Hello all, I put a deposit on a 28 Cigarette but after talking with the seller some more, and his inability to produce a registration, I am starting to think he does not own the boat. Is there anyone on OSO capable of running a hull number to see who owns the boat? If not, know of a service. Thanks.

You need to run it through the state where it is registered in unless its USCG documented.
How does he think he will be able to transfer ownership without a title or USCG documentation??

its up to you to do due diligence, but if this guy has nothing and is helping with nothing you need to get your deposit and go find a boat that has the paperwork. check the reg numbers if any on the hull in the stste its registered. if it comes back diff run, dont walk away

Do you have the hull number? If so, call you local water patrol or authority with jurisdiction. They can tell you if it is stolen.

This^^^^^^

If you explain the situation, they'll be able to run it for you and confirm it's status.

Then, if it's not stolen and he just doesn't have the title or any paperwork, you should be able to request a new issued title through your local dept. of motor vehicles (just like a car). If the boat was coast guard documented the actual CG doc is the title. When / if you title it through the CG, they'll give you the new title.

All great information here.

Although they wont tell you the actual name of the owner....you can call the DNR of your state and give them the State registration numbers....you can ask the person to just pull up the info and then tell them the name of the person selling the boat...they in turn can tell you yes or no if thats the name on the registration....i did that with a waverunner once...

Gentlemen, Thank you to everyone for their replies. Yes, first call this morning was to the local police department. Gave Hin and State Vessel number. Initially police wouldn't give me name of owner, but then confirmed name and address of seller as the last registered owner which was back in 2004. That is the year of the sticker on the boat too. Seller also gave me a copy of his driver's license, so I feel better going forward. Will know next couple days how this irons out. Just don't know how hard it is to get a registration if seller slow to cooperate. Will post outcome one way or the other. Thanks again to all who replied. Best, Gregg

If he is the true owner then you can apply for a duplicate title. When i did this for a waverunner i bought that was a mechanics lien...i included a copy of the bill of sale that was notarized and they sent me the duplicate title to my house...then i ran over to the last owners house and had them sign it for me....

Just a quick update. Everything turned out okay and I am now the owner of a 28SS project. Owner turned out to be a great guy and easy to work with. I will start a new thread because the boat needs a total restore. If it isn't fiberglass, it isn't in the boat. No engines, drives, wiring, gas tanks etc. Will be seeking the wisdom of all of you.