Repair & maintenance guides

Avoiding Boat-Buying Scams: Fake Listings, Fake Escrow, Overpayment Checks and Safe Payment

How to spot and avoid the scams that target boat buyers and sellers: too-good-to-be-true listings, sellers who are always overseas, look-alike escrow and shipping websites, overpayment checks and fake payment notices. Covers verifying the boat, the title, the HIN and the seller, paying safely, and what to do fast if you already sent money. Practical help, not legal advice.

Boat Insurance Policy Basics: Agreed Value vs Actual Cash Value, Navigation Limits, Storm Deductibles and Exclusions

Learn to read a boat insurance policy before you need it: agreed value versus actual cash value, navigation limits and lay-up periods, named storm deductibles, towing, salvage and wreck removal, liability limits, and the exclusions that cause most claim surprises. General information, not legal or insurance advice.

Boat Loan Add-Ons: GAP, Service Contracts and Credit Insurance, and How to Cancel Them

Understand the extras offered at the finance desk when you buy a boat (GAP coverage, extended service contracts and credit insurance), when one might make sense, what they really cost once financed, and how to decline, cancel or get a refund. General information, not financial or legal advice.

Boat Registration Numbers and Validation Decals: Federal Display Rules, State Placement and Renewals

Display your state registration number and validation decal the way federal rules (33 CFR 173 and 174) and your state require: size, block style, contrast, spacing, placement on the forward half, decal position, what documented boats show instead (name and hailing port), what to carry aboard, and how to never miss a renewal. States add their own details, so check your state boating agency.

Boat Taxes by State: Sales and Use Tax, Yearly Property or Excise Tax, Visiting Limits and Moving

Understand the taxes a boat can trigger in the US (sales or use tax when you buy, a yearly property or excise tax where you keep it, and deadlines when you visit or move to another state) so you can budget for them and avoid penalties. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Boats With No HIN: State-Assigned Hull Numbers for Homebuilt, Pre-1972 and Damaged-HIN Boats

What to do when a boat has no hull identification number, a homemade or kit boat needs one, an older boat predates the 1972 rule, or the number has been damaged or altered: the federal rules, how a state assigns a HIN, the inspection, the proof of ownership and build receipts to bring, how to fix the number to the hull, and the red flags that mean walk away. Practical help, not legal advice; every state runs its own process.

Buying a Boat at Auction: Insurance Salvage, Impound and Lien-Sale Boats Without Nasty Surprises

How insurance salvage, impound, lien-sale and government boat auctions work, what kind of title you'll actually get, why the engine warranty may not follow the boat, how to inspect when you can't sea trial, and how to budget for liens, fees and getting the boat home. General information, not legal advice.

Buying a Boat in Another State: Survey, Paperwork, Taxes, Registration and Getting It Home

A step-by-step plan for buying a boat that is hundreds of miles away: checking it remotely with a local surveyor, matching the HIN and VIN to the title, avoiding long-distance scams, paying the right sales or use tax, registering in your home state, the trailer's own paperwork, temporary permits, and legal towing or professional transport for wide boats. Rules vary by state, so confirm each step with the agencies involved.

Buying a Boat That Sat Outside for Years: What Fails, How to Inspect It and What It Really Costs

A boat that sat in a yard for years can be a bargain or a money pit. Learn what usually fails (fuel system, waterlogged foam, stringers and transom, wiring, upholstery, trailer), how to inspect and weigh it, when to pay for a survey, and how to price the repairs before you make an offer.

Checking a Used Boat's History by HIN: Decoding, State Records, Coast Guard Search and History Reports

Use the hull identification number to check a used boat before you buy: find and decode the HIN, confirm the builder and model year, look for recalls, check state title and lien records and the Coast Guard documentation database, decide whether a paid history report is worth it, and learn what none of these checks can tell you.

Choosing How to Store Your Boat: Trailer at Home, Dry Stack, Lift, Wet Slip, Mooring or Indoors

Compare the main ways to keep a boat in season and over winter: on a trailer at home or in a lot, in a dry stack, on a lift, in a wet slip, on a mooring or indoors. See what each costs, how it affects growth, corrosion, UV and upkeep, what to check about insurance, HOA rules and security, and how winter changes the choice.

