There are a number of decent lakes in the Ocala area... you cannot get blown out to sea while you learn to blow over. My cat did not come with directions either. It is a bit intimidating at first. Suddenly, one day... you realize you have a handle on it.

I am getting sick of waitting....

Unfortunately the new law is that any boat 16' or longer (motorized or not) must be registered. Believe it or not this includes Canoes Kayaks etc...

So Charlie came over Sunday and helped me get her rigged.

Thanks!

Any info on when this new law went into effect?

at my beach.. there is vertually no-one with a registered or titled cat...
actually i only know of 1 person who actually has a title for their cat...i have never had a title for any of my 3 cats..

http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqboat.html#7
Is a non-powered vessel required to be registered and titled?

If the non-motor powered vessel is less than 16 feet in length, it is not required to be registered or titled. However, if the vessel is 16 feet or more in length, it is required to be registered and titled.

Yeah, must be new. I have never seen a Florida beach cat with a title. I looked it up about a decade ago and I think my SC20 barely made the cut for length back then.

In december 08 i wrote
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/vslfacts.html#4
Exemptions From Registration - non-motor-powered vessels
Exemptions From Titling - non-motor-powered vessels less than 16 feet in length

the link no longer goes to that info....

Andrew,

The last sentence is the key point here.

"However, if the vessel is 16 feet or more in length, it is required to be registered and titled."

An H16 falls into this category.

Here's what I went through. I knew I had to get the trailer registered one way or the other but didn't think I had to worry about a title or registration for the boat. Keep in mind this is an 81 H16. It has been through at least three owners that I know of.

In the process of dealing with the trailer registration, the girl at the tax collectors office asks me if I am going to register the boat and I say no, it doesn't have to be registered. She informs me that yes, even if it is a non motorized sail boat 16' or over, it must now be registered, so I hope you have a title and previous registration. Nope!

I had to have fish and wildlife commission come out and do an inspection on the boat. Run the numbers to see if it had ever been registered, measure the boat, take photo's etc... see you can't get it registered without a title and neither I or the last two guys that owned the boat had a title.

So now I have applied for a title which will take 8 to 10 weeks and he tells me that while he has recommended that a title be issued, as he's sure it's not a stolen boat, I am at the mercy of the state and they may or may not issue a clear title. If not, I can't get it registered and I will be in violation of the law. He also said that technically, if he wanted to be an butt, he could really make it difficult for me and especially the guy who sold me an untitled boat.

All that said, the guy was super helpful and was much more pleasant to deal with than the idiots at the tax collectors office. He said this was such a big waste of his time that could be spent on things that actually make a difference.

He also said I might want to pass along the info since there are obviously many people in the same situation, and are not aware of the newly revised law.

Just passing it along.

All that said, Anyone want to take a newbie sailing this weekend?

All of us are in the same "BOAT". No registration...

When did the new law go into effect?

I was told August 1st.

Maybe this is something that should be posted as a sticky or at least a new post entitled New FL laws regarding title and registration for 16' or over non motorized vessels?

Anyone going sailing in or around the Ocala area tomorrow? I've had the boat for two weeks now and really want to get her out on the water. I started to go today but just decided there was no way I was going be able to step the mast by myself, not to mention the fact that I don't have a clue what I'm doing on the water.

My 17 year old daughter could help me step the mast but I'm not comfortable taking her out considering I don't know what I'm doing. She's very athletic (she'll be playing D1 collegiate soccer next year) and a great swimmer but I just don't feel like it's a very smart thing to do? Am I being over cautious here?

What about trying it with just the main sail and not the jib? I think maybe one less thing to figure out may make it less intimidating. I just really want to get out there and just can't seem to find any local sailors.

I'm sure you've all seen this video but it makes me smile every time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWINygISxDE

This is just another way for the State to tax us. They did the same with dirt bikes.

Sailing a H-16 without the jib is not recommended as the jib is the forstay, and is how the rig is tensioned. Tacking a
H-16 w/o a jib would also be very difficult. You can back wind the jib to help push the boat onto the point of sail. Happy sailing.

Absolutely! I remember when they did this with ATV's and caused a huge uproar. It's a joke and like I mentioned previously, the officer that inspected my boat said it was such a huge waste of their time.

Thanks for the info Steve. I guess I just have to get out there and do it.

Pretty gusty today for a first attempt though.

Check the weather.

Yes great video~!
there is another one of guys wakeboarding behind that trimaran (with waterski lines)