived in MN its whole life.