Boats for Sale in Louisiana

Registration and titles

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) registers boats. You must register every motorized vessel used on Louisiana waters, including a boat that only has a trolling motor. Sailboats 12 feet or longer and non-motorized houseboats need registration too. A boat used only on a private pond doesn't.

Registration is valid for three years from the date it's issued. If you don't renew within 60 days of expiration, the registration is canceled. You can renew at LDWF headquarters in Baton Rouge, by mail or online.

Louisiana doesn't title every boat. LDWF requires a title when a boat or outboard motor of 25 hp or more is financed, when it's currently titled in another state, when it's homemade and when its hull ID number is incorrect. Both the registration and title applications go on the same LDWF form.

Boater education

Under state law (R.S. 34:851.36), anyone born after January 1, 1984 must complete an approved boater education course to operate a motorboat over 10 hp, and must carry proof. The exception is having someone over 18 aboard who has completed the course if they were required to.

That exception does not apply to personal watercraft. PWC operators born after that date must have their own course completion, and you have to be at least 16 to operate one. Coast Guard licensed captains are exempt.

LDWF runs a free in-person course that takes six to eight hours. Online options include the free BoatUS Foundation course, Boat-Ed and Recademics. Children under 10 can take the course but can't be certified until they're 10 or older.

Where to boat

Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas line is a major bass lake. Lake Pontchartrain borders New Orleans. The marshes around Lafitte, Hopedale and the lower Mississippi delta near Venice hold redfish and speckled trout, and Grand Isle opens onto the Gulf. The Atchafalaya Basin is a vast river swamp that's best learned from locals. Caddo Lake, in the northwest on the Texas line, is full of cypress. In the marsh, oyster reefs, shifting mudflats and fast tides catch out newcomers, so a good GPS chart and local knowledge matter.

Popular boats

Bay boats and shallow-draft flats boats suit the marsh. Aluminum mud boats with surface-drive motors handle grass and mud that would stop an outboard. Bass boats rule Toledo Bend, and offshore center consoles run from the passes.

Season

Fishing goes year-round. Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November, and that shapes storage decisions on the coast.

Buying tips for Louisiana boats

Check whether the boat was ever flooded by a storm. Look for silt in the bilge, water lines inside compartments and corroded wiring. Salt and brackish water eat trailers, hubs and steering. Surface-drive motors wear hard, so ask for hours and service history. If the boat is financed or titled out of state, plan on a Louisiana title.