Registering ninigret in massachusetts

[Jon A]

Greetings all,
My Ninigret is about done with the exception of a few minor punchlist items and my next hurdle is registering her here in Massachusetts. The Environmental Police website explains that I need to make an appointment and take her somewhere for an inspection and that I will need to show proof that I paid sales tax on all the materials used. No problem. My question for those of you who have done this is what will I be inspected for? Will all the safety equipment have to be in place? Will I need to defend the safety of this design or it's buoyancy?

Any wisdom from your experiences will be appreciated. I have a genetic defect that prevents me from having positive experiences with bureaucrats so I have learned to proceed cautiously.

Thanks,
Jon

[Garret]

Not a direct answer to your questions, but if you have problems, register it in Vermont (you don't have to be a resident) & then transfer it.

[timo4352]

Jon,
I'm from Ohio so things may be different in Mass.
I took receipts, a few pictures that had me and the half built boat in them, the plans, the boat, and myself to the ODNR office.
An appt was required. They measure the length of the hull and look at your paperwork to determine if the boat could be stolen.
I don't think that they really care much whether it floats on not.
What you are getting is a hull identification number... and with that I got a title made up all in the same day. Registration stickers are easy now to get whenever you're ready.
I found it best to call first and ask all my questions beforehand so there are no surprises when you get there on inspection day.
A safety inspection will likely happen one day on the dock somewhere when the Coast Guard in making their rounds... or you could probably schedule one...it is currently not mandatory here, but refusing one at the time on the dock is not advised either.
Good luck.

[adktripper]

It’s an easy process and environmental police were great. Just asked how many feet and filled out paperwork.

[dbp1]

I did this last year (I think? or the year before). They came to me (booked a time online I think), rather than me taking the boat to them, and it didn't seem like that was an exception. The in-person inspection is just to confirm that it's self-made (and the length): the environmental police officer then gives you a signed form, and you send that, along with all your receipts, to the main office, to actually get the hull number. The first two times they sent it back, can't remember why (I think the first time I didn't include the receipts, because I thought I had been supposed to show those to the officer, and then I think I didn't have the total $ amount right), but eventually they issue you a HIN number, then you have to stamp / engrave that a couple places on the boat, take a photo, and send that and then finally you get the actual registration.

[JeffD Marion]

I registered a home built boat in MA about 5 years ago. I do not remember the requirement to document the sales tax, but I used a CLC kit so it would not have been an issue. They came to the house to inspect the boat, and the inspector seemed happy to have a change from his normal duties. A pretty easy process.

[spirit]

Ask for the environmental police in MA soon. They can take a long time to come. I had to take my receipts to an office in Worcester to document the sales tax; make sure
that you have all of the receipts. They figured out all the breaks for shared-State taxes (since I bought some fittings from Rhode Island and Maine). My EP policeman told
me exactly what was required (e.g. spacing of the supports for wires) for things I had not finished...

[dbp1]

Receipts are for hull number. Kits will (usually?) have them already assigned.

[Jon A]

Well, I almost have the boat registered here in Massachusetts! Here is how this unfolded:
I called the Environmental Police, using the number obtained on-line and scheduled an appointment and they came to the house and looked at Ninigret, asked me a few questions and gave me a paper that would accompany my application for registration. With my application and the Environmental Police form and all my materials receipts I went to the local MEP registration office (Hyannis). There they told me I needed to file a ST6-E, a tax exempt form, at the Department of Revenue. I was able to file the ST6-E from my phone right at the registry and immediately called the Dept of Revenue and they faxed the completed form to the Hyannis office of MEP.
The registry then processed my application and took my $93.00 and issued me a hull number and a boat registration number. But they would not give me my registration paper and year sticker and title until I obtained a metal plate with the hull number and certified that I had attached it to my boat. I have ordered the metal plate and next week I will return to the registry and complete the process.

They never looked at the materials receipts that I had carefully saved!

I hope this helps the next person who registers a homemade boat in Massachusetts. It is an awkward process but I guess it works.

Jon

[JimConlin]

A friend once was registering a home built boat in another state. At one point in the process, he was asked for his receipts for materials. The boat had been largely built from leftovers and he he had no receipts for its materials. He was a house builder by trade and did happen to have a bag of receipts for other materials, largely drywall. THis was accepted.
I won’t identify the state.

[dbp1]

Well, I almost have the boat registered here in Massachusetts! Here is how this unfolded:
I called the Environmental Police, using the number obtained on-line and scheduled an appointment and they came to the house and looked at Ninigret, asked me a few questions and gave me a paper that would accompany my application for registration. With my application and the Environmental Police form and all my materials receipts I went to the local MEP registration office (Hyannis). There they told me I needed to file a ST6-E, a tax exempt form, at the Department of Revenue. I was able to file the ST6-E from my phone right at the registry and immediately called the Dept of Revenue and they faxed the completed form to the Hyannis office of MEP.
The registry then processed my application and took my $93.00 and issued me a hull number and a boat registration number. But they would not give me my registration paper and year sticker and title until I obtained a metal plate with the hull number and certified that I had attached it to my boat. I have ordered the metal plate and next week I will return to the registry and complete the process.

They never looked at the materials receipts that I had carefully saved!

I hope this helps the next person who registers a homemade boat in Massachusetts. It is an awkward process but I guess it works.

Jon

Just a note for anyone else. Unless they have changed in the last couple years, you need to have the hull number permanently on the boat, but I don't think you need a metal plate. e.g., they were perfectly happy with me stamping the letters into the wood (not as pretty as a plate, but honestly, I'm happier with more subtle, given the purpose!). In any case, you need to send them a photo of whatever you did, to confirm that the HIN is actually there, and that it is permanent (i.e., they may be unhappy if you have something screwed on, unless you could convince them that it was bedded with a glue that would not be easy to remove).