Importing a Boat to Australia

[Dragon Lady]

That's a relief to know, it would be a real worry if these people were let loose on the high seas LOL!

[Mr B]

For what its worth.

I just registered my Epirb,

Australian 406 Mhz Distress Register and MMSI database,

Australian Government, Australian Maritime Safety Authority,

I had to give the number on it,
HEX ID, Coded Identity, Serial Number, Beacon model, Craft name, Rego/callsign,

I also had to list two contacts in case of emergency. There is space there for more contacts,

If in the event your Epirb does go off,
They know precisely where you are,
They do know who you are,
what vessel you are on,
and who to contact,

[dennisail]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

What huge argument are you going on about mate ?? i can't see one....

A little bit of drama here me thinks....

Now in page 55 it has been going since page 52! This thread is long enough as it is!

[BillAU]

Do "all" yachts/boats visiting Australian ports have to jump through the hoops of being tested for whatever, dog-sniffed and/or fumigated, or is this expense/treatment reserved only for Aussies importing a yacht/boat into Australia

[Dragon Lady]

No only boats entering Australia permanently that are deemed to be a high risk have to be inspected for termites.

[savoir]

It depends how old the boat is and how much wood it has. The government declines to issue specific guidelines which is a deliberate way of allowing the inspectors huge discretion and leaving the boat owner powerless. They do the same with the bottom cleaning thing.

If you have an old Cheoy Lee expect a dog sniff, at your expense of course, but if you have a fibreglass production boat you should be fine.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

No only boats entering Australia permanently that are deemed to be a high risk have to be inspected for termites.

Thanks for that prompt post DL, you have confirmed my thoughts. i.e. Just another way for our bloody already greedy government departments to screw decent Aussies some more. Surely they, Oz government departments, realise it is in the yacht/boat owners interest that the vessel be termite and vermin free. I believe most of our imported problems, such as Cane Toads, were brought to Australia by “well meaning government departments” and other problems, such as South American Fire-Ants and Crown Of Thorn Star-Fish were brought to Oz on “visiting” cargo vessels...Not on-board yachts being imported.
Oh well, hopefully I'll find my live-aboard dream, at a fair price, here in Oz and will not need to learn the import shuffle

[Mr B]

Funny thing about termites,

Australia is riddled from top to bottom with termites, or white ants,

up north they build their nests facing north south, so you cant get lost.

[Dragon Lady]

I think the best thing is to do your research, I'm sure none of us want to introduce any more pest species' into Australia.
What surprised me was that USA is high risk country, however not surprisingly NZ is not.
If you are looking for bargain in timber maybe NZ is the go.
The quarantine guys are just doing their job trying to protect our wildlife and agriculture, it's not about making money.
If you talk to them before you buy it could save you a lot of hassle and money, after all do you want a boat that has termites?

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by BillAU

Thanks for that prompt post DL, you have confirmed my thoughts. i.e. Just another way for our bloody already greedy government departments to screw decent Aussies some more. Surely they, Oz government departments, realise it is in the yacht/boat owners interest that the vessel be termite and vermin free. I believe most of our imported problems, such as Cane Toads, were brought to Australia by “well meaning government departments” and other problems, such as South American Fire-Ants and Crown Of Thorn Star-Fish were brought to Oz on “visiting” cargo vessels...Not on-board yachts being imported.
Oh well, hopefully I'll find my live-aboard dream, at a fair price, here in Oz and will not need to learn the import shuffle

Sorry Bill, misread your post.
Yes you are right about owners wanting to be vermin free.
I suppose you have to make the decision as to whether it's worth bringing in a wooden boat.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

I think the best thing is to do your research, I'm sure none of us want to introduce any more pest species' into Australia.
What surprised me was that USA is high risk country, however not surprisingly NZ is not.
If you are looking for bargain in timber maybe NZ is the go.
The quarantine guys are just doing their job trying to protect our wildlife and agriculture, it's not about making money.
If you talk to them before you buy it could save you a lot of hassle and money, after all do you want a boat that has termites?

I do understand the problem with introduced pests in Oz but I for one, would treat my live aboard boat just like I treat my home, I would fumigate once or twice a year, or more if needed.
Importing a boat from anywhere is a last resort for me but you must admit, it is tempting when you see a "reported to be" well cared for boat at X price, say in the States or South America, then while looking around, you find a 3' to 10' smaller version of the same boat, same build year, similar gear, priced at XXX and sometimes XXXX here in Oz! You must admit...It is tempting and makes people wonder why the difference in the buying price is so great/different.
If I found a suitable boat at say, $30,000 in the States or anywhere else, then found the same model, similar gear, here in Oz at, say $40 or $50,000, then I would be buying the boat here in Oz but when the buying price difference is enough that you would have to sell a kidney, your right eye and your left leg to buy the Oz boat...Then I feel sure, most people would head off-shore to buy the boat at the much lesser price and be happy to go through the hassle of importing. Just my views on a why people are looking off-shore to buy a boat.
By the way, sometimes, but seldom, things/prices are reversed, like there's a nice, well cared for 45' Ketch in Mexico, priced at $60,000US and, there's a nice, well cared for 50' Ketch for sale here in Oz, at $60,000. Both are of similar age (1 year difference) and similar gear and fit-out. The Ketch in Mexico has been with that owner for a year or so, the Ketch in Oz has been with the owner for 20 + years...Guess which Ketch I'm most interested in, and will be making an offer on, after looking her over and...No! You don't win a cigar for getting it right

Bill
Australia

[D&D]

Joining now in the chorus of FWIW's...

New EPIRB registrations in OZ must be 406's. There was some sort of grandfathering arrangement for those with old units, but we suspect it's now past. Our understanding is that the 406 improves the response capabilities by extending the range and capacity of listeners.

All vessels arriving in OZ are subject to Customs and Quarantine, whether they intend to stay in OZ or not. It's up to the Customs and Quarantine officers to what extent, e.g. dogs etc, they carry out their inspections.

Our compass (a simple small Plastimo) worked fine for our entire delivery voyage (from Sardinia to Sydney) and it continues to work fine.

We recently (landed June 2011) imported our vessel into OZ; registered new EPIRB and MMSI details; and of course cleared both Customs and Quarantine.

[D&D]

PS Just on the cost of EPIRB's, remember the differences between the cheap and more expensive units are:

- a couple hundred dollars in cost; and
- the accuracy of the cheap unit is ~2nm, as compared to <100 metres for the GPS-configured units.

Dunno bout the rest of y'all, but we kinda reckon we'd feel pretty stupid (not to mention very scared!) if we ended up waiting on rescue to spot us in a 2-nautical mile radius for the sake of a couple hundred bucks!

[BillAU]

I believed this thread was for helpfull info' on "Importing a Boat to Australia" but I guess people want to change it to info' on EPIRB's...I thought a thread on EPIRB's would come under the heading: Health, Safety & Related Gear but that's just my funny way of thinking

[D&D]

Originally Posted by BillAU

I believed this thread was for helpfull info' on "Importing a Boat to Australia" but I guess people want to change it to info' on EPIRB's...I thought a thread on EPIRB's would come under the heading: Health, Safety & Related Gear but that's just my funny way of thinking

Havta agree with you there Bill!

Although (perhaps in defense of our own EPIRB contributions) the EPIRB is a required 'tick' in the list of items required to import a vessel to OZ...