Is there a way for a Canadian to keep and sail a boat on the US east coast?

[hpeer]

Boat poker,
Yup, for the price you are right.

[bvander]

Firstly terminology, in US you federally document a boat (not manditory) and at state level Register a boat.
As a Cdn you can not document a US boat, but you can state register a boat. Some states will require a US address to do that, but that can be done via a mail box store or company like St Brenans Isle mail forwarding company. Note that when you buy your US boat this means you will be paying state sales tax when you go to register it. Exception is Deleware (no sales tax) but then will have to keep boat there.
You imply you want to buy boat in US, that is the easiest route, no importation paperwork.
Recommend you register the boat in whatever state you will be berthing her, some states are very agressive in this, md and fl come to mind. Do research, some states have an annual property tax on boats. Md does not, just $24 every two years for renewal.
Places.
Lake champlain is a common place, but season just as short as Lake Ontario.
Look at NY, hudson river at Nyack. Or western Long Island Sound, Mamaroneck, City Island, Rye, Norwalk.
NJ Raritan Bay, Keyport, Perth Amboy, Atlantic Highlands.
The other option look at Chesapeake, some great pkaces along eastern shore with reasonable prices and season runs April to Nov. We used to drive Kingston to Annapolis in 10 hours.

[seaman-lew]

lots of Canada boat in storage here in fla

[Ardbeg]

If you live in Montréal you should know about Lake Champlain. There are probably 200 boats there that belong to Canadians. Most boats on Lake Champlain qualify for tax free status. Once you have a boat registered there, you can take it anywhere in USA. Just do not take the boat to Canada or you will pay tax. ( GST/PST). If you have not yet bought a boat, I suggest you contact a boat seller in that area to by your boat. They will know how to handle paperwork. Try boatsrfun.com as one there. They have many boats for sale. Do not make things more complicated than they are when dealing with governments or it could cost you a lot of money.

[Elie]

[QUOTE=Calif.Ted;2303975]You must be a US citizen to Document a vessel with the USCG, you can own a boat registered by a state regardless of citizenship or residence.[/QUOTEI wonder if that applies to companies. I knew someone from Montreal that had a sailboat registered in Maryland and owned by a 'company. He diN't ahd any problem to use it in the States. But in Canada he could not pass it through customs if it was operated by him.
There are hundred of Canadian registred boats in New York State, Maine, Michigan, etc... Even passing yearlong time south of the border. Some states have tryied to tax Canadian boat staying in their water, but all these taxes were juged illegal.

[ebs001]

Originally Posted by travellerw

The above is not true.. You must be a US citizen to register a boat in the USA. Like I said, there are other ways that involve a registered company and such, but they are complicated. Unless you know a US citizen you trust and sign the boat over to them.

This is incorrect. You cannot document a boat in the US unless you are a citizen. You can state register your boat in most states.

[hamburking]

If you are canadian (like I am) and your boat is under 10 hp, then you don't need it to be registered or licensed at all. The US recognizes this...so when I took my sailboat (8hp) to the US, they were satisfied with the hull number for my "ownership". I live in Kingston, so have gone back and forth many times with several different boats.

So, to be clear, a canadian sailboat under 10hp is more like a canoe or rowboat, with very few legal issues.

However, a 9hp diesel limits you to a sailboat (most likely) under 30 feet, and this seems small for your described usage.

[kazo]

seeing some contradictory information I searched a bit.
Although it's not directly answering OP question it sheds some lights on the topic:
Yacht Registration vs. Documentation « www.yachtworld.com www.yachtworld.com

[jmschmidt]

The writers to this forum need to get the terms "registered" and "documented" straighten out. "Registered" refers to state registration only and there are 50 states which all have different regulations though most are similar. Yes, you can state register a boat in Montana and operate it anywhere in the world. State registration may subject the owner to state personal property tax. This is similar to the property tax on a home (real estate) and is based on the value of the vessel. Not all states have personal property tax.

US Coast Guard "documentation" is completely different than "registration" with a particular state government. There is no such thing as US Coast Guard "registered," terminology which I see all the time on this forum. Some states require a USCG documented vessel to also be state registered. This is so they track the vessel for the collection of state personal property tax and so they can maintain a large bureaucracy of state employees.

