When you take ownership of a boat for the first time, you will experience plenty of excitement. You likely cannot wait for that first time out on the water where you are in control, piloting your boat with pride. Before you can get your boat in the water, you do need to decide what you…
When you begin filling out your vessel documentation, does it feel like the process wasn’t made for vessel owners, but instead for the convenience of those who collect the forms? Are you looking for a process that makes it easier on vessel owners? We designed our NVDC for vessel owners, to make it easier on…
Are you ready to take your family and friends out on your vessel for the summer? Has it been far, far too long since you had fun on the water? If that’s the case, now is the time. As of this writing, it’s mid-June. This is the time of year that people think of when…
The Maritime Administration of the United States (Marad) grants waivers of the existing regulations only when your intended purpose doesn’t cause “undue adverse effect” on other operators or shipbuilders. A Marad waiver exempts provisions that may occur under one particular set of circumstances. Primarily, it depends on the use to which you intend to use…
Do you keep up with Coast Guard safety alerts? Do you check them every now and then before you go out on the water? It’s entirely likely that you don’t. That said, it can be worth it to check in with them from time to time. These alerts provide pertinent information that may not be…
If you are the owner of a large pleasure vessel like a yacht or the owner of a commercial vessel for your business, getting documentation for your boat is important to you. The documentation is required by law for all commercial vessels, and for large pleasure boats, it can be an important component for you…
Did you recently lose your Certificate of Documentation and aren’t sure what to do? Did you suffer a lost boaters license and are researching the best course of action? At the National Documentation Portal, we help vessel owners with vessel documentation. Vessels that have been documented with the USCG are our forte. That said, there…
Paperwork can feel like the bane of our existence today. Even though we live in what is called the “Electronic Age,” everywhere you turn, you get more paperwork that you need to fill out, type up, and send to someone or somewhere. Not only does all this take time and effort, but a lot of…
US maritime laws are designed to protect US waterways and coastal waters and give preferred access to US-operated vessels, particularly along trade routes. Owners of vessels not built in the USA cannot get easy access to these prime routes but the US government doesn’t want to block all external trade so there are ways for foreign…
Do you feel like someone who owns a documented vessel owes you money for work you did on or related to the vessel? Does it feel like there’s nothing you can do to get them to pay? That can be an incredibly powerless feeling. Moreover, it’s frustrating, because you did what you said you were…