Live aboard in Florida

[zumsel]

Hi all,

I do own a 42' catamran, registered in Canada which I would like to take further south in some warmer areas. I work as crew member on a 70,000 tons self unloader on a 2 month on, 1 month off rotataion so would need a save spot (mooring or slip) where I could leave my boat for roughly two month more or less unattended.

Currently I have my boat moored in a sheltered cove in Nova Scotia, Canada, but especially the winter month are a little bit cold here.

Do you have any suggestions for me and is my idea feasable at all staying on a canadian registered vessel in the US.

Jochen

[denverd0n]

If you leave the boat in Florida for more than 90 days you will have to register it with the state (less than $200 per year). I believe there is a semantic difference, in that what you call "registered" in Canada is more like what we call "documented" here in the U.S. (though I'm not real sure about that).

In any case, once it is registered, Florida is perfectly happy to have you leave it here as long as you would like. They don't care the least about your nationality, or where else it might also be registered.

[pillum]

Don't know how old your boat is Zumsel, but if it's over 30 years old it will be exempt from the Florida base registration. I'm a Brit with a 1978 boat in Marathon, and the two year decal is only $13.20, no issues with nationality, or the fact that she's UK SSR registered too.

[Vasco]

zumsel,

Before you rush into anything, read up on the official requirements for a non-resident keeping a boat in the US. Homeland Security is getting more vigilant and the chances of being boarded and documents being checked are greater today than ever.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...ld-one-expires

[Peeper]

I’m new here and have never posted, but have been reading all the great postings, especially Don1500's journey on his new boat (which I loved reading about). I am looking to be a liveaboard /caretaker. I am a single parent (dad) with a well-mannered 13 yr old. I am mechanically inclined and have worked in my younger years as a carpenter/finisher. My intention is to 'test the waters' by living on a boat before I decide to purchase one. This may take a couple years. Then I would like to take my son and relocate to the Caribbean and spend an extended time sailing. My job now allows me to work a month or two a year. I would be able to work on someone’s boat with/for them. During that time, I would like to take some sailing and scuba lessons. I am not looking to take someone else’s boat out for my own pleasure, merely to liveaboard and maintain. If the boat is maintained already and an owner just wished someone to be present, then I might consider paying slip fees. I have a law enforcement background and owned a private investigation company for 12 yrs. Protecting your property will be no problem. I envy everyone here that owns / sails and I hope to be added to the list someday. I have raised 3 boys by myself and my last few years with my youngest I hope will be on a boat and eventually showing him the Caribbean and another life. Anywhere along the south coast (Texas - Florida) would be my choice. lol, unless I was to find someone already in the Caribbean! Any help would be most appreciated. I have so much to learn, but reading all the posts here has been entertaining and worth its weight in gold ! Please post responses here or you can email me at my1peeper@aol.com Thanks all !!

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Peeper

I’m new here and have never posted, but have been reading all the great postings, especially Don1500's journey on his new boat (which I loved reading about). I am looking to be a liveaboard /caretaker. I am a single parent (dad) with a well-mannered 13 yr old. I am mechanically inclined and have worked in my younger years as a carpenter/finisher. My intention is to 'test the waters' by living on a boat before I decide to purchase one. This may take a couple years. Then I would like to take my son and relocate to the Caribbean and spend an extended time sailing. My job now allows me to work a month or two a year. I would be able to work on someone’s boat with/for them. During that time, I would like to take some sailing and scuba lessons. I am not looking to take someone else’s boat out for my own pleasure, merely to liveaboard and maintain. If the boat is maintained already and an owner just wished someone to be present, then I might consider paying slip fees. I have a law enforcement background and owned a private investigation company for 12 yrs. Protecting your property will be no problem. I envy everyone here that owns / sails and I hope to be added to the list someday. I have raised 3 boys by myself and my last few years with my youngest I hope will be on a boat and eventually showing him the Caribbean and another life. Anywhere along the south coast (Texas - Florida) would be my choice. lol, unless I was to find someone already in the Caribbean! Any help would be most appreciated. I have so much to learn, but reading all the posts here has been entertaining and worth its weight in gold ! Please post responses here or you can email me at my1peeper@aol.com Thanks all !!

You "might consider" paying slip fees if the boat is maintained? And you hope to learn how to sail while you live aboard this boat? How are boat owners expected to pass up a deal like that? You get to "test the waters" while deciding whether you want to purchase a boat, and the boat owner gets...

How did that go again?