A foreign owned vessel cannot be documented with the US Coast Guard. Neither can an entity such as a corporation or LLC that is foreign owned or controlled. To my knowledge state registration (only) does not require the vessel owner to be a US citizen or entity.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

The writers to this forum need to get the terms "registered" and "documented" straighten out. "Registered" refers to state registration only and there are 50 states which all have different regulations though most are similar. Yes, you can state register a boat in Montana and operate it anywhere in the world. State registration may subject the owner to state personal property tax. This is similar to the property tax on a home (real estate) and is based on the value of the vessel. Not all states have personal property tax.

US Coast Guard "documentation" is completely different than "registration" with a particular state government. There is no such thing as US Coast Guard "registered," terminology which I see all the time on this forum. Some states require a USCG documented vessel to also be state registered. This is so they track the vessel for the collection of state personal property tax and so they can maintain a large bureaucracy of state employees.

A foreign owned vessel cannot be documented with the US Coast Guard. Neither can an entity such as a corporation or LLC that is foreign owned or controlled. To my knowledge state registration (only) does not require the vessel owner to be a US citizen or entity.

To add to the confusion ...... In Canada a "registered" boat is federally registered, for the most part equal to your "documented" vessel. A licensed boat is provincially licensed, somewhat similar to your state registered vessels.

[nautitrix]

Be very careful of free advice. In this instance the fine could reach as High as $10,000. Perhaps in Port Roberts Wash. the customs will let you do this but I would get something on paper if possible. A Canadian can own a boat in the US. A Canadian Cannot Document a boat in The US. which is the Equivalent of Registering in Canada. States issue titles and registrations, many Canadians Have boats titled and registered in states up and down the US. coast. If you are a Canadian with a state registered boat you are supposed to tell customs whenever you leave the district with your boat and report at the district you go into. If You leave US. waters You may experience some trouble getting back into the US. without either US. Documentation or Canadian Registration. You may purchase a boat in the US. with state tile and registration and Register it in Canada. If It had been Documented in with the USCG. You must get the Documentation Deleted ($15) before you can Register it in Canada. Many States require you to have boat safety training but there is reciprocity between Canada and US. States re: your Canadian Boater's Card.
To My reading of the rules and how they are enforced in Florida you are supposed to leave US. waters for 15 days and be able to prove US. exit and Foreign Port of entry as well as prove exit from a foreign port of a minimum of 15 days. You may not just float around for fifteen days or let your permit expire in US. waters. That said, I am not a maritime lawyer.
States that charge taxes to register their boats also have many reciprocal agreements to allow other registered state boats to use their waterways for varying amounts of time ie. 90 to 180 days. If the state you register in does not tax and prove it with a number on the boat, many states will charge you a cruising fee. Many Canadians who have boats in the US. also have residences in the US. and if not, have an address of convenience. The marinas sometimes will let you use their address and this can help with cheaper insurance through BOAT US as they only require a US. address and take Canadian ID. and Boater's Cards. Very handy for tow services. Most marinas will require you to carry some form of liability insurance to keep a boat there.
Just my 2 pieces of 8

[Scaramanga F25]

I am a Canadian citizen and have owned and sailed State Registered Vessels from 25 to 41 feet in the US and the Bahamas since 1975. No problems. Buy a boat and pay state sales tax and go.
Should have a minimum of inexpensive liability insurance.

[nautitrix]

Scaramonga, I am not critical of your 50+ years of experience and am glad to hear that Canadians on US registered boats are allowed to travel back and forth from Florida to the Bahamas. Can you please tell me when you last crossed back into Florida from the Bahamas, what port of entry you used and what type of visa group you are travelling on. What you say will make my future cruise much less complicated.
Thank you

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

I am a Canadian citizen and have owned and sailed State Registered Vessels from 25 to 41 feet in the US and the Bahamas since 1975. No problems. Buy a boat and pay state sales tax and go.
Should have a minimum of inexpensive liability insurance.

....... +2

[mcm]

The so called new rules re, cruising license posted previous do not make, if the permit expires and all you have to is wait 15 days then you could still cruise in the area, so, why even need a permit, The original permits requiring the 15 day exit time, allowed you to stay in the jurisdiction of the permit but you cannot cruise to another customs jurisdiction unless you renew the permit and that required a 15 day exit. so, a written clarification is required and I would get that from the location I was intending to make home base in the US, I have found 4 different rulings down there.