Pontoon Boat Numbers and Stickers

[Jim_T]

I just registered my pontoon boat due to adding a trolling motor (gotta love the DMV).

Now I have to put my numbers on as well as the annual sticker. There are also several lakes around here that require an annual sticker.

I don't really want to start sticking all of them on the pontoon itself (NFO Outlaw X5).

Anybody come up with some creative ways to put these on so they stay on without getting in the way.

Jim
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[flygoddess]

Been doing it for years. First off, they are not going to stick well to the boat itself.
I got a 1/4" thick piece of Plexi-glass (Lowes & Home Depot have pieces)

It is like 5" by 24" long. I stick the UT and numbers to it and the sticker to the side just like a boat, but, I put little clips on the plate and on the frame of my boat so I can take them off and they fit perfect in the side bag.

House siding is also great because it is light and flexible.










Notice, we painted the plastic so the numbers and letters show up better.
You can also get the letters and numbers at Lowes or Home Depot, but they have to be at least 3" I think.
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[albinotrout]

I too used plexiglass to put my numbers on, but instead of strapping it to the pontoon I used velcro. Pic attached.
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[stealthbassin]

I'll be tackling this project myself as I plan to get a trolling motor soon. Was going to go to a local plastics store, but I'll try Home Depot if they have both the plexiglas and numbers.
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[Jim_T]

I bought the numbers at Wal-Mart. Will be stopping by HD to see what sizes they have in plastics.
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[albinotrout]

Walmart and marine shops will carry your numbers. They come in a package with all the nymbers and letters needed that way you don't buy them all separate. Cheaper that way.
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[pontoonman]

What about mounting registration numbers on a piece of coropast used for signs? Then use heavy snap swivels to fasten to your boat. That would come in handy if you want to deflate and store. Might be able to crease the coropast so that it could fold to a tiny package and it is very lightweight and has abrasion resistance without hardness or sharp edges. Coropast is the stuff used for signs and there should be plenty around FREE with all the elections coming.

Pon

[quote Jim_T]I just registered my pontoon boat due to adding a trolling motor (gotta love the DMV).

Now I have to put my numbers on as well as the annual sticker. There are also several lakes around here that require an annual sticker.

I don't really want to start sticking all of them on the pontoon itself (NFO Outlaw X5).

Anybody come up with some creative ways to put these on so they stay on without getting in the way.

Jim[/quote]
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[flygoddess]

True enough and they are water proof, but are they okay soaking in water? Sometimes they are IN the water.
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[peter805]

Just wondering how much was the registration if I may ask ?
And how difficult was it?

Peter
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[pontoonman]

$25 for 2 yrs in TX, but usable in California and perhaps other states. Did take time to go to local office with serial number and fill of paperwork, get inspected, maybe an hour, if not busy. Scratched their head and didn't seem to think I needed one for such a small 6' craft until I told them I would be using a troll.

Pon


[quote peter805]Just wondering how much was the registration if I may ask ?
And how difficult was it?

Peter[/quote]
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[peter805]

$25.00 for two years is nothing. Thank you.

Peter
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[michaelnel]

Peter, I did the California vessel registration of my pram at my local CSAA office (if you are a member). Took about five minutes and $20 for 2 years.
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[flygoddess]

DANG, Ours is like $37. for one year.
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[macfly55]

guess that means you need to move to CA sis.. like north San Diego county area.. [cool] or maybe halfway in between DR and I.. say the Temecula area.. wine country too.. LOL..

MacFly [cool]
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[Jim_T]

Peter,

You only have to register the boat if it has a motor.

I just went thru the DMV process and it was quite frustrating.

First I highly recommend making an appointment. You can do it online but know it'll be 3 weeks out. Otherwise the non-appointment line is out the door. Suggest you try Bishop when you're up there next time.

I think I might have gotten an uninformed agent but here's what they dinged me for:

There is an origination fee of $9 (one time), a renewal fee of $10, an alternative fuel/technology fee of $10 and most painful of all, if you bought it out of state within the last year there is a one time use fee equal to around 10% of the value of the boat and motor.

As I was standing there trying to talk to the woman behind 2 inches of bullet-proof glass (more on that later) to explain what type of boat I had and why I marked "Other" for everything on the form (propulsion, hull material, fuel) the line behind me continued to grow. It didn't help that her English was not very good.

She finally handed me the bill and I was shocked: $219 most of which was the use fee (or sales tax as I call it).

To add insult to injury, she charged me a 10% late fee on each of the above because I was registering it after 30 days. She didn't seem to care that it took 3 weeks to get the appointment and that it shouldn't be based on the purchase date of the boat (November) but rather the purchase date of the motor which was less then 30 prior because you don't need to register it until you have a motor.

Since the penalties were $26 and my time is more valuable than that and I had about 8 people grumbling behind me by that time, I chose not to go the appeal route.

If you can avoid it, either wait a year before you get a motor or if you get a motor take your chances for a year and then register it.

Then it should only be $29 for the initial event and $20 for every two years.

Now I know why they have such thick glass in there. I can hardly wait for them to take over my health care as well.

Jim
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[peter805]

Oh my god Jim !!! Thats sure sounds like a total pain
in the a$$.
What a horrible deal !!! Im so sorry.
Yes, I think I would wait with the motor for a year. That
was kinda my plan anyways.
Thank you for the info.

Peter
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[albinotrout]

Wow what a pain in the butt. All I had to do in utah was have the proper paperwork filled out and then pay the $37.50 and then I was done. The person behind the desk (no bullet proof glass) knew exactly what I was trying to do.
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[pontoonman]

Gosh, I wonder what is the penalty is for non-registration? Those fees are higher than what my last pontoon cost. Must have been some mistake? Nobody should have to endure that kind of process, you're a unusually patient man!

Pon
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