registered the dinghy

7/2

so i bought this 10′ port-a-bote in january off craigslist from the same guy i bought the beast AGM batteries. check out their website to learn more about this incredible dinghy (yes it folds up! and please watch the videos). i hadn’t registered the dinghy because the guy i bought it from never did and he told me he used it for years as a tender for his sailboat, using an electric trolling motor, no problems. so i’ve been doing the same for the past 6 months. until memorial weekend came around and the harbor patrol was eagle eyeing everyone. 

officer “stop and show me your registration”

me “who me? what registration?”

officer “yes you. you don’t have registration?”

me “no why would i? i’m in a dinghy with an electric trolling motor”

claire “giggle giggle this is going to get good”

officer “well it’s a motor isn’t it? it needs registartion”

me “yes it’s [clearly] a motor. i’m sorry sir, i don’t have any registration i was told that it was not needed with an electric trolling motor”

officer “well it’s a motor isn’t it?”

me “yes it sure is. what about if this dinghy is a tender for my sailboat?”

officer “tender? (his facial expression changes to ‘well gosh i didnt think this punk would know any laws’) well a tender doesn’t need registration because it is used for a boat traveling internationally for them to get to shore, do you have a boat here?”

me “yes sir it’s over there on the island, A dock. i use this dinghy to putt around the harbor and came over here to the mainland to have dinner at this restaurant”

officer “you have a week to register that dinghy or i’m going to find you and give you a citation”

me “ok officer, thank you”

so my plan to never register the dinghy had come to an end. at least i rustled that guys feathers a bit.

and the dinghy sat behind my boat for quite a few weeks with out any sign of my friend or a citation. we just had to use it as a row boat for a while. i skipped the whole line at the DMV monday morning because i’m not an idiot and made an online reservation the week before, unlike the 286 people standing there waiting. i breezed through there in about 15 minutes and left waving at the people still holding their spots in line. 

hank and steve hooked it up with the decals!

claire putting on the decals

we both took the opportunity to stand the boat up on it’s stern and scrub 3 months of growth off the bottom. i love this boat for a million reasons, one of which is it is super easy to clean.

in your face officer

i also took the opportunity to hook brian up with a favor. sense i was getting decals made for my dinghy i thought “brian’s NEVER going to get a name slapped on his whaler. i gotta print him one too” we cruised on over to the sand bar to put his on. the water was a little chilly as you can tell. 

Last Freedom holds a strong place in his heart and it’s a damn good back story. feel free to hand him a beer and ask him all about it.