[Peeper]

In response to BASH...

Did you not read the post ?? I stated that I would consider paying the slip fees if maintaining the boat was not needed...as in return for protecting it......I never said I would be testing the waters WITH THEIR BOAT !!! I specifically said I would not be taking the boat out. An owner of boat in need of repairs would benefit by me working on it as a trade off and an owner with no maintanence issues would benefit by having slip fees paid and someone full time protecting their property. If your response had been early in the morning then I could overlook it as being lack of coffee. Please reread my post and if I wasnt clear then I can reword it. I am merely attempting to offer a service to someone that may need it and in return I would be able to liveaboard. Learning to sail and scuba diving was just a footnote and not part of using someone elses boat....I would be doing those things on my own.

[Kevin84]

Peeper, I believe Bash was refering to the fact that boats need constant maintenance. It is a never ending job. You can expect to spend at least an hour or two every day working on something on your boat. Maintaining the batteries and electrical systems, checking your dock lines for chaffing and/or replacing them, inspecting the seals around the deck fittings, checking your through hulls. There is no such thing as a boat that doesn't need maintenace. And honestly, most boat owners aren't that concerned about their boats needing "protection." As an example, there are about 70 of us that live aboard at the marina I'm at, and we all keep an eye on the boats here for free. Not to mention that they dock has a security gate on it and you can't get on the dock without knowing the gate code. As far as providing free maintainence for someone, IMO, you're going to have a hard time finding someone willing to let you learn by trial and error on their boat. I posted in the thread you started, and what I said there bears just as true here: You would be far better served buying your own boat right off the bat for 10,000-20,000 and go from their. Here in Charleston, where I live, I know of at least 5 boats for sale under 20k that you and your son could live on immediately.

[Ex-Calif]

@peeper - All I can say is that what you did in post 5 is called hijacking a thread.

I saw your other thread about your offer and I responded. However it is a bit unfair for you to post your "offer" in other people's threads.

If you want to propose some sort of caretaking arrangement with zumsel it is polite to send him a PM and not hijack his thread.

Just sayin' is all...

[zumsel]

@ all,

Many thanks for your suggestions so far. But it seems as more informations I get, the more confused I become as well.

About registration. I'm flying the Canadian flag and want to keep it that way. I just went to the fun and joy and paid more then $20,000 last summer for customs and duty when I imported my boat into Canada. So the least I want to do is to pay now Florida sales or use tax.

As far as I understand the regulations, foreign flagged boats are exempt in Florida of paying sales and use tax as long as the carry a valid cruising permit. This permit is good for one year and can't be renewed if you are not a resident of the USA. The only way you can get a new one is surrender the old one, leave the USA for a least 15 days and come back with the proof that you have visited a foreign country. But not Cuba

So do I have to register my boat in Florida at all when I keep my Candian flag or am I mixing things up here and the state registration has nothing to do with the flag I'm flying.

And do you guys have any suggestions for were I could/should keep my boat.

Jochen

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by zumsel

About registration. I'm flying the Canadian flag and want to keep it that way. I just went to the fun and joy and paid more then $20,000 last summer for customs and duty when I imported my boat into Canada. So the least I want to do is to pay now Florida sales or use tax.

As far as I understand the regulations, foreign flagged boats are exempt in Florida of paying sales and use tax as long as the carry a valid cruising permit. This permit is good for one year and can't be renewed if you are not a resident of the USA. The only way you can get a new one is surrender the old one, leave the USA for a least 15 days and come back with the proof that you have visited a foreign country. But not Cuba

So do I have to register my boat in Florida at all when I keep my Candian flag or am I mixing things up here and the state registration has nothing to do with the flag I'm flying.

And do you guys have any suggestions for were I could/should keep my boat.

Jochen

1) If you have owned your boat for more than 6 months, you are not subject to Florida sales/use tax.

2) If you possess a (free) US CBP Cruising License, you are exempt from registering your vessel with Florida.

3) The (free) US CBP Cruising License expires after 1 year or when you surrender it to leave US waters. There must be 15 days between expiration/surrender of a license to request a new license. Also, the vessel must show entry into a foreign port/country during the expiration period before requesting a new license. Note: Possession of a CBP Cruising License does not exempt you from notifying CBP when you travel within/between CBP jurisdictional districts. You need to know the rules thoroughly before your venture.

4) Florida has ~1100 miles of tidal coast line which varies in ambience greatly, without knowing what you like, it's awful hard to suggest where to moor your boat.

I hope this helps.