New Owner with documentation problem

[galbright]

Hello, I recently purchased a 2006 28 foot flush deck. The boat is documented as recreational and I am in the process of changing it to coastwise and fishery. Since there needs to be proof that the boat was built in the US, the documentation center is requesting a builders certificate (which I do not have) or information from a person who either constructed the vessel, or supervised construction, or officer or employee which built the vessel and examined records of the company concerning the fact of vessel construction.

The boat was apparently built in Bristol, RI, but I have no proof.

The documentation center did an internet search that indicated that Albin Marine went out of business and may have been sold to Bladen Composites and affiliated with Albemarle Boats in Edenton, NC. The center recommend that I should should search who bought out Albin Marine.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed? Greatly appreciate any help.

[Norseman]

Been there, done that.
Bought a used 28TE for pleasure and for running charters.
Didn’t have the builders certification and the boat was not documented previously.
Long story short, did my own measurements and placed the boat in charter as my measurements came in at less than 5 tons.
I did a detailed thread on it, right here on the Albin Owners Forum.

[Pitou]

A Coastwise Fisheries Endorsement cannot be added without a builder's certificate and trying to find anyone from the defuncnt Albin corporation is a no go. Albin Marine, USA closed its doors in 2008 when Fred Peters sold out to Bladen Composites (Shamrock) who soon after went bankrupt. Fred died in 2016. I chased my tail for 2 years trying to get a Coastwise Fisheries Endorsement after I purchased my Albin 31 TE used as the original owner state registered the boat in NY where the Builders Certificate was turned in to NY for a State Title. From there my Builders Certificate vanished. The work around was putting a state registration over the documentation in order to fish the boat in the General Tuna Category (commercial).

The USCG requires all documetnted boats with fisheries endorsements to be US built and to prove it with a Builders Certificate.

I saw a lot of Canadian built Novi boats in my area tagged with state numbers obtaining fisheries permits and that's where I got the idea of state registration.