Dinghy Shenanigans

We used the dinghy a lot.  This is Manjack Cay.

In 2016, near the end of our time in the Abacos, we began to notice that the dinghy needed to be bailed frequently. When we had a chance, we inspected the well-maintained hard-floor inflatable, and were surprised to discover that the inner floor seam was separated all the way around the hull tubes, and the outer seam was held on mostly by water pressure.  No qualified repair shops could be found, and purchasing a new dinghy was impractical, if not impossible. Through the VHF radio net, we found a deal from our friend Kevin, the dockmaster at Pineapples Marina and Resort on Green Turtle Cay.  It was a 1999 Avon fiberglass bottom “RIB” model, arguably better than the failing dinghy’s plywood floor, for only $400.  It was a little heavy, but it would still fit on our cabin top for passages-- perfect. 

The old dinghy would have
lost to the shark

The sale was made.  We thought about obtaining a Bahamas registration number, but it didn’t seem important at the time.  No one in the Bahamas seemed to care about a registration number (or life preservers for that matter.)  The dinghy needed to be registered in the US, since it has an outboard motor, even if only a 2.5 hp model.  We planned to get back to the states, make some phone calls, send the paperwork to Maine, and get a registration number.  It turns out, if the manufacturer’s official serial number, or BIN, is missing for any reason, a registration can only be obtained with some extra paperwork and with a physical inspection by the authorities, details depending on the particular state.  We knew the BIN was missing, but we had a Bill of Sale, and to us it was just an old inflatable dinghy with no sign of painted registration numbers on the hull. And, it didn’t leak.   

We crossed the Gulf Stream back to the States in May, and then left the Magus stored on the hard in Virginia for a couple of years, while we returned to our home in Maine. The dinghy never got registered.  In 2019, I planned to sail Magus the rest of the way to Maine, mostly single-handed.  I was aware that the unregistered Avon dinghy could result in an enforcement violation that usually includes a minimum fine.  Although all states have an exemption for some number of days in transit, that assumes it is registered in another state. 

The new dinghy/ lifeboat in Virginia

Then I discovered that a lifeboat is also exempt. I added a “Lifeboat” decal to the dinghy, with labels for the bigger vessel’s official number and some reflectors, hoping any enforcement official would be a little more cooperative in the event of a conversation-- we still planned to get the thing registered, after all. Of course, the exemption only applies to a lifeboat that meets standards for construction and equipment, like the lifeboat/ tender vessels that are mounted along the sides of some cruise ships and used to ferry passengers to shore.  I was never questioned by any authorities, so I never had a chance to try the story, which may have made things worse, anyway. 

Note: There was a time when it may have been legal to mark a dinghy as a “tender to”-- T/T-- a documented vessel, and not obtain a state registration, but this has not been the case for many years.  From the US Coast Guard Documentation Center: “Documentation of your vessel does not cover the vessel's tender or dinghy. These craft fall within the jurisdiction of the motorboat numbering laws of the state of principal use.”  Still, I have friends who continue to do this, and they have not been caught.

Back home, we still needed to get the Avon registered.  In Maine, a vessel excise tax is paid to the local municipality, and they send the paperwork to the state for the registration numbers.  The tax clerks in our hometown of Freeport were very helpful, and gave us the paperwork to be completed.  The Freeport Harbormaster helped get a state marine police officer to look at the dinghy and sign the forms.  The town tax clerk was satisfied, but the completed forms were rejected by the state. The law had recently changed so the “state marine enforcement officer” had to be an official at Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W), but this fact had not made it to the forms.  

The closest IF&W office is in the town of Gray, about a 45 minute drive inland from us in Freeport.  So, we had to get a trailer, a vehicle with a trailer hitch, load up the inflated Avon, and drive it to Gray.  The IF&W officials actually attached two new BIN plates to the $400 Avon, took a photo for their paperwork, and returned the papers that we needed to go to Town Hall for sending to the state to have the registration issued. The new registration numbers and decal are apparently the first to ever be affixed to the 20 year old boat.

That was not as easy as we imagined when we bought the used dinghy in the Bahamas. Of course if I had just done nothing, I would have saved a lot of time, and I have yet to be questioned by any enforcement authority about the dinghy.