I have just completed building my kayak. It does not require a registration in my state (Iowa). I called my local DNR person about assigning a HIN for my boat and he didn’t seem to know anything about assigning them for home built boats.
Do any of you know what I have to do? I can’t wait to try it out even though it might snow here tonight!
Was it a kit?
Pygmy provided an HIN for my kit boat. Maybe they do the same for plans. They keep them on file, and will send you the HIN if you lose it.
Question:
If it does not require registration in your state, why do you want to assign a HIN in the first place? If you just want to create a way to prove the boat is yours if it’s recovered after being stolen, just be creative.
My dad still has one of his home-built boats that he made 50 years ago. A few years back, he put a motor on it for the first time, meaning that it now needed to be registered. No problem. Manufacturer = “homebuilt” and HIN = “none”.
On the subject though, I’m really surprised Iowa doesn’t require you to register your boat. Iowa is just as much a “registration Nazi” state as Minnesota, and I can’t believe that they would let the opportunity to grab a few extra dollars slip by just because you made the boat yourself. Wonders never cease.
HIN ?
It was not a kit.
Yes our state is nazi-like for registration fees but I intentionally built this less than 13 feet so it needs no registration. Also it has no motor.
Less than 13 feet
Okay, I didn’t know about the less-than-13-feet exemption, so that answers my question about boat registration in Iowa.
I still don’t understand why you want to assign a hull identification number to a boat your built yourself. What is the benefit of doing that?
Sorry if I have no advice on HOW to assign a number. The only reason I ask WHY is for the sake of curiosity.
there is a form
In Wisconsin, there is a form that you file for homebuilt boats. The state then assigns you a HIN. I presume Iowa to be similar. It also doesn’t surprise me that most government officials do not know where to find the information.
HIN ?
Actually I don’t want to have a Hull ID Number. I just don’t want to be breaking the law if it is required. The DNR pea brains love fines because it brings in funds. You know it’s their bread.
If you do assign an HIN
or some other identifying info, here’s an easy way to put that info on the boat: print it onto standard white paper and epoxy it right into the boat. The white paper almost disappears. I’ve got my HIN # epoxied in one place in the cockpit that would be easy to show to DNR officials if they asked, and in another hidden place, in the unlikely event the boat was stolen, the thieves removed the obvious HIN, and I had to prove it was mine.
HIN in Iowa
In Iowa, you are assigned a HIN number at the County Recorders office. In theory, you need to get one even if your craft is under 13’. In practice, I doubt anyone will ever ask.
Just wait, Homeland Security has a plan
for you and your boat. A 10 pound transmitter will broadcast your location continuously to sattelite. A prominent bar code on your boat deck and on your (required) helmet will be readable from pilotless drone aircraft.
Agree
Technicallly it is a US Coast Guard regulation, and therefore (I suppose), a federal regulation. In realistic, practical terms, for a kayak or canoe, I doubt anyone cares. Even here in MN when I went to register my homebuilt they were confused about the HIN regulation and did not assign me one. They wrote NA in the HIN field. i have since sold it and it still wasn’t a problem.
HIN
I was told in MN that I’d have to title it to get a HIN, so on my last build I didn’t bother.