Costs to Buy a Boat in the US and Ship it to Australia

[StaninOZ]

I want to buy a speedboat (bayliner, four Wynns etc) in the US (max 1 year old) as i hear they are going cheaply due to the economy being in a bad state there and the Australian $ being strong. could someone please let me know the costs involved with doing this. I am an Aus resident and will keep the boat for personal use, but would consider importing more if profitable. is anyone doing this and what sort of gross profit margin have you been aiming for? Thanks

[Dragon Lady]

The first bit of advise I got from a friend who imports boats for a living is go for it but don't expect to make money from it.
Remember if is easy everyone would be doing it.
A couple of years ago I tried to buy a boat from New Zealand but the freight killed it. It was too small to safely sail it across but was going to cost $25K to put on a ship.
Add up all your costs carefully before you do it, it should work out in your favor with the exchange rate the way it is.
Your best bet is to upsize what you were going to get and just enjoy having a better boat.
Remember there are a lot of pros doing this and the local market is likely to drop with interest rates going up along with our dollar so it's not as simple as it looks.

[holmek]

It's a bit far by motorboat, but why not buy a sailboat? I have done this twice, from the Caribbean to Cape town ( +- 80days, non-stop) and am in the process of negotiating to buy a third boat. It is a great trip and a fantastic experience, By the time you've paid for airfares, boat preparations and provisioning there is not much money to be made, but life is not about money, embrace adventure. !

[David M]

I realize its a bit off topic, but you do not want a Bayliner. Go for a better quality boat like a SeaRay, Boston Whaler, Master Craft, Cobalt, Parker, Grady-White etc...depending on how you are going to use the boat. The better boats prices are subject to the same economy. There are plenty of these boats on the market that are a few years old with low hours. Another consideration are boats that come from climates where it freezes. There is always the chance that the owner did not properly winterize the boat.

One way to save money is to consider a boat that will fit inside a container or fit on a "flat rack" in order to avoid the cost of any special handling.

http://www.foreign-trade.com/reference/ocean.cfm

I have the impression Australia has some pretty high import taxes. You will want to consider this as well.

[bastonjock]

There is an Aussie who regularly imports boats from the states,ill send you his details,i know that the trailers from the USA are his biggest prob as they dont meet Aussie standards.

[David M]

I would think that trailers are so cheap and take up so much space that they are not worth importing. Is this true?

Whats the difference between an Aussie trailer and a US trailer? ...please, no bad jokes.

[Marinheiro]

something to be careful on with the large trailer boats from US is their beam, max unrestricted width in Australia as I recall is 2.5m, whilst in US it is 2.6m. Introduces issues of towing an overdimensional load.
Also be mindful that boats of the type mentioned in David M's listcome from the land that invented the expression "there is no substitute for cubic inches". They are all heavy boats requiring alot of power, and hence petrol to pus them along.
The trailer issues probably relate to compliance with some of the weird Australian Design Rules, like having to weld safety chains to the frame (which weakens them), tow ball coupling type, lights and brakes. Many US trailers have drum brakes which last about 5min after salt water immersion.
At the end of the day you pobably would spend the same money to import as you would for something bought in Australia

[Boracay]

It's probably worth having a bit of a browse on the subject of trailer registration in Australia.

I have a small trailer for my 9' dinghy, and it looks pretty basic. I do get the impression that as the towed mass gets larger the requirements get more stringent.

After having a browse and getting up to speed think about calling your state vehicle rego infoline and have a chat with them.

They'd probably tell you you need an engineer's certificate, and at that point, if you're still interested, it might be wise to have a chat with an engineer recognized by your state registry.

[bastonjock]

David

US trailers dont cut the mustard here in the EU either,the width is not a problem,its more to do with the kite mark and the cost of upgrading them for the CE ticket,makes the homebuilt ones cheaper,we need anti surge brakes,out tyres are much higher rated etc