Financing a Boat: Loan Terms, Survey and Insurance Requirements, Liens and the True Cost of Ownership

Understand a boat loan before you sign: typical terms and down payments, what lenders check, why they want a survey and insurance, how the lien is recorded (Coast Guard preferred mortgage for documented boats, state title for the rest), how the payoff works when you sell, and how to add up the real yearly cost beyond the monthly payment. Practical guidance, not financial advice.

Hiring a Delivery Captain: Moving Your Boat by Water vs by Truck, Vetting, Contract, Costs and Owner Prep

Decide whether to move a boat on its own bottom with a hired delivery captain or on a truck, then vet the captain (Coast Guard credential, experience, references, insurance), put the job in a written contract, budget the day rate and expenses, and get the boat, paperwork and insurance ready before the lines come off.

How Much Is a Used Boat Worth? Pricing Guides, Comps and Condition

Work out a realistic price for a used boat, whether you're buying or selling: check sold and listed comps, read J.D. Power, BUCValu and ABOS values the right way, value the engines separately, adjust for hours, condition, upgrades and location, and know when a valuation survey is worth paying for.

How to File a Boat Insurance Claim: Safety, Mitigation, Documentation and Settlement

What to do from the moment something goes wrong until the check arrives: make everyone safe, stop further damage, report right away, document with photos and your maintenance log, handle towing versus salvage, work with the adjuster or surveyor, and understand agreed value, actual cash value and the common exclusions. Policies differ, so your own policy wording always wins.

How to Get Rid of an Old Boat: Sell, Donate, Turn In or Scrap It the Right Way

An old boat nobody wants can cost you money for years. Learn your real options (selling as-is, donating, state vessel turn-in programs, landfill or dismantling), the tax rules on donations, how to cut your name off the registration and title, and why you should never abandon a boat.

How to Get Your Boat Ready to Sell (Records, Title and Prep)

Prepare your boat for sale the way buyers and surveyors expect: gather the title, registration and HIN paperwork, organize your maintenance records and receipts, fix the small stuff, detail the boat, get it ready for a sea trial and buyer's survey, and close the deal with the right documents.

How to Inspect a Used Boat Before You Buy

A step-by-step checklist for looking over a used boat, from paperwork and the hull ID number to the transom, engine, compression test, sea trial and trailer. Know what to check yourself, what the red flags mean, and when to pay a marine surveyor.

How to Prepare Your Boat for an Insurance or Condition Survey

Get ready for a marine survey your insurer or lender asked for: what a SAMS or NAMS surveyor looks at, the common findings you can fix beforehand (hose clamps, seacocks, bilge, fire extinguishers, wiring), the paperwork to have ready, and how to handle the recommendations afterward.

Inheriting a Boat: Title Transfer, Coast Guard Documentation, Insurance, Taxes and Keep-or-Sell

What to do when a boat comes to you from a relative's estate: secure it and keep it insured, find out how ownership passes (joint owner, transfer-on-death, probate or a small-estate affidavit), transfer a state title or a Coast Guard documented vessel, deal with the trailer, liens and taxes, and decide whether to keep or sell. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Marina and Storage Liens: How Lien Sales Work, Buying a Lien-Sale Boat, and Not Losing Yours

How unpaid slip, storage or repair bills turn into a lien and then a sale, using Florida and California as examples; what an owner can do to stop it; and how a buyer checks that a lien-sale or abandoned boat comes with paperwork the state will actually title. Every state has its own process and deadlines, so confirm with your state agency.

Marina Slip and Storage Contracts: What to Read Before You Sign

Walk through a slip, mooring or winter storage contract clause by clause: insurance and additional-insured requirements, hold-harmless and waiver-of-subrogation language, liveaboard and work rules, DIY and outside-contractor limits, storms, termination, refunds and lien rights, plus the questions to ask the marina and your insurer. Practical guidance, not legal advice.

On-Water Towing Plans: BoatUS vs. Sea Tow vs. Your Insurance Towing Coverage

Compare a BoatUS or Sea Tow towing membership with the towing coverage on an insurance policy: what each pays for (tows, soft ungroundings, jump-starts, fuel delivery), why hard groundings and sinkings are salvage that only hull insurance covers, how to call for help, and what to have ready when you do.

Owning a Boat in an LLC or Trust: Reasons, Registration, Coast Guard Documentation, Taxes and Insurance

Why some owners put a boat in an LLC or a trust, what it does and doesn't do for liability, how it changes state titling and Coast Guard documentation, why states go after out-of-state LLC tax schemes, and how to keep the insurance, loan and paperwork lined up. General information, not legal or tax advice.