I was probably hasty in saying 'not entirely true'. I was probably fixated on the Certificate issue that I had, rather than the Bill of Sale question. My apologies for that. I had to go to three Treasurer's offices before finding a clerk that would actually listen and take the info I had. The first two offices refused to take the Certificate of Origin I had and insisted I had to apply to the Lincoln office for a new HIN. Mr. Angell told me my Certificate of Origin was indeed valid and the third clerk I dealt with finally accepted it. Although I am still disappointed with the late penalty fee issue.
Mr Angell told me he was talking to a 70yr old gentleman who had his old boat for 20 some years, and had finally decided to get a motor for it, since he was getting too old to row around. He wondered himself if that gentleman was going to get a 20 year late penalty for registering his boat for the first time.