Any chance the boat was last sold far enough in that past that a title wasn't required?
If the title on record has the outboard SN and not the hull id from the boat, then it doesn't seem like the right document to solve your problem.
Any chance the boat was last sold far enough in that past that a title wasn't required?
If the title on record has the outboard SN and not the hull id from the boat, then it doesn't seem like the right document to solve your problem.
In reply to No Time :
I don't think so, but I honestly haven't run across that in Florida. I'll look into it.
It wouldn't matter. With a title there is no inspection, you just go in with the signed title, pay your money and get it moved to your name. The way I'll likely go through with it will require an inspection
It doesn't sound like the boat title ever existed. Even if you got the title that exists for it, it doesn't match up to the HIN... So why would you ask for that title?
mtn (Forum Supporter) said:Steve_Jones said:Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:Call, explain, ask for title. If he refuses, drag the boat and trailer back to his house and park it on his street in front of his house, with your trailer lock on the trailer. Leave it with a sign that says, I will remove for free when you find the title.
Let the home owners association or cops start ticketing the owner and have that do the rest.
Entitled much? What did the original owner do that justifies you demanding he give up the title?
Left it at a mechanics to rot and decay, presumably without paying for services rendered?
And that's between the owner and the shop. Jumping in as a 3rd party with the attitude of screwing the original owner just makes you look like the biggest ass of the now 3 people involved.
In California in the 1950s , many cars were registered by engine number , '
if you ever get an original 1950s title it says "Frame or Engine number"
Most people at DMV do not know this :(
Could it be the same in Florida ?
In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
Solely to avoid an inspection.
Mr_Asa said:In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
Solely to avoid an inspection.
Doesn't that mean you need the original motor? Without that motor, you have a title and a boat and no way to prove they go together.
In regards to your actual question, I would first talk to the shop, since they dropped the ball. Ask the shop, "if Mr_Asa does all the legwork and form filling can Mr_Asa do paperwork through them?" If they agree, ask to call the owner of the boat from the shop's phone. Tell the owner you are calling from (shop) and you are wondering if you can just get the title rather than having to go through a storage lien.
If yes, congrats, you now have a title to a motor you don't own and don't want. If no, do paperwork for the shop to get the title legally transferred through the shop to you.
I am assuming, despite not understanding, that having possession of a vaguely associated title is actually less troublesome than having to get a boat inspected.
Steve_Jones said:mtn (Forum Supporter) said:Steve_Jones said:Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:Call, explain, ask for title. If he refuses, drag the boat and trailer back to his house and park it on his street in front of his house, with your trailer lock on the trailer. Leave it with a sign that says, I will remove for free when you find the title.
Let the home owners association or cops start ticketing the owner and have that do the rest.
Entitled much? What did the original owner do that justifies you demanding he give up the title?
Left it at a mechanics to rot and decay, presumably without paying for services rendered?
And that's between the owner and the shop. Jumping in as a 3rd party with the attitude of screwing the original owner just makes you look like the biggest ass of the now 3 people involved.
But he's not trying to screw the original owner. He paid for the boat. He basically paid for the problem, and the potential benefits.
I agree that there are a million problems with this, but he's not being an ass and he's not screwing anyone.
In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
Read what I replied to. Robbie was saying tow it to the owners house and put a lock on it, only removed with a title. Let the cops ticket it. That's a dick move when the owner did nothing to you. As far as saying the original poster (who I agree is being reasonable) paid for it, he didn't pay the person that actually owned it, that's a problem.
If I pay someone else for your car, can I now harass you for the title? If you don't give it up, can I block your driveway until you do?
Mr_Asa said:In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
Solely to avoid an inspection.
Would that actually do it for you though? It sounds like the title that exists is not for the boat that you have?
In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
It should do it. Without an inspection I can go in with the title, get it signed over, then register it. With the registration I can put the hull numbers on it to get it on the water. Unless I am King shiny happy person to FWC (or whoever pulls me over on the water) the hull number and active registration are all they check.
I'll bug my friend at the DMV though, enough people are registering it as a concern that it should be looked into.
To the people claiming it's a stolen boat, is it really if the title doesn't match the boat's VIN? Po po shows up then a real quick "well let's check the VIN" leaves Mr. Asa in the clear.
Steve_Jones said:In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
Read what I replied to. Robbie was saying tow it to the owners house and put a lock on it, only removed with a title. Let the cops ticket it. That's a dick move when the owner did nothing to you. As far as saying the original poster (who I agree is being reasonable) paid for it, he didn't pay the person that actually owned it, that's a problem.
That seems like a strange thing to do. If the guy doesn't want the boat he could just let the police tow it. It would then end up at a police auction and whoever has the highest bid will get ownership and title. If the guy does want it he could just cut the lock and pull it into his backyard reclaiming ownership. Bolt cutters are cheap at Harbor Freight.
