Wooden Home Made Canoes - Register with State?

RoadRunner

Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
Forgive me if this isn't the appropriate forum to post this, but I'm wondering if anyone can advise on this topic: Registering / Licensing my canoe. I live in Illinois, and all the resources I've seen so far (most notably the Illinois Dept of Natural Resources) refer to "New Watercraft" that were "purchased from an Illinois dealer or retailer", and no category seems to cover owner constructed watercraft. Any ideas where to get the right info?
 
I have a friend in Illinois that has built several strippers. It must not be too difficult.
Here in Iowa, I go to my local Court House, with some basic canoe specs, and they set me up including a Coast Guard hull ID number.

Jim
 
For the strip & glass canoe I built, I just sent in the form... but that was when you had to register & title canoes. Nowadays, you get a one year "Water Usage Stamp" at any place that sells fishing licenses. When they ask you for the serial number, tell them "12345" or some such nonsense.

Hulls are supposed to have an actual Hull ID Number (HIN), per Coast Guard regs, but I'm not sure how you get that, now that the DNR has changed to the new system. Send an email to DNR.WATERCRAFT@illinois.gov, they should be able to do that, since they gave me the SN for my canoe.

You also may want to get a "Customer Number" from DNR, so you don't have to tell the fishing license store clerk your social security number.
 
Just occurred to me that I could take the radical step of calling a boating supply store like, say, West Marine and ask them for specifics. Sometimes I'm not the quickest mind in the room. Anyway, thank you.
 
Back
Top