Do you need to find out more information about a vessel but don’t trust any of the sources you’ve come across? Does it seem like there’s not a single, unimpeachable Coast Guard documentation search to give you what you need to know? With so much information online, it can be difficult (at best) to know who to trust. At our U. S. Vessel Documentation Online site, we can help. Here, you can find the forms that will give you all of the information you must have from a source you can always trust: the Coast Guard itself.
Coast Guard Documentation Search: The Abstract of Title
Many of the Coast Guard documentation forms we have at our site have self-explanatory titles. “Initial Registration,” “Renewal,” Change of Address/Hailing Port” – when vessel owners see those titles, they know, more or less, what the form is going to be able to do for them. The Abstract of Title is not the same. The title does not necessarily explain exactly what it does. What it can do is to give you the information you need to make a decision about a vessel before you decide to purchase it. Another way to think of the Abstract of Title: “The Vessel’s History.”
Coast Guard Documentation Search
With the Abstract of Title, you’ll know whether or not there are any mortgages and liens on the vessel. Moreover, you’ll know whether or not they were satisfied. If they weren’t, that’s a very big deal. The last thing you want to do is to purchase a vessel with outstanding liens or a mortgage. Then, those debts would be on you to pay. The unscrupulous vessel owner who sold them to you would then not be “on the hook” for them. You work too hard for your money to give it away like that. Really, in the end, the Abstract of Title protects your investment.
The Truth About a Vessel’s Past
Beyond that, an Abstract of Title also tells you how old a vessel really is. To return to the example of the unscrupulous vessel owner, they know that if they clean up a vessel nicely, they can make it look newer than it is. However, with the Abstract of Title, you can know for sure when a vessel was manufactured, where, and by whom. That way, you’ll know what’s really going on before you make a final decision.
The Forms You’ll Need Once You Purchase Your Vessel
We don’t use the example of the unscrupulous vessel owner to scare you. Rather, it’s to prepare you so that you can make the best decision. After you’ve determined what vessel meets your needs and purchased it, we can help further still. You can find all of the forms you’ll need to stay in compliance with the Coast Guard for as long as you own your vessel. From registration renewal to certificate replacement and more, you can find it at our U. S. Vessel Documentation Online site.
