Boats for Sale in Indiana

Titles, registration and excise tax

In Indiana the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), not the DNR, titles and registers watercraft. Any BMV branch can process a new registration, and renewals and duplicates can also be done online. All watercraft on Indiana waters must be registered and show valid decals unless exempt. Non-motorized canoes, rowboats and paddleboats are exempt, but sailboats are not. Registration is renewed every year on or before your scheduled expiration date. The BMV also charges watercraft excise tax and fees, and lists them on its watercraft pages.

The BMV supplies the certificate and two decals, but not the registration number stickers. You have to buy or paint the bow numbers yourself. Decals go within three inches to the right of the number on each side of the bow.

For buyers, there's a useful exemption. You can operate a newly bought boat without registration if you carry a bill of sale showing your name and address, the make, the model and the hull ID, with a purchase date no more than 45 days earlier. Boats registered in another state can use Indiana waters for up to 60 consecutive days a year, or 180 consecutive days if docked on Indiana's part of Lake Michigan. If you have no title and the boat isn't required to be titled, the BMV accepts a Watercraft Ownership Affidavit (State Form 55100).

Who can operate

Indiana links boating to driving. To operate a motorboat or PWC with more than 10 horsepower, you need a valid driver's license. A 15-year-old without a license may operate one only after completing a DNR-approved boater education course and while carrying a valid Indiana BMV ID card. Nobody under 15 may operate a motorboat over 10 hp or a PWC.

Where to boat

Lake Wawasee near Syracuse is the largest natural lake entirely within Indiana. Lake Maxinkuckee at Culver, Lake James near Angola and the lakes around Warsaw fill up with pontoons in summer. Lake Monroe south of Bloomington is the state's largest reservoir. Patoka Lake and Brookville Lake serve the south and east. Indiana's short Lake Michigan shoreline has harbors at Michigan City and around Hammond and Portage. The Ohio River runs the southern border past Evansville and Madison.

Popular boats

Pontoons rule the northern lakes, and Elkhart County is a major pontoon-building region, so used pontoons are plentiful. Ski and wake boats are common on the larger natural lakes. Fishing boats suit the reservoirs.

Season

Roughly May through September. Lakes start freezing in late fall, and most boats are pulled and stored by October.

Buying tips for Indiana boats

Check the registration card against the bow numbers and the hull ID. Ask when the registration expires and whether excise tax is current. Many northern lake boats sit on lifts all season, so inspect pontoon tubes for dents and the lift-contact points for wear. Confirm winterization, because Indiana winters freeze engines that weren't drained.