There were a number of posts several weeks ago about getting a HIN for the registration process in OH.

I had a very good experience with the system. I called the local Watercraft office in Springfield Ohio. I was able to talk with the officer who set up a time to come to my home several days later to measure and put his eyes on the boat I was constructing. He did not require that I be present, though I was on a vacation day.

The inspection consisted of measuring the length and seeing what materials made up the boat.

About a week after the "inspection" I received a HIN and a HIN plate in the mail. There was no cost for any of the above.

I stuck the plate on the aft starboard surface of the boat and put a layer of epoxy over it, then a coat of varnish.

With the HIN and the associated paperwork, I was able to mail off for the $20 three-year registration which now does not require the large numbers on the bow of the boat, only a post card sized registration sticker aft of the cockpit.

This is not as easy as the states which do not require a registration, but was easy enough for a beginner.

(The officer told me that he "inspects" about 10 homebuilt boats a month, and that many are cedar strip canoes. Mine was the first cedar strip kayak he had seen. I asked about the possibility of needing to verify the HIN was put on the right boat as mentioned here. He said it might happen, but that it would just increase the amount of time he had to spend looking at boats.)