BoatUS Consumer ALERT:

Official-Looking Vessel Documentation Renewal Notices Can Lead to Confusion and Higher Costs Our Thanks to Port Captain Denny Dutcher (West Harbor, Ohio E-16.8) for bringing this to our attention!  ALEXANDRIA, VA, April 6, 2017 – Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) Consumer Protection Department is advising boaters with vessels having a US Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation to be wary of any letter arriving by US mail offering renewal. An increasing number of BoatUS members have complained that these letters direct them to websites that may be mistaken for the actual US Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Center located in Falling Waters, West Virginia, and appear to show a significant increase in the annual fee to renew US Coast Guard (USCG) documentation.  The USCG web site is https://www.uscg.mil/nvdc/