Buying a boat in another country

[northgirl]

This gave us a good idea on what we'll have to do. Thanks for all the responses.

[northgirl]

I see you have a Freya 39'. How do you like it? That's one of the boats on our short list.

[Terra Nova]

She suits me rather well.

[MondayNever]

My wife and I live in San Francisco and recently completed the purchase of a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. I absolutely and unequivocally recommend using a buyer's broker. We used Chris Simpson at BVI Yacht Sales and were very satisfied. I can't imagine trying to have made the deal happen without someone there on the ground to screen boats for us and help us navigate the process. His services didn't cost us anything, anyway.

The boat was built in Canada in the 80s, but was registered in the UK. The previous owner had to de-register it and we did initial documentation with the USCG. So far, that whole process was painless.

I don't yet know about import duty if/when we sail her back to the U.S. In theory, as a Canadian built boat I would expect that she falls under NAFTA. It remains to be seen whether the bean counters in Florida, or wherever we land, agree with this.

I wrote a detailed account of the boat buying process in our blog, if you're interested in more info. The link is in my sig.

[northgirl]

Thank you for the response. I can see that a broker makes sense. I will certainly check out your blog.

[msmith132]

Northgirl,

We are Canadian and just bought a boat in St Martin. We used Hebert and Associates in Quebec to handle all legal aspects associated with an international purchease including providing the escrow service and all Canadian registration needs. Raymond Hebert is very knowledgable and responsive. We were very pleased and highly recommend him.

Michael Smith
2012 Lagoon 421

[BeOur3rd]

curious, do you NEED to register the boat as canadian? what if you are living on it? i dont understand what the reasoning is? if im going off to live on a boat why not just use whatever registration it had prior? ive never done this so im sure im asking something very stupid be please enlighten me!

so ive read all the posts and it seems very inconclusive.

how can someone avoid paying any and all taxes?

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by BeOur3rd

curious, do you NEED to register the boat as canadian? what if you are living on it? i dont understand what the reasoning is? if im going off to live on a boat why not just use whatever registration it had prior? ive never done this so im sure im asking something very stupid be please enlighten me!

Most countries will only allow citizens to be the registered owner of a vessel flagged to that country. Canada is a good example of this, if I sell my boat to a citizen of another country, then the registration is no longer valid. That person will be required to register it (somewhere else).

Of course there are ways around this for some countries, but they are complex and offer no advantages.

There are many advantages to registering in your country of citizenship. One being, you can now register an EPIRB in that country.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by wannacat

We purchased our Catamaran 5 years ago in Florida through the same broker that "travellers" stated in the first post and he's pretty much bang on with his advice to you!
The only thing we did different was do an "offshore closing" with the broker. That meant we had to go 3 miles offshore, sign the papers and take a picture with both that day's dated newspaper and the GPS coordinates of our position all on the table at the same time.
Then, we returned to port and I paid $18-$20 dollars for a one year cruising permit in the U.S. at Port of Lauderdale Customs and Immigration office [or next door to it].
So your able to then leave the boat their for up to a year of course, but have to leave for at least 5 days after or before that before you can receive a new permit.

The only small problem is that, yes , you won't receive your Canadian registration for approximately 3 months and they won't issue you a cruising permit till you show them an original copy of such. So, the officers told me to come back when I had the permit or have an agent of mine do that for me and to just leave the boat at my dock in Lauderdale for the meantime which I did.I returned 3 months later with Registration in hand wondering if I was going to go to the "clink" or not. No problem, they issued me a permit for 1 year from that date and life has been beautiful since.
When I was deciding on where to register the boat originally, the broker's agent suggested it was typically better to register the boat in the same country as the owner's passport as in some islands and countries [depending on where you plan to travel to?] lots of unnecessary but costly paperwork can be generated and a pain if not so.
We just go back and forth to the Bahamas over winter and in the end will sell the boat down there, never bringing it back to Canada to pay the duty or HST on it. works for us!
Good luck!

The above is incorrect. There is no fee for a cruising permit. What the poster paid was a clearance charge. Also you cannot get another permit (cruising license) unless the old one has expired or has been surrendered for at least 15 days and the boat arrives in US from a foreign port.

All this info is available on Customs and Border Protection websites so it is best to get it from the horse mouth rather than second hand.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...cEdudGpSeW0%3D

[wannacat]

Maybe your right, it's a clearance charge, but I know one thing, if you don't pay it, you don't get a new Cruising Permit! So, same difference to me.
I have a stamped Passport showing I was only out for 5 days and they accepted it 5 years ago. Maybe now it's 15 days? But now we typically leave for 3 months and always cancel our existing permit before we leave so that we need a new one upon returning and have had no problems That's what they tell us to do at their office, I don't know what the web site says. Enjoy your winter cruising!!!

[BobH260]

We are Canadian and bought a US documented vessel in Ft Lauderdale. We did a "high seas closing" and have yet to pay any taxes. This was all handled by the broker. We haul the boat in Florida for the hurricane season and take it to the Bahamas for the winter. This meets the US cruising permit requirements, the Bahamas permit is just money.

The Canadian documentation took a month. Until then we were an undocumented Canadian vessel and advised to stay tied to the dock.

The folks at Transport Canada were very good, advised me about the tonnage survey requirements so I was able to do it all myself.

We used a documentation company in Miami to handle the US delisting and the Canadian documentation. I think that reduced our wait times. They know who to talk to to get these things through the system.

If you can find a Canadian documented vessel down south that suits your needs that would be the easiest, fastest way to get in the wind. (And probably the cheapest with the dollar so low.)

Good luck ! Bob