NASBLA Roundtable

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Virginia does not have a requirement for non-motorized boats to be registered.

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
------------------------------

New York does not have a requirement for non motorized boats to be registered either but it is an interesting thought. We have seen an increase in unmanned adrift non-motorized vessels such as kayaks and paddle boards in my area. It has resulted in us conducting search patterns at the request of the Coast Guard. If there was some type of registration system it could potentially alleviate that.

------------------------------
Carmine Montesano
Sergeant
Town of Oyster Bay Constables

Cmontesano@oysterbay-ny.gov
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2025 06:35 AM
From: John Sinclair
Subject: Requiring Registration of Non-Motorized Boats

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
------------------------------

New York does not have a requirement for non motorized boats to be registered either but it is an interesting thought. We have seen an increase in unmanned adrift non-motorized vessels such as kayaks and paddle boards in my area. It has resulted in us conducting search patterns at the request of the Coast Guard. If there was some type of registration system it could potentially alleviate that.

------------------------------
Carmine Montesano
Sergeant
Town of Oyster Bay Constables

Cmontesano@oysterbay-ny.gov

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2025 06:35 AM
From: John Sinclair
Subject: Requiring Registration of Non-Motorized Boats

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12/13/2025 12:59:00 PM
From: Carmine Montesano
Subject: RE: Requiring Registration of Non-Motorized Boats

New York does not have a requirement for non motorized boats to be registered either but it is an interesting thought. We have seen an increase in unmanned adrift non-motorized vessels such as kayaks and paddle boards in my area. It has resulted in us conducting search patterns at the request of the Coast Guard. If there was some type of registration system it could potentially alleviate that.

------------------------------
Carmine Montesano
Sergeant
Town of Oyster Bay Constables

Cmontesano@oysterbay-ny.gov

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2025 06:35 AM
From: John Sinclair
Subject: Requiring Registration of Non-Motorized Boats

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
------------------------------

New York does not have a requirement for non motorized boats to be registered either but it is an interesting thought. We have seen an increase in unmanned adrift non-motorized vessels such as kayaks and paddle boards in my area. It has resulted in us conducting search patterns at the request of the Coast Guard. If there was some type of registration system it could potentially alleviate that.

------------------------------
Carmine Montesano
Sergeant
Town of Oyster Bay Constables

Cmontesano@oysterbay-ny.gov
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2025 06:35 AM
From: John Sinclair
Subject: Requiring Registration of Non-Motorized Boats

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
------------------------------

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Indiana does not have a requirement to register non-motorized vessels.  We do require a non-motorized permit ($5) for use on our DNR properties. 

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Greetings,

I recently started as Wisconsin's BLA and I am conducting research regarding requiring registration for non-motorized small boats (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, etc.). I am trying to get a sense of if other states have implemented this type of regulation and what their experiences have been. Below are some of my questions:

• If you have a requirement like this, does your state see a high level of compliance? 
• What does it cost to register a non-motorized boats of this type in your state?
• How do you handle registering non-motorized boats without HIDs?
• How do you handle registration for things like summer camps, etc. that have large fleets of these types of vessels?
• Do you have any special carve-outs in law that allow people to pay a lower registration fee if they only use that small boat on one body of water (i.e. a "home lake" rule)?

Thank you for any insights you can provide,

John

------------------------------
John Sinclair
Boating Law Administrator
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources