To Renew, or not….?

My USCG 100 ton ticket is coming up for renewal in a few months but in doubt whether I want to go through the renewal process again:
Got the application package in front of me, 8 sheets or 16 pages to fill out.
Can’t remember from previous renewals if this is the way it was always done?
(It makes it seem the CG never saved any previous information and every day is a brand new day,
Like the way my dog experience life)

Why do I even consider renewing this ticket after I shut down my charter business and after
I quit doing deliveries and the occasional Yacht Captain gig?
I plan to charter bare-boats in the future, like 50’ sailboats in the Caribbean or the Bahamas:
Does it matter if one is a licensed Captain vs a former Licensed Captain?
Same with my present small boat, do I still get the insurance discounts with an expired ticket?
Possible tax benefits keeping a professional license?

How many retired Captains keep their ticket current just for pleasure boating?

(Feeling lazy here, don’t want to fill out all the forms and renew, yet I don’t want to regret letting it expire, did that
Once before and had to take the school and the testing again, much harder in 1999 than 1985 it was, either the brain had slowed down, or there was more stuff to learn)

Great Minds Think Alike

How does the USCG Office help you fill out the forms?
I have done 4 renewals in the past and did the forms at home using Sea Time to renew, except I did the Open Book Testing once at the MPT Office in Fort Lauderdale, it was a breeze, but I moved to North Florida 2 years ago, too long of a drive to do MPT again,
Got a buddy here who is an Doc, he will do the medical form for beer, also got the Quest Drug testing place locally, but the 16 pages to fill out, then going over my Sea Time days for 5 years, etc..
(Trying to talk myself out of it, but maybe I should bite the bullet.)
Will call the Jacksonville USCG Office tomorrow and see if they can help out..

Nice, maybe there is a kindler and gentler Coast Guard out there.?

65?
You be the Baby..
I am 67 but look like I am uh, 47 or 48 at the most..

Life is still great, love my wife, my dog, my boat and good food ‘n drink every day.
Thx for the comments Gentlemen.

Hmm, not sure your Commercial Pilot License disappears without you using it.
Your Instrument Rating however goes non-current if you don’t fly 6 hours with 6 IFR approaches in 6 months, or that was the rules when I was a flight instructor.
As for your Commercial, the currency was 3 landings in 90 days to legally carry passengers and a medical every 12 months for a class 2, but also a Part 135 check ride to do charters.
You actual license may still be valid once you do the currency to fly with pax.
(I guess the USCG is not too difficult compared to the FAA)

Either way, a pilot license does not expire like a CG ticket.
(Except a CFI)
Unless things have changed since I retired from flying a few years ago.
Yes, there is currency requirement but your license will only be revoked if you fly drunk or do other stupid sh!t, then have to start over again from scratch. (Like a CG ticket going stale)
That being said, heard there is a new “Dormant Rule” for USCG tickets..

Still sitting on the fence about renewing, or not, but started on the paperwork today, then it kind of
went on it’s own and one Form led to another and another.
Got my Sea Time sorted out, 460 days on my own boats, not need to have other Owner ‘s or Captains sign for me.
The CG wants proof of ownership, easy enough for my current boat, but the 2 boats I sold in 2022 was FL registered, not Documented and I never saved copies of the FL Registration.
Now what, doubt there is any Abstract of Title for registered boats.
Called the Jacksonville USCG and left a message to have my UPV Examiner guy call me back.
(Had all my Charter Boats Examined by the CG for UPV Compliance, like drawing friendly fire, but it worked out)

My friendly Doctor buddy is next on the list, then find the Drug Testing Form, go to the lab and almost done..
Looks like I will be renewing after all.

Yeah, the FAA are a but easier than the CG, except for the Medicals, the FAA shines in that department, the CG count your eyes let you fog a mirror, then Good to Go.

Drug testing for renewal:
Followed a link from the USCG page to “Accredited Drug Testing”, paid my $90 online and was told to come in anytime, no appointment necessary.
Not so fast: The address given was really a Labcorp place, got there at 2:10pm, and they said no Drug Testing after 2pm, besides they have been swamped every day and I need an appointment.
First available was 12 days in the future.
If it sounds too good to be true..

Now looking for my TWIC card, also needed except if you have an exemption.

Not in Fort Lauderdale anymore, sold everything in 2022 and moved North to Palm Coast, built a house on a residential marina: https://www.marinadelpalma.com/
Been downsizing and learning to live the rural life.
Sold my Albin 28TE and got a new ride instead: 1-5-10 year warranty, finally got burned out with older boats and doing the service and cleaning myself.
At this place the boat gets washed and the engine flushed after every trip, then loaded on a rack in a hurricane rated Boat Hangar, all included.
Spoiled, I am telling you..

Ok and yes I started the process.
Got a few snags along the way but it should work.
Yes, I get bored frequently after a traveling and living on boats and ships full time for at least 5 years, then part time in Fort Lauderdale cruising the Bahamas 30+ times over 24 years, etc.

The USCG ticket renewal is on the radar and my TWIC card is good until 2028.
Tried to use a TWIC at the airport a few years ago, No Bueno, had to dig out a passport instead for the mighty TSA.
Also tried to rent a PO Box @ the Flagler Beach Post Office in 2022, TWIC not accepted for a valid ID
(Wife was in Fort Lauderdale renting a car and needed my D.R. to put me on the paperwork as a second driver. The bureaucrat at the Post Office had no idea what the TWIC was and denied it)

I may do delivery or two in the future if they are easy, and some are, but others are not.
Been asked a few times, but in most cases I have to get up in the morning and actually do something.
If I get kicked out and taken to the cleaners, I may need to use the 100 ton ticket, in the meantime it is insurance and a tax write off.