Mr_Asa said:In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It is kind of convoluted, isn't it? I'll try to clear it up
Saw a boat and trailer ad on craigslist, lets call the seller Adam. Originally, the boat came with an outboard, however Adam put the outboard on craigslist before he ever advertised the boat. After I picked up the boat, I went looking for an outboard and found one on craigslist, call the seller Bob. Went to talk Bob and found out he was a fellow AOMCI member who has about 50-60 outboards of random sizes in his shop, he keeps the ones he wants and flips the others. Found out from him that Adam was not an AOMCI member, but knew a bunch of them, sometimes went to meets, and actually sold Bob the outboard. Had an opportunity to buy that outboard and reunite it with the boat, but I wanted more power and there were a couple warning signs with the motor. Picked up a bigger outboard from Bob and went home.
One day I checked on the status of the title with a friend who works at the DMV. He gave me some info on the title. The VIN that was stamped on the back of the boat wasn't the one on the title, but doing some digging on my own it looked similar to an outboard serial number. I gave Bob a yell and asked him to email me the serial number on the outboard when he had a chance. Turns out that the VIN on the title matches the one on the outboard, the VIN stamped on the hull is not in Florida's DMV system
Why the title VIN matches the outboard, I honestly cannot tell you. That isn't Florida's method of doing it, all I can say is that someone somewhere screwed up.
Ah, ok. If I'm understanding correctly, the boat is untitled... at least in FL because of screwups.
That works in your favor. Getting the title from the previous owner likely won't help. I mean, you could get it titled to you (with the wrong ID number) if your state doesn't require a visual inspection. But, I would personally skip the previous owner (potential bees nest) and just see about getting a title for a boat. I'm sure there is a provision for it. Here in PA, the proper channels (unless it has changed in the last 5 years) is really old-school. 1) place an ad in the legal section of a periodical stating your intent, 2) pay a $5 fee to have the state give you a report of the last three owners (which in your case would turn up zero), 3) send a return-receipt letter to those last three owners. If you get no responses in X days, you can then take all that paperwork to the office and apply for a title. In PA, boats are titled by the Boat Commission, not the DMV. Trailers are titled by DMV, but as you mentioned you don't need one for the trailer.
In MD, the process was similar. I bought a Baja out of Baltimore in about the same condition as yours. Grass, yes, sapling, no. However in the case of MD, they tend to skirt the formalities. I called my contact there and told her I did all that stuff and she just took my word for it, didn't wait the X days, and just sent me a title with my name on it.
I think getting the title from the last guy is a bit futile since it lists the outboard and not the boat. Since you don't have that outboard, it wouldn't do any good to link your boat to the title. At least if you had the outboard, you could take the title and boat to the state and say, "I just bought this boat and someone screwed up the title" and they could issue a corrected title. Without the outboard they would just have to take your word for it... which DMVs aren't in the habit of doing.
In fl the hull is the thing the title is for and its what matters. the motor never factors into that, nor does the trailer. Ive never heard of a motor having its own title but the trailers can. If you say the trailer is home built and its under some weight limit you dont need a title.
Mr_Asa said:frenchyd said:In reply to Mr_Asa :
Wait a minute. Does he have tittle or is the bank a lien holder against the tittle.
many "scrap" boats wind up in dumpsters because they aren't worth the financed amount.
Shop owner never got the title just because it was not worth the condition for him to do so. I have a friend at the DMV and they checked the original title. It is a clear title and owned by someone one town over.
Check with the county and see if the owner has paid taxes on it recently.
I would go to the DMV and ask them what to do.
I hate talking on the phone too.
Does Florida have bonded titles? In Texas you can get a title for anything as long as you buy a bond for it.
In reply to m4ff3w :
Florida does not offer the option to get bonded titles for trailers, boats or jet skies.
https://blog.suretysolutions.com/suretynews/how-to-get-a-florida-bonded-title-in-6-easy-steps
In reply to spitfirebill :
Nope. Last registered in '15
In reply to Shadeux (Forum Supporter) :
Done that. Supposed to find the previous owner and have him sign over the title.
I'm still confused.
If the identifying numbers on the title were from the motor, and not the boat Hull tag itself, how is it not an untitled boat?
RevRico said:I'm still confused.
If the identifying numbers on the title were from the motor, and not the boat Hull tag itself, how is it not an untitled boat?
Yeah, I still can't get past this myself. Especially with how easy it is to swap outboards - hell, I have a boat that has had 3 different outboards (and a trolling motor!) on it in the last 15 years. 4 "motors". I just can't understand how any of them would have any bearing on the title. Heck, it would be easier to remove the outboard than it would be to remove the fish finder on one of the boats.
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