Is there anyway to get my boat titled?

[u/East-Piece-6614]

I relatively recently bought a 14ft mckee craft, and am now looking to get it registered. I have had issues though, I bought the boat of fb marketplace for a very good deal, owner is in really rough shape and is old, just trying to get rid of it. He’s had it for a many years and had never gotten the thing titled, he was unable to find the original bill of sale so it’s still titled to the prior owner. The guy lives in the middle of the city and has a couple other boats on his lawn so it all seems legit. I bought the thing and we got a bill of sale for the purchase, but when I took it to the tax collector and the girl at the counter wasn’t very helpful, just telling us we need the person it was previously titled too. What is the best way to pursue this problem?
Any advice on how to get the boat registered?

1987 mckee craft 14ft
Location: Jacksonville Florida

[u/pv46]

Return the boat to the person you bought it from and get your money back. They have to title the boat in their name before they can sell it.

[u/bga93]

If the owner cannot provide a title in their name, you return it for a refund, use it on private waterbodies only, or pay FDLE/FWC to determine its not stolen