Selling a US flagged boat in Oz.

[Red Horse]

I know there was a thread on selling boats in Oz, but can't find it. I am thinking of taking my boat to the Tahiti next year. Then on to Oz. I have a Cross 38 and want to get a smaller boat. Not a lot of market here in Hawaii for multis.
Any input is appreciated.
Rich

[Factor]

Its all doable. I sold a Cross a couple of years ago for a guy that came into Australia from the states via a few years in the South Pacific, you have to import it, as in pay GST on it before you can list it for sale. There are some Quarantine issues and there are some issues around Gas certificates and electrical stuff when you sell, but nothing insurmountable. Older Tris dont get a lot of money here, but there are a few tragics (me included) that really like them. I am retired these days but PM and I will take you through the process.

[Redreuben]

For your info, gas here is LPG not cng apparently there different ? And shore power is 240v @50hz.
As in most places cats are more popular than tris but yes there are enthusiasts, Cross tris are rare but respected which may help.



Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[undercutter]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

For your info, gas here is LPG not cng apparently there different ? And shore power is 240v @50hz.
As in most places cats are more popular than tris but yes there are enthusiasts, Cross tris are rare but respected which may help.



Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Gas in NA is LPG as well.

[exMaggieDrum]

We sold our Whitby in New Zealand to an Australian couple using an Australian selling broker. It was easy-peasy. May be a little different in Oz but I suspect the same. Excellent market to sell in there. I am sure either you or the buyer will have to pay an import fee but I would think it would be the buyer. You'll need all the "usual" boat ownership paperwork. The brokers there are very familiar with the process and can advise you.

One thing I had to do was to set up a local bank account for the funds to be put in. That was easy in NZ but did take about a week or so to get it active. The funds were wired in from Oz so there was some paperwork on that but not hard. I then used a wire service which handled the currency conversion to US$ and put it in my US bank. Ours was a little more complicated as I was paid in Oz$ but the account I set up in NZ was specifically set up with Oz$ since NZed and Oz do so much business together. So I did not have to convert from Oz$ to NZ$ and then to US$ with a fee for each. All in all the fees were not that much. Setting up the local bank account was the hardest part but not all that hard, just took some time. If you get paid by Oz check you'll still need to get it to your own bank account some how.

[JPA Cate]

I know it's a fair way in the future for you to remember this, but we discovered, when we wanted to open a bank account here in Oz, that it is easiest to do within the first week of your arriving here. The identity information required is less.

If your boat is CNG, you'll have trouble sourcing it in the So Pac.

Your refrigerant may not be legal in Oz, and you will be fined for bringing it in and have disposal charges.

All your 110 AC stuff is not okay here, so may have to do some re-wiring.

Good luck with it.

[Jim Cate]

the gas certificate that Factor mentioned isn't concerned with LPG/CNG etc, but that the installation conforms to the Australian regulations, which are not the same as US regs. It may well require a complete re-plumbing of the gas system... but as Factor says, this is not impossible.

In general, 110 VAC wiring will be OK, but outlet boxes and shore power connectors will be different, and of course any appliances designed for 110 will not work. Most modern electronic devices that have "wall wart" type power supplies will work on either 110 or 240 volts. Most 110 volt powered battery chargers will not work, although some made by Pro Mariner are switchable to 240.

FWIW, we have retained 110 volt service on our boat, but do have a 240 volt inverter to enable use of locally sourced items. Don't use shore power directly, but do have a multi voltage charger, and on the rare occasions we have access to shore power that keeps the batteries up.

There is always the slight possibility of making an "offshore" sale to an Aussie who is heading off cruising. Lots of awkwardnesses in this, but it might avoid the GST and some expenses converting systems to meet local regs.

Cheers,

Jim