Sold everything ... buying cruiser ... how to register?

[laika]

Originally Posted by redhead

One family was on the dock and a woman said to her son "Don't stare honey, these people are homeless". That's the mindset you're dealing with.

[tonewrone]

Hey DominoX, congrats
Going thru the process myself. Be sure to look at "Boat Galley" web page for the entire process listed step by step. It's quite complicated to simplify.
Best luck

[DominoX]

Originally Posted by tonewrone

Hey DominoX, congrats
Going thru the process myself. Be sure to look at "Boat Galley" web page for the entire process listed step by step. It's quite complicated to simplify.
Best luck

Yeah, I looked there an hour ago on the advice of BamBaLam in reply #12 ... but I found a site that talks about galleys, provisioning, etc, nothing about 'getting away from it all'.

I wrote Carolyn there to tell her this thread was underway and asked her to direct me to the appropriate place on her site. Can you give me a more definitive 'go to' on BoatGalley in the mean time?

Fair winds and best luck to you too

[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by DominoX

Yeah, I looked there an hour ago on the advice of BamBaLam in reply #12 ... but I found a site that talks about galleys, provisioning, etc, nothing about 'getting away from it all'.

I wrote Carolyn there to tell her this thread was underway and asked her to direct me to the appropriate place on her site. Can you give me a more definitive 'go to' on BoatGalley in the mean time?

Fair winds and best luck to you too

Try here... What Do You Do About Mail?

[Wendi]

You can form a BVI corporation, then pay registration in BVI each year. No sales tax when buying the boat. You can also get a bank account with your corporation. It is not a difficult process, and boats worldwide use this for their purchase and flag.

[sailsw00]

Something else to consider is whether the state you are "registered" in wants to tax any income you get. If you have any. I became a resident of Nevada - officially - for a few years while I was travelling because I would not be physically in my former state of residence, and did not want to give that former state any of my income.
Interestingly, because I had the boat documented with an address in Nevada, the state of California wanted me to pay a tax on the boat, even though the boat had never been in California. I eventually had to prove that the boat had never been in Califronia, and how do you prove a negative? It was rather difficult....
-Steve

[SVNeko]

Florida. Use St. Brendan's Isle. No income tax. Boat sales tax limited to $18,000 (if you get that high). People love SBI.

[Moontide]

COuple of thoughts for you.

1. Become a "citizen" of a state with no personal income tax.

2. With the internet it is now much easier to get your mail. Commercial mail forwarding services (and friends you can talk into doing it :-) ) provide a service where they will open your mail then scan and email you the important stuff (you give them the criteria for "important"). Has worked well for us as we are usually somewhere where forwarding really is not an option.

[DominoX]

Originally Posted by Wendi

You can form a BVI corporation, then pay registration in BVI each year. No sales tax when buying the boat. You can also get a bank account with your corporation. It is not a difficult process, and boats worldwide use this for their purchase and flag.

Thanks Wendi,

Here's a nice idea I hadn't taken seriously ... till now. I've heard of this before but figured it was only for the filthy rich and their mega-yachts, not for us mere mortals.

So, I need to investigate further. It sure gives me inspiration when I read "It is not a difficult process, and boats worldwide use this for their purchase and flag, etc".

Many thanks, Dave

[DominoX]

A quick note to thank everyone for the great insights and suggestions so far. Truly learning a lot here.

But are we drifting off-topic a bit? Many replies seem to be about how I can get mail while cruising. Truthfully, I couldn't care less about mail. Nobody has cause to write to me ... and where I'm going, I won't need any.

My OP was really about how to overcome the challenges of not having a permanent physical address solely for the purposes of complying with arcane processes like boat registration, and bureaucrats who "just don't GET the cruising lifestyle".

For whatever reason (and despite the fact it's pointless because people give fake addresses of friends, family, etc), boat registration REQUIRES one to actually live somewhere and have a permanent PHYSICAL address. Which of course ... I don't anymore.

So far, I'm reading I can to sign-up for a mail forwarding service and use the 'street address' they provide as part of the service. That sure might work ... will need to try that.

I've also seen great suggestions about registering the craft as a foreign entity (i.e. under a different flag) and bypass all the US BS that way. Need to look into that as well.

Has anyone else used any other creative work-arounds to this dilemma?

Again, grateful thanks to all

[sailorchic34]

I've used a marina address to apply for a USPS PO box. Of course it helps if the post master is a boater too. As far as banking goes, you need to provide a physical address. My drivers license is a PO box.

But, I've heard of some folks getting a pre-paid paypal debit card (costs nothing to apply for) and having it sent to a friends address. Then using the envelope and insert to get a checking account at a bank. That oddly works, though is not quite in the spirit of the law.

Once you have the PO box and bank account, bob's your uncle.

[TheThunderbird]

Any flag, a country, an address. Period
Choose the flag first

[The Way]

Originally Posted by DominoX

Oooh ... this is a GEM. This is EXACTLY the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Good man ... Thanks a64pilot

Like many on this forum, I've used St Brendan's Isle for years with absolutely no problem. It enabled me to get Florida domicile, Coast Guard documentation for the boat, insurance, etc. etc. Plus I can get all my mail online -- and they toss the junk mail for you. They're great and not expensive.

Fair winds,
Jack

[mannix2]

Try St. Brendan's Isle for address and Agent . Will solve most of your problems for a reasonable fee.

[mannix2]

Sorry, forgot the URL: Mail Forwarding Services at St Brendan's Isle

BTW I did the same thing two years ago, no regrets.