If you do not get a title for a motor

I have an 18HP Evinrude motor. In the state of Ohio, any motor over 10HP has to have a title. I bought the boat/motor from somone in Kentucky so obviously he never had a title.

Let's say I take the boat on the water but do not have a title for the motor, what is the most that can happen if I get caught?

It's not like I would carry the title around anyways......

Did you get a bill of sale when you bought it? That may do to get a title made.

As far as what happens if you get caught its probably a ticket or something...

My boat and motor don't have titles either. Ohio is under 14 feet I think no title is required. Unfortunatly, I may have to get the guy to notorize a bill of sale to register the boat...

Seems like just a way for them to make money to me. But I guess there is some protection from theft that way....

Here in Massachusetts you have to have a title for EVERYTHING...how else would they know what they can charge you use tax for... :roll:

All we have to do here to get something titled is show up at the correct government office with a bill of sale and they will happily set you up with a title...so they can send you an excise tax bill every year.

Fines here for rolling around in untitled gear are steep and carry civil charges if you don't pay after being caught.

I hear that the weather here is going to be very decent all week and I was contimplating taking the boat out to see how she performs and to make sure she doesnt leak. But I also don't wanna get it on the water if I have a chance of being fines cause the motor has not yet been titled.

Not sure if you'll have a problem. I have never actually been checked on the water. And then if you explained you should be ok....unless you get someone with an attitude.

Can you get a bill of sale for the PO? If not see if a friend in a no title state is willing to write you one.

In Texas we have to have a "Certificate of Number for a Vessel" card on the boat, and present it to the Game Warden if he checks us at the lake. The card doesn't say anything about the motor on the boat, but I'm fairly certain you only get one of the cards if you have proof of titles for both the boat and motor when you go in to register the boat.

I had a ridiculous issue that I had to resolve when I was trying to register my boat. The guy I bought it from gave me the titles from the original owner. He had never registered it in his name. I spent about 6 months rebuilding the boat, and went to get it registered when it was ready to go to the lake. By this time, the guy I bought it from had moved out of state, to Louisiana. When I ran into trouble at the TPWD office, I called him to tell him the problem, and he told me it was my problem. So, I went on a search for the original owner, only to find out that he had passed away 10 years ago. So, I explained all this to the folks at the TPWD office, and they gave me several forms to fill out. The important one, was a Request to skip Titling by Previous owner or something similar. The form gave me the ability to explain in paragraphs what my situation was. This form, along with several of the other forms were then faxed up to the TPWD headquarters for approval. A few hours later, they approved everything, and faxed it back. It was a lot of work to get it all done, but I'm glad I'm fully legal and have nothing to worry about if a Game Warden happens to stop me.

I wouldn't pass up a chance to use the boat for the first time. I'd bring the bill of sale along and explain the circumstances IF you get stopped. I can count on one hand the times I've been stopped for anything in 50 + years of fishing/boating in three States.

Obviously, you also want to have your valid fishing license and any insurance papers, too. R