Registering an aluminum boat?

[Stubbs65]

My '74 seaswirl blew a head gasket and possibly cracked the block. I don't have the money to fix it right now, but my dad is nice enough to lend me his old aluminum boat and electric trolling motor. Does anyone know if I have to register an aluminum boat with an electric motor?
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[FishKillr]

Yes you do. It should be under $50 as long as you inherited it and do not have to pay taxes. It helps to have the boat with you in the parking lot in case they have any questions or need to look at any #'s when registering it for the first time. If it has been registered before (has a bow #), then it is really simple, if not... it's not too bad either. Make sure you have the capacity plate on the boat, it is required if the water police pull you over and it also has the #'s that the people registering may need to use. A bill of sale wouldn't hurt either, but may not be necessary. On my boat they wanted to see it all, and luckily it was all in order.
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[jdawg183]

Yup, sure do. I just bought a little 12' boat this year and my 36# electric made it so it had to be registered. As the other poster said, taxes are most of your fees, so if it was given to you or you have already paid on the boat (not the motor), you should be fairly cheap.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

What he said. I believe the threshold is when you add a motor. So a canoe, or rowboat isn't required to be registered if you're under paddle-power, but even a float-tube motored with more than flippers requires registration.

I don't think my little 'ol flatbottom even has a capacity label. The VIN number is simply scratched on (untitled craft). An old registration should have all the vital info. Nobody asked to look at the actual boat. May depend on whether you talk to Selma or Patty.

Also - FYI, the trailer should not require registration.

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]One other suggestion. Call to be sure that the DMV office you want to visit actually registers boats. Not all of them do. And if possible you can talk to one of the folks that handle boat registration to be sure you are properly informed and that you bring the right documents and information. One trip to DMV is bad enough. Having to make a return trip because you blew it is even worse.[/#0000ff]
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[utahgolf]

I had to have my canoe with me at the dmv so they could inspect it and what not. so be sure to bring it
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[flygoddess]

Not in Utah. Trailers have to be a certain weight capacity before you have to license them, and the trailer you mentioned is way under both. Any trailer under 750 LBS does not need to be licensed. I don't think this means loaded, just basic trailer weight. So if you have a trailer that weights say 500 lb, but you put an ATV on it, the trailer still does not require licensing.
Idaho, however, you have to license any trailer.
I have a 10' by 6' flat bed (light weight) that does not require licensing.
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[Boatloadakids]

Bigy- I don't think you will have to license a small trailer like yours.
I have a 17 ft. Tracker on a single axle trailer and it does not require a trailer license.

However.... when I bought my boat the salesman told me to license the trailer initially for insurance purposes and then not worry about licensing it again because it was not required. I did and a year or so later I got pulled over by the HP for an expired license. I told him my story and he got on his horn and called the DMV (probably because I'm a shady lookin' character). They apparently confirmed my story cuz the cop let me go on my merry way without a ticket. I have since removed the expired plate from my trailer and so far no problems.
Edit: Good post by Flygodess. I'm sure mine is under 750.
Thanks Flygodess
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[Therapist]

Utah's boat and trailer laws are really different from surrounding states. You don't have to license trailer unless they are multi axle and it has only been in the last 15 years or so that we were issued titles. I was trailering my rig, single axle, with 4 or 5 other guys dragging their rigs, to a tournament in Arizona. We got stopped by a AZ trooper and he began to write us all up for no tags and registration on the boats and trailers. We told him that Utah did not require tags on the trailers and did not issue us titles on the boats. He could not believe it and called his dispatch to confirm. After about 20 minutes, he tore all the tickets up and let us all go, shaking his head in disbelief. After that we all carried certificates from DMV stating that we were not required to have tags on the trailers and the only license needed was the boat registration. Different strokes for different folks. I have never put tags on my trailers as they have always been single axle and have never had any difficulty with insurance.