Your boat's paperwork: the compliance notice, the licence and registration

Janelle is thirty-six. Last fall she bought her neighbour's five-metre runabout, and today she's finally launching it. At the ramp, a friend asks whose name is on the licence. Janelle digs the paperwork out of a dry bag. It's still her neighbour's name and address. She'd assumed the paperwork simply came with the boat, like the cushions.

So here's the question. What papers belong to a boat, what do they prove, and whose name should be on them?

Start with the compliance notice, a label near the helm. The test may call it a capacity plate. The Small Vessel Regulations call it a compliance notice, so learn both. Transport Canada's Safe Boating Guide says it's required on pleasure craft under twenty-four metres that have a motor, or are designed for one, with some exceptions.

On boats up to six metres, the notice shows three limits: maximum engine power, maximum number of people, and maximum gross load. You're at capacity when you reach any one of them, whichever comes first. They're good-weather numbers, for an evenly spread load, and rough conditions may mean carrying less. Boats over six metres show no limits, but can still be overloaded. Removing or altering the notice can bring a fine.

Next, the pleasure craft licence. If your boat's engines total seven and a half kilowatts or more, that's ten horsepower, the Small Vessel Regulations say it needs one. The number goes on both sides of the bow, and a copy of the licence stays on board. It's good for five years, and there's a small fee. Transport Canada compares it to a licence plate. It is not proof of ownership.

The owner's name and address on the licence must be accurate. If they change, you update them within thirty days, and updating is free. Registration is different. It's optional for pleasure craft, and a registered boat doesn't need a licence. So remember the split. Your operator card is about you. The licence and registration are about the boat. This is general information, not legal advice.

On the water. Anchor off an island on a Saturday and look around. The numbers on the bows of the boats nearby are their licences, on both sides, so a boat can be identified from either direction. And before friends pile in at the dock, glance at the compliance notice and count heads. If the wind comes up on the river, that good-weather number isn't a target. It's a ceiling you may need to stay well under.

Let's change one fact. Janelle bought the boat last week, not last fall. The Small Vessel Regulations give a new owner up to thirty days after the purchase, as long as the documents the regulation lists are on board. Last fall is well past that. Either way, her job is the same. Get the licence transferred into her name.

The mistake boaters make is mixing up the card and the licence. They're different documents. You can hold a card for life and still be out on an unlicensed boat, or own a licensed boat and have no card in your pocket.

Here's the rule, in one breath. Stop at the first limit on the compliance notice, licence any boat of ten horsepower or more, keep a copy aboard, and keep the name and address current.

This week, find your compliance notice and read its three limits out loud. Then check the name and address on your licence. Next time, lifejackets, and why wearing one beats carrying one.