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I bought the boat from a Marine Salvage yard, with only a bill of sale, no title, no ID number as it was built prior to 1972, and no registration numbers on the bow. The owner said he owned the boat for many years, but wasn`t even sure of the brand.
I talked to the DMV and they told me their main concern with untitled boats was that they could have been stolen. They told me what to do in order that a title could be issued and this is what I did.
First I researched on FIBERGLASSICS, a website for old fiberglass boats. I found by looking at pictures that this boat was a boat called a 14' Sea Fury, built in the late fifties. I also found the specs, and the address of manufacture in Ft. Lauderdale. Then I went back to the seller, and he gave my a new bill of sale with the correct name and year (1959) of the boat with the specs Length Width, Weight, and also stated how long he owned the boat (19 years) and that he bought the boat untitled and unregistered. and then had his signature notarized. I took this new bill of sale to the DMV, and they gave me a title, an ID number, and a registration. Simple as that, at least in Florida.
So I assume that if you find an OLD Whaler for sale in Florida, for sale with only a bill of sale, you can do the same thing. providing the owner states he owned the boat for a long period. and never bothered to title or register it. I would imagine that if the boat has reg. numbers, that traced back to the seller it would have been evan easier.
You found the "BAT BOAT", my friend had that boat (or the same model) when we were 16 yrs old, he fixed it up and got it running... with those "Fin's" we named it "The Bat Boat" ! see if you can trace it back to NY.
According to the previous owner the boat was never out of Florida, but who knows, Is is the most crudely built boat I have ever seen, but I stripped all of the stringers and interior out of it and rebuilt everything. Its amazing to me that Whaler was able to built their 13 footer with into the future technology, at the same time as many of these small boat companies were fumbling around building junk. Its obvious that this boat was built off a mold made from an old design wooden runabout, with hard chines and a sharp bow, and they just added a new deck with the fins, which were popular back then on cars and some boats.
I bought this boat really not expecting to get it titled, and only running it at the AOMCI (antique outboard ) meets, but since I now have a title, I can run it anywhere. It will be painted aqua and cream. with a rolled and pleated vinyl interior, (cream color seats with aqua piping). I`m thinking it will resemble a '57 Chevy convertible on the water. I`ll have to make a windshield for it. Another odd thing is the inside of the bottom is also the floor, When I flip it over I`ll add foam inside the gunwales and fins, and add a foam filled bulhead at the bow. As it is now it would sink like a stone if it was ever holed. The bottom was very thin, but I added a layer of bi axial fab mat to the inside of the bottom, along with new stringers made of 1/2 of 6" PVC pipe that I glassed in. The floor will be carpeted. I also had to build a new transom, and I built it strong enough to put a big motor on it. During doing some sanding in areas with stress cracks I found the boat was never gel-coated, just painted, and I can`t figure out exactly how it was molded, It might have come out of the mold with a rough finish, and it appears that the coated the boat with red glazing putty, then paint, much like you would a car.
There is no paper trail for this boat, It starts with my title, but the reason for this thread is just to show that apparently not too difficult to title maverick boats in Florida. Surprising to me. I have seen some old Whalers laying around that have no titles. also boats without titles sell for cheeep.
Here are some random pictures of the fiberglass work. I had to mold and glass the areas on the inside of the tailfins back in, so I filled the cutout areas with metal lath, plaster of paris, ground it to shape, covered the plaster with aluminum foil, and glassed over it with several layers of mat. Then I broke the plaster and the lath away. I had never seen this done this way before, but it worked out well. It`s an easy way of rebuilding missing parts of any boat. Most of the work I did last winter, I have major sanding to do now, waiting for some cooler weather next month. Hope to have the boat done by the spring.
