I just bought a boat in B.C.last month and brought it over to
Washington state. I had a lot of trouble initially because everyone was telling me different stories about how to handle it including the
broker. It turned out to be a simple process. Here are the steps that I found to be the most important.
Go to the American port of entry where you would like to bring in the vessel and ask them what they will require. I hear that this may vary from port to port. You will need the US
customs form 7501 which you can get online and print it and take it with you along with the boat data such as brand, model, year, HIN number, place of manufacture. I had the broker fax me a copy of the provincial
registration with this info so it looked official. I brought the empty form with this information the day prior to bringing the vessel in and they processed and stamped it right there which took 15 minutes. Go online and
purchase the Decal which allows you to come across into America for one year which costs $28. Print a copy of the payment confirmation and have it with you when the agent meets you at the
dock as you might not have received the decal yet. Tell them your expected arrival time so that they are expecting you but ask when they are most available. Don't arrive when other scheduled ferries or
commercial vessels, lunch hour or weekends are happening or you will stretch this process way out. To avoid paying the gst and pst
taxes in Canada you cannot take possession of the vessel until it arrives in the US nor can you step aboard until
customs has been there. I was told that I had to be waiting on the
dock to receive the vessel and it was understood that the
delivery crew was leaving immediately to return to Canada. In my case the customs agent checked their passports, looked at my already complete and stamped form 7501, the receipt for the deal and said thank you, enjoy the
new boat. A 5 minute process. WOW after a month of
research and expecting the worst.
In my case there was a paid
delivery skipper who I paid for in cash however as far as customs was concerned that person if paid was done so in Canada by others so as not involve American
employment and tax laws. If the boat was made in either Canada or the US there should be no 1.5% duty or any other
fees. Some people say that you need a customs broker but they are just doing what I did. Some say that you need to buy a bond for $500 to transport the vessel in but if you are
buying from a broker they already have this which they buy annually. The customs agent never mentioned it and neither did I bring it up. My boat was not documented so there could be added steps if it is. From here I only needed to go to our local DMV and apply for new title and registration and pay the local and state sales tax. Good luck, Ken new owner of Spirit Moon-
Ericson 38