Buying a boat in NH

[aquabones]

Originally Posted by Mr. Prop-B-Gone

We bought our 2001 Bayliner 195LX a couple of years ago from a person who was in the military and had been transferred to New Hampshire from Delaware, so the boat was registered in Delaware. He had a loan out on the boat, which we paid off, so we knew it was clear. Since his bank was out of state, we had him give us a conditional bill of sale, subject to us paying off the loan and giving him the balance due, with a final bill of sale when we picked up the boat. Both he and his bank in Delaware were very easy to work with, and the transaction took less than a week. We had the seller provide us with a copy of the paperwork showing that the loan had been paid off and the liens released.

We simply took the previous owner's registration to Trexler's, registered it in New Hampshire, and they assigned a new number right there at Trexler's. Bought the new numbers on eBay for a couple of dollars, put them on the boat along with the registration sticker and we were done.

The trailer was titled because of the weight it was designed to carry, but the boat had no title. The trailer had to be re-titled and registered at the Town Clerk's office.

The toughest part was taking the old numbers off the hull, but a little Goo-Gone did the trick.

I have to agree that is is surprising that such a potentially expensive vehicle is not titled. I'm surprised that so many states have not jumped at the chance to charge more fees!

Great point that the state could be making money having everyone register their boats.