Coast Guard ID in Bilge
 

I registered my boat with the CG and now need to "permanently" mark the NO. in the engine compartment. The regs state that it must be done in a manner so as to be evident if tampered with or removed. I am looking for some creative and good looking ideas.

With all of the OS'ers here I am sure you guys have solved this one before!

Thanks,
Bruce...

My boat number tag is stamped stainless steel plate attached to a side bulk head along the port engine and held in place with stanless rivetes. That passed the C.G. reg. no problem....

find a local vinyl shop to make the lettering for you in any color you want.

needs to be at least 3" or maybe its 4" in height and have NO in front of the number.

stick it on your bilge area somewhere and your good to go.

I did the same as lotoparty

That won't pass......it's not permenant and can be removed.

then theres thousands of boats out there that dont pass.

outlawntexas if you want to make sure , a call to the coast guard would be in order.

PhantomChaos may be right , but ive never had a problem with using vinyl.

boat name and hailing port is also in vinyl on my boat.

HOW DO I MARK MY VESSEL?
The official number assigned to documented vessels, preceded of the abbreviation "NO." must be marked in block-type Arabic numerals at least three inches high on some clearly visible interior structural part of the hull. The number must be permanently affixed so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious and cause some scarring or damage to the surrounding hull area.

The name and hailing port of a recreational vessel must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull. The vessel name of a commercial vessel must also be marked on the port and starboard bow and the vessel name and the hailing port must also be marked on the stern. All markings may be made by any means and materials that result in durable markings and must be at least four inches in height, made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals. The "hailing port" must include both a place and a State, Territory, or possession of in the United States. The state may be abbreviated.

PhantomChaos is right. i would guess its something the coast guard overlooks though.


http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/vdoc/faq.htm

I found the easiest thing to do is use the block style vinyl letters/numbers, and then take a piece of fiberglass cloth and some resin and glass over top of them. You can see the Documentation number fine and the fiberglass keeps anyone from tampering with it.

I bought stencil letters and numbers from the art store and taped my numbers (preceded with NO) into a string. I then taped the string to the hull inside the engine compartment. Then carefully brushed black paint into the stencil. Actually, I let my wife the artsy one do that. The stencil did not sit tight enough to the hull to spray paint it. Then I removed the stencil and clear coated the black paint. Turned out real nice.

Brush a coat of clearcote over it and you should be good to go :cool:

Yep, even spray clear polyurethane over it....

Yep, even spray clear polyurethane over it....

Thanks for the reply guys. I was on the CG web site too and got the "law" but again, I want to do something cool yet legal. After reading these replies I am leaning toward getting an anodized aluminum plate and having the NO. and numbers engraved in it leaving behind a shinny surface of engraved area. That then will be riveted to the bulkhead alongside one of the engines. I want the next owner to be able to remove it without really scaring up the boat.

Bruce...

Yep, even spraying clear polyurethane over the vinyl shoiuld work. Scarring would occur should it be removed. But the only test would be to actually have Coast Guard check it....

Decided to get some aluminum deck plate, have it powder coated to match the bezels and CNC the numbers in it. :D

Bruce...

I am Having Dana Marine mill the numbers in a piece of Billet, and then I am going to have the area surrounding the letters / numbers painted to match the battery covers. The numbers / letters will be polished.

I have had this boat for two seasons and have yet to be checked yet. I have had the local law enforcement agency look at the back of the boat for name and hailing port, but they have never asked to see the I.D. numbers.