How to Locate a Boat Owner
Owning a boat is a dream of many because boats allow you to explore open water any time you wish. Boats are required to be registered with your state Department of Motor Vehicles or Wildlife Commission, depending on where you live. Identification markers make it easier to locate boat owners. While enjoying boating, you may find that you need to locate a boat owner for several reasons. You may wish to charter a boat, or purchase a boat from an owner, or you may have been involved in an accident with an unattended boat and need to exchange insurance information.
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Instructions
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Ask the dock attendant and neighboring boat owners if they know who owns the boat in question. They might not be willing to give you his name and contact information, but at the very least, they can pass along a message for you.
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Enter the name of the boat and the city into a search engine to see if there is a website that mentions that boat and its owner. Boat owners usually name their boats, but you will have better luck tracking an owner this way if the boat is linked to a business with its own website.
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Copy the 12-digit Hull Identification Number (HIN) located on the stern of the boat, then go to a website that sells boat history reports, such as boatfax.com, and follow the instructions to locate the most recent owner of the boat.
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Contact the local police department and provide them with the HIN and registration number so they can determine who owns the watercraft and contact the owner for you. Only use this method if you have been involved in an accident and need to file a report.
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Tips & Warnings
The HIN Number is like the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) used to identify road vehicles.
Never leave the scene of an accident without first filing an accident report.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit boat and boat houses image by Inger Anne Hulbækdal from Fotolia.com
