You forget about resale - it should be illegal to resell a commercial hull to
a non commercial buyer... Just as it should be illegal to resell a hull that
has been stripped of floatation - or - built with no USCG floatation.... When
sold there is no proof that these details were divulged and that the buyer
accepted that risk....

Everyone says that they should be able to make the choice about floatation
but they endanger unsuspecting guests by taking them out in these hulls and
endanger future owners who buy these hulls....

It is all fun and games untill someone dies - then it is the owners fault
for placing them in an unsafe hull --- IMO

21' boats. The future of mud boats

Here is the full wording, this was from a 2001 bulletin about the title 46 regulations, not sure when they went into effect but it was well prior to 2001

RECREATIONAL BOAT MANUFACTURING STANDARDS
Under the authority of title 46 of the United States Code, the Coast Guard has established certain federal regulation that recreational boat builders must meet before selling their product. These regulations consist of both administrative requirements and Coast Guard Safety Standards.
The administrative requirements are intended to hold manufacturers responsible for their product. They cover defect notification, hull identification numbers, first purchaser lists and certification of compliance.
The safety standards are intended to eliminate unsafe construction practices and performance characteristics. These standards cover such areas as display of capacity information, safe loading, safe powering, basic flotation, level flotation, fuel systems, electrical systems ventilation, and start -in-gear protection for outboard motors. Commercial boats are not required to meet these safety standards. While a commercial boat operator may be able to substitute his experience for the increased safety provided by these standards, the recreational boater is often inexperienced and takes on an additional unnecessary risk in operating a vessel designed for commercial use. Accordingly, in order for a workboat to be exempt from these safety standards, the manufacturer must be able to verify to the Coast Guard that the boats are manufactured and sold truly for commercial use only.
ÿ The boat must display a statement of the intended use. A placard or label plate with the phrase "commercial boat" or "for commercial use" is sufficient.
ÿ All advertising and displays must prominently indicate that the boat was designed, constructed, and sold for commercial use only.
ÿ On the bill of sale, the words "For Commercial Use Only" and the statement, "Commercial boats are not designed to comply with U. S. Coast Guard requirements for recreational boats" should be prominently displayed.
Anyone who knowingly sells a commercial boat to a person for their use as a pleasure boat violates federal regulations and is subject to civil penalties of up to $2,000 for each violation.

Capt JJ --- the fines have gone up....



http://newboatbuilders.com/pages/commercial.html

COMMERCIAL BOATS
Commercial boats are not recreational boats and cannot be sold for recreational use! That may sound rather obvious but apparently it is not because many commercial boats have been sold to recreational boaters mainly because the sellers advertise them as cheaper than recreational boats. Commercial boats are not required to meet the same safety standards as recreational boats, and so they typically do not meet the flotation requirements, capacity and labeling requirements. Selling them for recreational use is prohibited. The following is a quote from the US Coast Guard Boating Safety Circular #88 Fall 2014.

http://www.uscgboating.org/library/boat ... ev%203.pdf


.

The Boating Safety Product Assurance Branch has been fighting an up-hill battle with manufacturers that build boats that are most often identified as “commercial only” boats but are selling them in the recreational boat market. In truth, there is very limited “commercial” application for these boats. True “commercial only” boats can only be used as bridge tenders or for working around construction barges, dry-docks, and mobile off-shore drilling platforms. Uninspected passenger vessels are required to meet the recreational boat regulations and commercial fishing vessels have their own requirements regarding minimum safety standards currently being developed by the Coast Guard.

Gigafowl - I see it has gone up. I was trying to show the 2001 date in response to the whole Gatortrax thing.

The exert you show goes into something even further that I discussed with the inspector. A builder, with a MIC, can not build a commercial boat and stamp it with a HIN number, because the HIN# itself implies and binds the builder to have met all federal safety regulations. The builders in La can buy the state issued HIN# and still build and sell a "commercial" boat though I would think they are circumventing federal law and still probably very liable on many fronts. The biggest impact would be to bigger manufacturers like Alweld and Monark who built and sold commercial Jon boats. I don't know if they will have any viable way to still offer those type of boats.

Wow. Based on that article I would think gtrax would be in real trouble. Everyone else is smart enough to sell them a verbal acknowledgment that you are a commercial fisherman and a wink. They are documenting N outright lie to consumer . Great way to lose your business. I would copy the page to protect you, before this goes South.

The way this is written, it may be illegal to resell them, since it is a violation to knowingly sell ones to Rec consumers without their knowledge. So to sell it you may have to copy their commercial liscense. Kinda like when selling a used 3 wheeler we had to have them sign a release, acknowledging the known hazards.

Good thing is these would be simple tickets for consumers, which are small and rare. I would be more concerned about lying to insurance company, then having a serious accident without actual coverage.

In two to three years, good luck selling these. This is going to get muddy very soon.