Papers, please

This morning, I surmounted another hurdle before being able to sail. Some time ago, I obtained a hull serial number, as required for a home made boat under Alabama law. So today, I finally got around to once again visiting my favorite place, the county license office, and purchased the necessary boat registration. This number, different from the hull serial number, is more like a car's license plate. Only this number and yearly renewal sticker must be prominently displayed on both sides of the Passagemaker dinghy's bow. I thought I might be able to avoid marring the appearance of my boat by claiming it was primarily a non-mechanical powered boat under 16 feet in length, but there is specific language in the law concerning the registration of sailboats of any size. And since that is the way I will primarily use my Passagemaker, I figured I shouldn't try to cut corners. So an hour and $12 later, I have a registration number and some large yearly stickers. If I must ruin the look of my boat, I thought it best to minimize the damage. So instead of address number stickers from the hardware store, I have found a company that will print boat registration numbers in a one piece sticker and in a variety of colors and fonts. My order goes off today!