Determining what pleasure boat you may want to buy is not an easy thing. There are many choices in the open market today. You can find new boats, but most first time owners may find better deals available if they look for one that is preowned and for sale. You may find you can save a significant amount of money on a vessel that is in excellent shape and suits your needs. As enamored as you may be when you see that particular ship for the first time, you still want to check the boat out thoroughly before agreeing on a final sale. You will want to examine the boat carefully, but you may also want to perform a documented vessel search to gain insight into the ship.
Gaining Information from a Vessel Search
Performing a vessel search will give you some information that can be useful to you. You will get the chance to see the documentation number and Hull Identification Number (HIN), along with the name of the ship, all in one place. This gives you the chance to compare information and make sure it all matches what you have seen on the boat itself. You will also find out information about when the boat was built, what kind of engine it has, and who the manufacturer was. The age may be important to you and can give you a clue as to aspects of the ship you may want to look at.
Looking to Perform a Search
You are going to want to find where you can go to perform a documented vessel search. While the Coast Guard does maintain a database, they do not offer access to the database on their website. However, there are several sites on the Internet that do offer free search capabilities that you can use. Just typing in “Coast Guard documentation vessel search” in a search engine will give you results of websites you can use. You can then type in the ship’s name or the documentation number (if you have it), and you will get results that you can examine.
Other Vessel Services for You
Here at Vessel Documentation Online, we know how important it is that you are aware of a documented vessel search and what it can do for you. We also know that you want a reliable source you can turn to for help with registration and documentation services. That is why we have created a portal that allows you to find all the Coast Guard forms you might need during your boat ownership.
You can choose the form, fill it out electronically, and send it to us. We will look it over and check for accuracy before turning it over to the Coast Guard for processing, giving you a method of completing documentation tasks that is faster, more secure, and more reliable than anything you have seen before. And if you ever need any assistance, you can call us at (866) 981-8783, and we will be glad to help you.