Titling and registration, operating rules and collisions, dock and shoreline rights, public access to the water's edge, and vessels nobody claims.
Vessel registration is issued by the state of principal use, with titling required in most but not all states. Moving a boat's home water usually triggers re-registration within a set period, and a state that did not receive the sales tax will often assess use tax on the same boat.
Riparian rights attach to land abutting flowing water and littoral rights to land abutting lakes and tidal water. They typically include access, the right to wharf out subject to permitting, and rights in accretion — and they are usufructuary, meaning they are rights of use appurtenant to the land rather than ownership of the water.
Abandoned vessels are removed under state derelict vessel statutes, with federal authority where navigation or pollution is involved. Removal costs are recovered from the last recorded owner, and abandonment does not transfer liability. Marinas use lien procedures rather than abandonment law to deal with vessels left in a slip.
Federal documentation registers a vessel of at least five net tons with a national registry, establishing nationality and enabling the preferred ship mortgage. It replaces state titling in most states but not state registration for use, requires annual renewal, and carries strict marking and citizenship requirements.
Dock construction typically requires a federal authorization for work in navigable waters, a state authorization for use of submerged land, and a local building permit. Maintenance and in-kind repair are often exempt from the federal layer, and general permits cover most small residential structures.
Public access rights come from the public trust doctrine, from navigability for title purposes, and from state-specific doctrines such as customary use and prescriptive access. The boundary between public and private is commonly a tidal datum or an ordinary high water mark, and it varies more between states than almost any other property question.
Boating under the influence is an offense under both state law and a federal regulation, with the same impairment threshold as driving in most states. Implied consent laws attach consequences to refusing a test, and a conviction can affect a driving license in many states.
Federal regulations set carriage requirements for life jackets, visual distress signals, fire extinguishers, sound-producing devices and ventilation, scaled by vessel length. A boarding checks documentation and equipment, and an officer who finds an especially hazardous condition can order the voyage terminated on the spot.
The navigation rules govern conduct between vessels and supply the standard against which fault is measured. Comparative fault has replaced the older equal-division rule, both vessels usually bear a share, and statutory violations trigger a presumption that shifts the burden of proof.
Salvage requires a vessel in marine peril, a voluntary service and success. It produces an award based on a share of the property saved, secured by a maritime lien against the vessel. Towage is a contractual service at an agreed price, and the distinction is decided by peril rather than by what either party called it.
Living aboard is regulated locally rather than federally, through zoning, marina permits and harbor ordinances. Sanitation rules limit discharge and require pumpout, anchoring is increasingly restricted by state and local rules, and a slip contract is a license that usually gives fewer rights than a tenancy.
