restoring an old hobie 16; called the Texas parks and wildlife and found out that boats over 14' required to be registered. Boat was given to me by third person and have no title.....question is it possible to get title from someone parting out a 16 and pass it for my boat? what kind of bird can't fly?
Call them again and tell them your situation. They see this sort of problem quite a bit and probably have a system in place to remedy your lack of title. Here in Ohio, you have to bring it to an inspection station (usually a State Park) so they have visual confirmation of the boat in question. Does you boat hulls still have the serial number engraved in back?
Jack
On the other hand, I know another guy here in Texas who is now trying to sell his H16 after months of trying to register it, rebuffed at every turn by a lack of title. So...dunno. Good luck!
Try registering out of state. Kansas has an online .pdf downloadable registration form. No title needed, just hull identefication numbers. I filled it out and received my tags in 2 weeks. Oh... you will need to send a copy of your bill of sale.
Is this the same horror story that was told on the Hobie Community Forums?
The one I mentioned is. 
Apparently, Texas does not need registration fees very badly.
What do you do if you have a home-built boat?
If Texas does not want to register you, maybe you could just bypass the State and go for Coast Guard documentation. Then you wouldn't have to worry about State registration no matter what State it is in.
FWIW, I believe a H16 is too small to get documentation from USCG.
Thanks for all the replys. Could not find numbers on hull. I think Texas has alot of stolen boats. Boat was given so no bill of sale. This is a horror story. Orignal owner lives in Mn. need a phone number. Rusty A. & Laura Nereng. thanks again to all...dry dock in Texas, Jack
Chris, You are right.
From what I had previously read about documentation requirements, it said that small recreational boats can be documented. But now I have learned that the boat has to weigh at least five tons in order to be documented. (I guess that is what they consider a small recreational boat.)
The hull identification numbers (HIN) are located on the very back of the hulls almost under the lip of the upper hull. Sometimes they are obscured by old paint jobs and can be recovered by cleaning the paint off (carefully) with acetone, laquer thinner etc. Also, you don't need the "ORIGINAL" bill of sale ...It could be from anybody.
IIRC the early 70's Hobie's might have their hull # somewhere around the pylons.
Bill of sales... do not worry to much about that one. Just ask one of your buddy's to "sell you the thing again". The problem is even with a bill of sales you will not have any luck registering the Hobie in TX if you do not have a title.
The home build route will not get you anywhere... They will ask you for documentation on building material... Mostlikely Parks and wildlife will not accept the homebuild route at all since it is kind of obvious that the Hobie is not home build. I mean the P&W guy's do not know much about sailing, but it does not require an expert to spot a Hobie 16 - they are around for 35 years.
Search the Hobie forum... some guy from San Antonio ran into similar trouble. His attempst with P&W did not turn out well. Ask him for help and guidance.
Patrick
TPW sent me a vessel/boat application (PWD 143)
A. this vessel is new or used
B. is this vessel from out of state or USCG documented
C. enter the vessel serial/hull ID# (required)\
D. how was this vessel acquired
E. select one
title & registration
F. purchaser/applicant
name address etc.
G. co-owner
H. first lien holder
I. vessel description
hull id, make, length, year built, model year, hull material, primary hull color,secondary, propulsion, fuel, type, and use.
J. previous owner
K. license number of dealer if acquired from dealer
L.M.N. vessel tax affidavit 1. gift 1. date of sale 2.sales price
O. primary owner signature
P. purchaser signature
next form: AFFIDAVIT OF FACT (PWD 314)
BOAT INFO: HIN OR SERIAL # YEAR BUILT MAKE
NO TITLE AVAILABLE
EXPLAIN YOUR SITUATION HERE....I HEREBY ATTEST
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT ALL STATEMENTS IN DOC ORE TRUE
SIGNATURE,ADDRESS ,PHONE NUMBER
AFFIDAVIT OF FACTS FOR IDENTIFICATION/SERIAL NUMBER
SINCE 1973 COAST GUARD REGULATIONS HAVE REQUIRED THAT MANUFACTURES OF VESSELS AFFIX A TWELVE-CHARACTER HULL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (HIN)
I HEREBY STATE THAT THE PENCIL TRACING BELOW IS THE SERIAL NUMBER ON THE VESSEL
SIGNATURE
SO IF I CAN DO ALL THIS I CAN SAIL....THE PEOPLE THAT GAVE ME THE BOAT LIVE IN MINNEASOTA....I WILL SAIL IWILL SAIL I WILL SAIL
Keep us posted how it goes... Your situation is not all that unique. There a plenty of older sailbaots where the owner lost the title or never had a title. Here in TX it seems that those boats might not be worth while rescuing if there is not reasonable way of registering them. Patrick