Wisconsin boat owners, I have a question...

Ed L.

Ed L.

Well-known member
Supporter
Although I was approved for a new boat loan I talked my self out of it. Instead I bought a boat through and acquaintance from a guy in Wisconsin. Did I make a mistake? When I went today to pick up the boat I received a signed Bill Of Sale and a signed current boat registration. The boat is registered as a 15' so no title just a registration? Also apparently boat trailers in Wisconsin have no titles or plates hence no paperwork? The seller wrote down the vin number for the trailer on the bill of sale but so what without a registration or title who's to say this is ligit. Is there something I'm missing? I'm afraid this is going to become a Cluster F**k titling the boat and trailer in Illinois.
 
People from up north who buy boats from Alabama have the same issues. Boats, motors and boat trailers here have no title, just a registration for the boat, which lists the trailer and motor.
When we buy & sell, all we do is give a bill of sale which lists all the VINs & serial numbers.

From what I have heard from some northern states, yes, you might have a real headache on your hands. Or not???
 
I know that in Ohio if you don't have a title for the boat you may as well forget it. Trailers only need a weight slip.
Tom.
 
Ed,

You are correct that only boats 16 ft. and over are required to have a title. Neither boat nor utility trailers are registered nor have plates in Wisconsin.

I don't know anything about titling boats or trailers in Illinois and what is required. I don't know what you need to do if you need a title and don't have one. I would imagine that this is something that comes up often and they would have a procedure to handle it - then again, it is Illinois. Sorry can't help.
 
Ed, It won't be a problem. Just go to a title agency that is good to deal with. When I moved to IL from WI none of my boats or trailers had a title. I registered my boats myself and got titles and plates for the trailers thru a license agency.
 
Ed, It won't be a problem. Just go to a title agency that is good to deal with. When I moved to IL from WI none of my boats or trailers had a title. I registered my boats myself and got titles and plates for the trailers thru a license agency.
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Mike,

That's a good idea. I have an agency here I've used before. I'll go there. Since I have a current signed boat registration I would hope that would be adequate for registering and titling the boat.

Thanks Tom, Pete and Phil. I can't agree more that the issue is Illinois. The hell of it is I left here in the 80's and returned. It didn't take long to remember why I left. Sometimes you learn, sometimes you forget.
 
The hell of it is I left here in the 80's and returned. It didn't take long to remember why I left. Sometimes you learn, sometimes you forget.
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You came back to the quad cities for the great duck hunting in the area!
 
The hell of it is I left here in the 80's and returned. It didn't take long to remember why I left. Sometimes you learn, sometimes you forget.
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You came back to the quad cities for the great duck hunting in the area!
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Mark,

The sad thing is that's what I remembered when I decided to move home. At one time there was great duck hunting here. I was just talking yesterday with a retied IA DNR CO about the decline in the duck numbers in the Mississippi Valley flyway. One of his comments that stuck out was when the money that casino's bring into a state and the state looks the other direction and allows draining of wetlands to accommodate the casino the fight is over. The biologists can scream bloody murder but it makes no difference. I think you know which casino and which wetlands he's referring to locally. They are also all up and down the river. Part of the decline in woody numbers in our area is that wetlands he referred to produced most of the woodies we used to shoot. Of course that's just one small reason.
 
I may be in a similar situation Ed. I purchased a poke boat in Wisconsin and brought it back toMN. Mn requires titling and licensing of kayaks and canoes over 10'. I got nothing when I purchased the Poke as the sale was off of Craigslist (I know, doesn't matter where it was purchased from) and I didn't think a small kayak would require a title and registration. In MN it does.

Wish me luck. Otherwise my 12' Poke just became a 10' micro poke boat at 10'.

Someone explain to me why a 10' kayak is good to go with no requirements but once you hit 12',it is a whole different story.

Mark W
 
Mark,


Good luck with that. One thing Illinois has done right recently is that canoes, kayaks and paddle boats do not need to be registered any longer. Although they do need a yearly $6.00 sticker. Of course if you bought the Poke boat from an Illinois owner you'd be in the same boat!


Hey Mark, If a CO stops you with a tape measure just tell him it expanded with time. Just like me!


I'm half way there with mine. I have a title application in the works and a temporary tag for the trailer. I should have my title in two weeks and my plates a few weeks after that. Of course Illinois requires watercraft registration and titles be submitted to the state for transfer. Hopefully someone in Springfield has dealt with a Wisconsin boat transfer and knows about the registration vs title requirements and I see an Illinois title and registration sometime in 2016. The IL DNR site shows they are processing applications submitted in September as I type this.
 
Mark,

MN may be different than IL was when I moved from WI to IL but I just wrote the DNR a letter and told the the canoes, kayaks, and duck skiffs all came from WI and the did not have to be titled in WI. A hand written bill of sale may help.

After I went thru the whole process of titling canoes and kayaks. IL did away with that requirement and now has the $6 sticker annually. I haven't tried buying new stickers yet for 2016. The stickers expire on December 31. A year ago I hunted in January with expired stickers because none of the vendors were selling stickers for the year in the beginning of January. Typical IL system.
 
So how is this for stupid. No title needed but a bill of sale is required. I asked if it can just be an email from the seller. Nope, has to be an original signed bill of sale. Being logical here, how does this make a difference? Are they afraid I might.make up my own electronic bill of sale and turn it in. It is so much harder to make my own bill of sale and sign the owners name right? I put this in the category of the ever expanding list of stupid government rules regulations and laws.

I got ahold of the seller who will be sending me a bill of sale when he gets off Lake of the Woods ice fishing. Gave him the option of snail mailing me a BOS or sending me one electronically that I will print and sign his name. I know, lawbreaker.

At least the boat can be registered to me legally so I can sell it somewhere down the line. Oh, and one more rule. If I only used this boat for duck hunting it would not have to be registered. Doesn't say during the duck hunting season it just says for the purposes of duck hunting. Guess I could have never registered it and if ever stopped out of season I could claim I was scouting right?

Mark W
 
Oh, and one more rule. If I only used this boat for duck hunting it would not have to be registered.

Mark W
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Clear evidence of the massive lobbying power of Illinois duck hunters!

I would be in serious trouble if I need to keep track of titles for all of my canoes and kayaks. I'm not entirely sure how many there are stashed in various places . . . . . Only two of them were purchased new, and I sure couldn't find receipts for them today.

I don't know about larger boats, but for boats up to 16 feet in Maine, nothing more than a bill of sale is required. If you buy a boat that's not previously been registered, they just create a VIN number for you when you first register it, and you are expected to permanently label the boat with it.

Canoes and kayaks are completely beneath the radar.
 
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