GRANTED: May 17, 1993 GSBCA 12312 DAVID P. PERKINS, Appellant, v. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, Respondent. David P. Perkins, pro se, St. Petersburg, FL. George U. Lane, Office of Regional Counsel, General Services Administration, Atlanta, GA, counsel for Respondent. LaBELLA, Board Judge. Appellant, Mr. David Perkins, has elected to pursue this appeal under the Board's small claims procedure, and both parties have agreed to have the case decided on the record as submitted. Appellant alleges it was forced to incur excess storage fees on a sailboat it purchased from respondent because respondent did not supply sufficient indicia of ownership to allow registration of the vessel in appellant's name. Respondent avers that it supplied all the paperwork it was obligated to supply, and contests liability for the storage fees. For the reasons stated below, this appeal is granted. Background Appellant bid for, and was awarded, a 1978 31' Pearson Auxiliary Sloop in a GSA sealed bid auction. Appeal File, Exhibits 1-3. The conditions of sale in the bid documents stated that storage charges on purchased vessels would accrue at specified rates beginning May 1, 1992, or the first day after receipt of final payment, whichever came first. Appeal File, Exhibit 1 at 8. Appellant paid the full purchase price for this sailboat, and was issued a standard form entitled "Certificate to Obtain Title to a Vehicle" on May 2, 1992. Appeal File, Exhibits 4, 5 at 1. This standard form was insufficient to allow appellant to transfer title of the vessel because the previous private owner had registered the vessel with the United States Coast Guard Documentation Office. Appeal File, Exhibit 10 at third unnumbered page. This vessel had been obtained by the Government through a forfeiture action. Appeal File, Exhibit 5 at second unnumbered page. The Government, however, had not had the vessel released from documentation before selling it to appellant, nor had it provided appellant with the appropriate paperwork to obtain a release of documentation. Appeal File, Exhibit 12. When appellant unsuccessfully attempted to register this vessel with the form supplied by GSA, the state of Florida Department of Natural Resources informed appellant that a "Release of Documentation" had to be obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard before this vessel could be registered to appellant. Appeal File, Exhibit 10 at third unnumbered page. At this point appellant employed Specialized Yacht Services, Inc. to obtain the release of this vessel from documentation. Id. at 1. After the Government supplied this contractor with the appropriate paperwork, the vessel was released from documentation, and appellant was allowed to register the vessel. Because it is illegal to operate an unregistered vessel in the coastal waters of Florida, appellant could not remove the vessel from its storage location in Tampa until he obtained a proper registration. Appeal File, Exhibit 12. Appellant now seeks to recover the storage costs he incurred due to the Government's failure to provide adequate indicia of ownership. Appellant is not seeking the fees paid to Specialized Yacht Services, nor the storage time after the paperwork necessary to begin the registration process was received. Appellant merely seeks the storage fees incurred after appellant requested the correct documentation, but before such was provided. Appeal File, Exhibit 18. The amount requested is $597.47. Id. The contracting officer denied this claim because he was told by an employee of the State of Florida, Department of Natural Resources, Registration Bureau that had the vessel not been documented, the Standard Form 97 provided appellant would have been sufficient to process appellant's request for registration. Discussion The Government contends that it is not liable for the storage fees incurred while appellant waited for the papers necessary to register this vessel because the solicitation required it to provide only Standard Form 97, and that form was provided. Respondent has presented no evidence that the contract excused the Government from providing the paperwork necessary to title and register this vessel. The contract clause cited by respondent states that a Standard Form 97 will be furnished for each motor vehicle purchased which requires licensing by a state motor vehicle licensing agency. Standard Form 114C, Paragraph 7. This clause does not indicate in any way that no other necessary documents will be provided, nor does it limit the Government's obligation to provide a clear title to transferred property. See Donald R. Baker, GSBCA 9831, 90-2 BCA 22,873. Second, respondent alleges that had this vessel not been a documented vessel Standard Form 97 would have been sufficient for state registration. Even if we accept the contracting officer's second hand representation of the registration requirements of the state of Florida as accurate, respondent undertook to sell a documented vessel, and cannot rely on the registration requirements for undocumented vessels to absolve itself from a responsibility to provide adequate indicia of title for the vessel actually sold. Respondent, as the owner of the vessel, could have filed the appropriate papers with the Coast Guard's Office of Documentation to have the vessel deleted from documentation prior to attempting to sell the vessel. Having failed to do so, it was incumbent upon the respondent to provide any future purchaser with sufficient information and documentary evidence to allow the purchaser to have the vessel released from documentation and registered. Conclusion Respondent failed to provide Mr. Perkins with the papers necessary to register the vessel he purchased. This failure delayed Mr. Perkins' application for registration. This delay, coupled with the illegality of operating an unregistered vessel in the coastal waters of Florida, caused Mr. Perkins to incur $597.47 in excess storage fees. Because the Government, as a seller, had an obligation to provide sufficient indicia of title at the time of sale to allow transfer of title, appellant is entitled to be compensated for the harm caused by this delay. Decision This appeal is GRANTED. Appellant is awarded $597.47, with interest from the date of the claim, in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 611 (1988). VINCENT A. LaBELLA Board Judge