I was thinking of the registration as a security issue.
I don't really know the reason, but we were allowed to berth for a weekend at a city marina without current documentation. The rest of the story ...
As we pulled into Alamitos Bay marina, the Sheriff was hanging a huge
Impounded Vessel sign on a boat berthed at the harbor office. He flashed a big smile as we went by. I went into the office to check in, they asked for my documentation and insurance, and the lady said
"your USCG documentation is more than a month out of date". She was right and, when I read the reverse side, it said that each day of non-renewal is considered a violation, and each violation carries a $10,000 fine.
Gulp! She went ahead and registered us and assigned a berth, asking that I come back to the office Monday morning to resolve the issue.
This was the weekend, and I lost a couple of nights sleep. 6.00am Monday I was on the phone to a friendly/helpful USCG Documentation Officer in West Virginia. The first response was
"our records show you sold that vessel, which was why we didn't send you a renewal". After some discussion, the lady went away and called me back 30 minutes later saying that they'd made a mistake and canceled documentation on the wrong vessel; She was immediately re-instating our vessel documentation, and there would be no fines, fees, or late charges.
Phew! She also agreed to fax a copy to a friend's home in the area.