After doing some more research, it appears not. It seems you still have to register a boat in the state even though it is federally documented. I think they will get you then. That said there are some clever ways of legally avoiding it but it requires you adapt a certain lifestyle and hire a bunch of lawyers in RI and then has you moving around a lot. Not something I am interested in just to avoid a stupid tax. I guess if I had a mega yacht it would be worth it but for a small boat no.
Why this is bizarre is I was talking with someone who has a really big boat and does this ...he actually paid less tax on his mega yacht than I paid on my 23' seacraft.
