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Stoked
02-10-2003, 08:28 AM
Has anyone changed registration from CA to AZ? Bought a new boat last year and am dreading the upcoming tax bill. I understand in AZ no tax is collected. I live in So Cal. We own a place in Parker Damn CA, and do all of our boating on the strip and up on the lake. My brother also lives in Phoenix. Any help would be appreciated.

lavey in red
02-10-2003, 10:11 AM
Hey Stoked
Contact the Arizona Fish & Game Department and register as a out of state boater. Cost for my boat (21Ft-Jet) was about $85.00 this year. Be sure to keep your trailer registered in Ca. The
ticket for towing a trailer registered in AZ. with a car registered in CA. was about $150.00 dollars a couple years ago and they will nail you for it every time on Rice Rd. A freind of mine got 3 tickets in one summer for that. Bastards in CA. have to get their money any way they can.
Good luck.

24RODjr
02-10-2003, 10:23 AM
Lavey,
I gotta disagree with you on the registration issue. You can permanently register your trailer in AZ for half of what you pay every year in CA. Even if you get a ticket or 3 you're still savin' money on the deal.
-Chris

beer hunter
02-10-2003, 10:24 AM
lavey in red:
Hey Stoked
Contact the Arizona Fish & Game Department and register as a out of state boater. Cost for my boat (21Ft-Jet) was about $85.00 this year. Be sure to keep your trailer registered in Ca. The
ticket for towing a trailer registered in AZ. with a car registered in CA. was about $150.00 dollars a couple years ago and they will nail you for it every time on Rice Rd. A freind of mine got 3 tickets in one summer for that. Bastards in CA. have to get their money any way they can.
Good luck. Stoked , Lavey in red is right on the money with his answer. I just bought a new boat and registered the trailer in CA. and the boat in AZ.

Party Cat
02-10-2003, 10:34 AM
lavey in red:
Hey Stoked
Contact the Arizona Fish & Game Department and register as a out of state boater. Cost for my boat (21Ft-Jet) was about $85.00 this year. Be sure to keep your trailer registered in Ca. The
ticket for towing a trailer registered in AZ. with a car registered in CA. was about $150.00 dollars a couple years ago and they will nail you for it every time on Rice Rd. A freind of mine got 3 tickets in one summer for that. Bastards in CA. have to get their money any way they can.
Good luck. If ya register that same boat in Nevada....it would be $30/year.....NDOW (http://www.boatnevada.org/register/index.htm)
The bigger the boat the greater the savings, my 26' costs me $45/year in NV, In AZ it would be around $115.
As for the trailer....keep it in CA...with the new Perm. Trailer license plates... I think it's like $2/year.

SchellSchock
02-10-2003, 10:58 AM
I live in San Diego,CA. My in-law's live in Mesquite, NV. Can I register my boat in NV using their address and keep the trailer registered in CA?

Party Cat
02-10-2003, 11:07 AM
SchellSchock:
I live in San Diego,CA. My in-law's live in Mesquite, NV. Can I register my boat in NV using their address and keep the trailer registered in CA? You can use your own address. Nevada doesn't have resident/non-resident registration. It's the same price regardless where ya live. All they care is that you use the vessel on Nevada waters 51% of the time......

Boatcop
02-10-2003, 04:46 PM
Even if you get a ticket or 3 you're still savin' money on the deal.
The fine for a California Resident with out of state plates is anywhere from $500-$1,000, depending on where you live. It's classified as a misdmeanor, and although rare, jail is possible. CA is SERIOUS about losing revenue.
The only way a California resident is permitted to have a motor vehicle or trailer registered in another state is if it is NEVER brought into California.

Stoked
02-10-2003, 06:25 PM
Alan
Thanks for the info. I did some research and spoke to several boaters who are in a similar situation as myself. They have their trailers registered in CA and their boats in AZ. Is this against the law? I contacted AZ fish and game and the fees are only $94.20 per year. I'm not trying to bend the rules but I do almost all my boating on the strip and up on the lake. Lastly is a boat considered a "Motor Vehicle"?
Thanks for the Help Steve

el_jefe
02-10-2003, 06:36 PM
Boatcop: Regarding your answer on Cal. reg. vs. AZ reg. you mentioned motor vehicle, so I am assuming that it does not refer to a boat; thus, I can register my 21ft jet in AZ, or Nev. and the trailer can be registered in Ca. Note: not trying to bend any rules either, but I boat in NV. and AZ. 90% of the time, but If I go to a CA. lake would I be ticketed.

Boatcop
02-10-2003, 07:20 PM
Under Federal Law, you are REQUIRED to register your boat in "The State of Principle Use". That means where you boat the most. If you boat anywhere on the Colorado River you are boating in Arizona. It doesn't matter if you stay or launch from the California or Nevada side. You are boating in AZ.
All you have to do, as RD said earlier, is boat 51% of the time in AZ.
The only way you'd get in trouble for boating somewhere else, is if the local Water Patrol see you every weekend at Shasta, or Elsinore, or wherever, throughout the summer.
And under California Law, a boat is not a "Motor Vehicle" It's a "Vessel".
Besides. Arizona Boat Registrations pay my salary, so to everyone out there:
COME ON OVER :D

DARE2BBARE
02-10-2003, 07:53 PM
does anyone have the # or sight of the az fish and game

lavey in red
02-10-2003, 08:09 PM
Hey there
Here it is.
Arizona Game and Fish Department
2221 West Greenway Road
Pheonix, AZ 85023
(602) 942-3000

mike37
02-10-2003, 08:10 PM
boatcop what is the fin for having you boat registerd in AZ but still have CF numbers on your boat

Jordy
02-10-2003, 08:41 PM
Arizona Game and Fish Homepage (http://www.gf.state.az.us/frames/index.html)

bordsmnj
02-10-2003, 08:53 PM
lets really split some hairs. what if i registered for principal use in az and still wanted a supplimentery like cf number do i still have to pay the fat "luxury " tax to have CF number also??

