When you make the decision to become the owner of a brand new or second hand boat, there are plenty of different rules and regulations that you have to make sure you abide by in order to operate your new vessel on a legal basis. It might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but the truth is that something as insignificant as the placement of your boat’s name lettering is actually very important indeed! To help you understand this particular element of vessel ownership, here is some vital information about the significance of boat name placement.
Identification Purposes
It goes without saying that the significance of boat name placement relates to ways in which an owner is required to display the lettering for the purposes of identification when needed out on the water.
Can Be Made By Any Means
The lettering that makes up the boat name can be made by any means and materials available, as long as the end result is a durable marking that can clearly be seen and is not going to come away in a short amount of time.
Lettering Restrictions
The vessel name in question needs to be composed of letters from the Latin alphabet, with Arabic or Roman numerals. It is not allowed to be longer than 33 total characters in length. Interestingly, the name of the boat is not allowed to be the same as, or too close to resemble any words or phrases that are used to solicit assistance when on the sea, and it also cannot contain or by phonetically similar to anything obscene or profane.
Height Requirements
The letters that are used to display the boat name must be a minimum of four inches in height, and that counts for all characters including both letters and numbers.
Hailing Port
The hailing port needs to include a place, State, Territory or possession of in the United States, and this can be in an abbreviated form if needed or preferred.
Placement Requirements
The boat name and hailing port of the vessel need to be marked together, and they must be clearly visible on some part of the exterior hull. It is important to note that stenciling on the bottom of a dinghy is not considered to be a permanent marking.
Federal Issue
Something important to remember on this front is the fact that Federal Vessel Documentation is a federal issue as the name suggests, and therefore it is not open to interpretation or enforcement by the various authorities of individual states.
If you feel like you would like to learn more about the importance of boat name placement, along with every other element of vessel documentation and regulation, then head over to the US Vessel Documentation Center for everything that you could possibly need to know and more. Feel free to contact a member of the experienced team if you require a more direct and specific correspondence. We look forward to being able to assist you in any way that we can.
