I sent some email to the Division of Watercraft here in Ohio to find out the process here. Here's the response they sent. It's remarkably clear, but unfortunately overly bureacratic just for the privilege of paddling my own boat.

FYI, Ross

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Dear Mr. Leidy:

I apologize for the lateness of this response. In order to get your kayak registered in the state of Ohio, the first thing you will need to have is a serial number on the boat. If you are building your kayak from a kit, you may already have a serial number included. If this is not the case, then you will need to have your vessel inspected by one of our Watercraft Officers who will then assign a serial number to it. I will be mailing you out a list of our Watercraft offices and their phone numbers today in case you are in need of this inspection.

Once you have the serial number, you will want to take the serial number with you into your nearest boat registration agent (if needed, you can obtain this information by contacting us at 614-265-6480) where they will register your boat. Since you do not have a bill of sale or other form of receipt, they will ask you to fill out an "Affidavit of Ownership" form (which will need to be notarized). This form then becomes your proof of legal ownership so they can register the vessel for you.

When they register the vessel for you, assuming you are not going to put a motor on the vessel, the charge will be $15.00 for a three year registration.

The information I am sending you today should answer any other questions you may have, however, if you are still in need of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at 614-265-680 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Thank you for your interest in boating Ohio and once again I apologize for the lateness of this response.

Tammy Terry

Division of Watercraft