BoatFloating
02-10-2003, 10:07 PM
bordsmnj:
lets really split some hairs. what if i registered for principal use in az and still wanted a supplimentery like cf number do i still have to pay the fat "luxury " tax to have CF number also?? I've had my boat registered in Calif and haven't received a tax bill on my boat for a number of years. So my cost is $10.00 every 2 years for boat and the trailer is $20.00 for 5 years. When I got my tax bill questionaire they asked me where I boat. I told them I keep it in Havasu and boat there 95% of the time. After that I never got a tax bill. I since have bought a new boat in different county and never got a tax bill for that either. So I wonder if Calif got smart. They know you can go to AZ or NV and register your boat, so this means they lose money. So the county and state both don't get the money. If you don't get a tax bill CA is alot cheaper than AZ. :)

Party Cat
02-11-2003, 05:55 AM
Boatcop:
All you have to do, as RD said earlier, is boat 51% of the time in AZ.
Alan....how can you confuse RD and Me :confused: ......Remember, he's the one with the beer belly and the skinny arms.....my arms aren't skinny :D :D :D

Boatcop
02-11-2003, 02:27 PM
Alan....how can you confuse RD and Me Doh!! http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/avatars/simpsons/simpsons60.gif
Sorry 'bout that. I was just reading the posts, not paying attention to the name. I saw the OP6 logo, and thought River Dave.
I AM a trained observer! http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/avatars/southpark/southpark02.gif
[ February 11, 2003, 02:28 PM: Message edited by: Boatcop ]

Party Cat
02-11-2003, 02:31 PM
Boatcop:
Alan....how can you confuse RD and Me Doh!! http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/avatars/simpsons/simpsons60.gif
Sorry 'bout that. I was just reading the posts, not paying attention to the name. I saw the OP6 logo, and thought River Dave.
I AM a trained observer! http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/avatars/southpark/southpark02.gif I'll forgive ya this time :D :D

TrojanDan
02-11-2003, 02:37 PM
Here's another question for you Boatcop. I had to Document my boat with the Coast Guard and am in the process of painting my name and hailing port on the transom. How often do you guys stop documented vessels? Or do you just look at the name and hailing port and consider it registered as it should be? I contacted AZ Fish and Game to see if there was an additional sticker to put on or fee to pay and they said no.
Thanks,
Dan

miller19j
02-11-2003, 02:39 PM
Party Cat:
Boatcop:
All you have to do, as RD said earlier, is boat 51% of the time in AZ.
Alan....how can you confuse RD and Me :confused: ......Remember, he's the one with the beer belly and the skinny arms.....my arms aren't skinny :D :D :D ThatÂ’s pretty funny he say a banner with a Pussy on it and immediately thought River Dave! wink :D

Boatcop
02-11-2003, 04:23 PM
Documented Boats
Contrary to popular belief, we DO know about CG Documented pleasure boats. If we see that a boat that doesn't have registration numbers has the name and hailing port properly displayed on the stern, we'll presume it's Documented. We won't stop the vessel based only on the lack of registration numbers.
However, if we stop it for another reason, and find that the document isn't on board, the official number isn't on the main keel, or the document is expired, or the document is in a previous owner's name, we'll treat it as an unregistered boat.
The Coast Guard has instructed us to check all the above factors, and to cite and report to them, any documented vessel that doesn't comply. They want to maintain the integrity of the program, and make sure that boaters aren't misusing the process.
Mike asked what the fine is for an unregistered or expired tag. The base fine is about $75, but that can be waived or reduced if the violator brings proof that they got the boat properly registered.

TrojanDan
02-11-2003, 04:33 PM
Boatcop:
Documented Boats
Contrary to popular belief, we DO know about CG Documented pleasure boats. Thanks Boatcop, that's the answer I was looking for. I am having trouble figuring where to locate the official number. Is the engine compartment an acceptable location as long as it is permanently fixed to the boat? You mention keel. I was thinking of routing out the numbers on a piece of wood then screwing it somewhere inside the engine compartment in a visible location.

Boatcop
02-11-2003, 05:15 PM
Here's what the CG says on attachment of the number:
The official number of the vessel, preceded by the abbreviation ``NO.'' must be marked in block-type Arabic numerals not less than three inches in height on some clearly visible interior structural part of the hull. The number must be permanently affixed to the vessel so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious. If the official
number is on a separate plate, the plate must be fastened in such a manner that its removal would normally cause some scarring of or damage
to the surrounding hull area.

TrojanDan
02-11-2003, 05:19 PM
Thanks..Boatcop.

olds455jet
02-12-2003, 09:50 PM
I also have my boat registered in california and have not recieved a tax bill, I Just told DMV when I bought the boat that I have it stored in Blythe and use it mainly on the river.

JetBoatRich
02-13-2003, 04:04 AM
I got the tax sheet, not sure which boat they are talking about the one sold or bought?

lavey in red
02-13-2003, 10:21 AM
FYI
I thought I had gotten out of paying the tax on my boat the first few years that it was registered in CA by saying that I stored it in AZ and never saw a bill again only to find out that Orange County placed a lien on my house. Took me some time to clear it up so I could Refi my house.