(a) Vessels of the following classes are not required to be numbered or display a Connecticut registration decal by this state: (1) Motorboats which have a valid marine document issued by the United States Coast Guard, provided the owner of any such vessel used upon the waters of this state for more than sixty days in any calendar year shall be required to comply with the registration requirements in § 15-144; (2) vessels owned in countries other than the United States temporarily using the waters of the state; (3) vessels owned by the United States, a state or a political subdivision of a state which are used in the performance of governmental functions; (4) vessels used exclusively as ships’ lifeboats; (5) vessels belonging to any class which the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection exempts upon finding that the numbering of such vessels does not materially aid in their identification; provided, the commissioner shall not exempt any such class of vessels which is subject to the provisions of the federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 and which has not been exempted therefrom under the provisions of Subsection (b) of Section 19 of said act; (6) vessels principally used in another state for which valid, effective certificates of number were awarded by the United States or by such other state pursuant to the provisions of the federal Boat Safety Act of 1971; provided, the owner of a vessel used upon the waters of this state for more than sixty days in any calendar year shall be required to comply with the registration requirements in § 15-144; and (7) any vessel less than nineteen and one-half feet in length which is not a motorboat as defined in § 15-141, and any vessel propelled solely by oar or paddle.

(b) Vessels, the sale or transfer of which is subject to the provisions of Section 37 of the Shipping Act, 1916, shall be numbered by this state only when such sale or transfer is approved by the United States Maritime Administration.