Bob, don't blame boat manufaturers for how a boat's name is displayed. It's not their responsibility and the USCG has specific requirements for font size and a restriction not to use fancy fonts. BTW, side nameboards aren't required and don't eliminate the requirement for transom boat name and hailing port display requirements. Gil _____________________________________________________________________________ _______ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

Gil Johnson wrote: > ... BTW, side nameboards aren't > required and don't eliminate the requirement for transom boat name and hailing > port display requirements. > The way I read the statue, there is no requirement for the name/port to be specifically on the transom for recreational boats, only "marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull." So, yes, side name display would, indeed, "eliminate" the (non-existent) requirement for "transom ... display", so long as the name and hailing port so displayed on the side(s) meets all other requirements (e.g. 4" lettering). Non-recreational (commercial) documentation is a different story altogether. FWIW. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com