Free Navigation

[T.A.R.]

I'm not sure if this belongs in the bilge. I hope not to offend.
In Rhode Island you now not only have to have a holding tank, your Y valve must be capable of being locked the system must be inspected and you get a sticker saying so. The inspections are to be carried out by marinas and cost around $50 the sticker $10. The pumpout personel are to report any boat without a sticker. The State claims 87% compliance with holding tanks, this action is supposed to bring inline the other 13%.
I'm still not over the state requiring federaly documented vesels to be registered with the state. All this to bring in revenue that doesn't go back to boating it goes into the "general fund". I apologize for the rant but boaters in Narragansett Bay should know.
If anyone can shed light on this I would greatly appreciate it.

[Tom Lathrop]

Don't know about that but I have two friends who have been fighting the state of Connecticut which is trying to tax their sailboats because they were cruising there last summer. That's an actual tax and not even discuuised as a user fee or some other such noxious term.

The tourism dept and the revenue dept must be fighting too.

[uncas]

TAR....Ducumentation does not seem to make a difference here in MD either...You still pay taxes and you still have to register it...a bit cheaper once the taxes are taken care of...but still.
As far as I can tell. the only thing that being documented allows you to do is not put numbers and letters on the bow....other than that...well not much...
Tom...In MD if your boat is here in for more than 30 days...you gotta pay...Seems as though the states are standardizing...
There are a lot of boats here...many for more than 30 days which have not been selected by the state for implimentation of this tax...not enough manpower but one of these days, the state will figure out how to cover all of the marinias and boatyards to catch the delinquent tax payers...I am registered to avoid the penalties which are a wee tad steep...
jamj

[Tom Lathrop]

Uncas,

I am not fundamentally opposed to registering of boats by the state nor of paying the state a property tax for a boat registered in that state. I will not ( make that NOT) pay property tax to another state than the one where the boat is registered AND the owner resides. There has to be some time limit, of course to avoid people who like to register vehicles in other cheaper states. 30 days is much too short, as witness my neighbor who was spending lots of money cruising in Long Island Sound and nearby water last summer. A little civil disobedience maybe, but there is is.

I do think that documentation should not relieve a boat owner from paying the same taxes as undocumented boats. The federal use of these boats in time of war,etc is a fiction except for special cases.

[Frank E. Price]

Maybe they're hoping you will all give up boating; then they can put up more condos on the waterfront.

Ketchikan used to have a scam whereby they inventoried the city harbors (state built, city maintained) once each January and charged a flat $75 annual tax to the owners, regardless of length of stay or residency. Don't know if they're still doing it. I quit taking my boat there.

Frank

[T.A.R.]

Thankyou gentlemen for your input. I know we as boaters are in the minority and perceived as rich(they can afford it) it makes us an easy mark. It's funny, states that claim to foster the industry are also the ones that exploit it. Maybe I'm too niave. I wonder what our forfathers would have done, oh yeh revolution "Free Trade and Sailors Rights"
Ted