§ 2251. Registration. 1. No person shall operate or permit the
operation of a vessel on the navigable waters of the state, or on any
other waters within the boundaries of the state, except waters which are
privately owned, unless such vessel is registered and numbered and bears
a current validation sticker in accordance with the provisions of this
article.

2. Issuance and period of validity. The commissioner is authorized to
register a vessel, issue a registration certificate, validation sticker
or stickers and assign a registration number to such vessel. Unless
otherwise prescribed by the commissioner, any such registration shall be
valid for a period of three years unless, prior to such expiration date,
it is surrendered, cancelled, revoked or suspended pursuant to the
provisions of this article, or the vessel is transferred to another
owner.

3. Fees. The triennial fee for registration of a vessel shall be:
twenty-two dollars and fifty cents if less than sixteen feet in length;
forty-five dollars if sixteen feet or over but less than twenty-six feet
in length; seventy-five dollars if twenty-six feet or over.

4. Application. The owner of each vessel requiring registration under
this section shall present an application for registration to the
commissioner, or an agent designated by the commissioner, on a blank to
be prepared and furnished by the commissioner for that purpose. Such
application shall contain or be accompanied by such evidence of the
ownership of the vessel described in the application as may be required
by the commissioner.

5. Renewal. Every owner of a vessel shall renew his registration at
such times and in such manner as the commissioner shall prescribe, on
payment of the same registration fees as are provided in subdivision
three of this section except that, in implementing the purposes of this
act, the commissioner may schedule the commencement dates, duration and
expiration dates of such renewals to provide for a cycle of registration
renewals through the course of a fiscal year. For registrations issued
for less than the three year registration period, a portion of a month
shall be considered a month and the registration fee shall be levied on
a prorated basis.

6. Change of address. The owner of any vessel registered pursuant to
the provisions of this section shall notify the commissioner in writing
of any change in his address within ten days after such change occurs
and the new address of such owner shall be noted by him on the
certificate of registration for such vessel.

7. Change of ownership. Upon the change in ownership of a vessel
registered pursuant to this section, unless otherwise provided by
regulation of the commissioner, the certificate of registration shall be
signed and dated by the owner and surrendered to the new owner and at
the same time the commissioner shall be notified by the former owner, in
a manner prescribed by the commissioner, of the name and address of the
purchaser, the date of transfer and the identification number.

8. Destruction, theft, loss or abandonment of vessel. The owner of any
vessel registered pursuant to the provisions of this section shall
notify the commissioner in writing of the destruction, theft, loss or
abandonment of such vessel within fifteen days thereafter, and in the
event of the loss, destruction or abandonment of such vessel, the
certificate of registration shall be surrendered with such notice.

9. Duplicate certificates of registration or validating stickers. In
the event of loss, mutilation or destruction of any certificate of
registration or validation sticker, the owner of the registered vessel
may file with the department such statement and proof of the facts as
the commissioner shall require with a fee of two dollars, with the
department, for the issuance of a duplicate or substitute.