When Is a Sailboat a Yacht ?

[opsailor]

Senator John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, was sure to point out to me (Kerry Picket, blogger on the Washington Times) on Thursday that the "Isabel," his 76-foot $7 million luxury yacht docked in Rhode Island, is actually not a yacht, but simply "my sailboat."

Sen. Kerry: Not a yacht but a sailboat - Washington Times

[TaoJones]

Just a reminder, folks, that if this heads down the political path, it will be summarily closed. Thank you for your cooperation.

TaoJones

[GordMay]

The article goes on to say:

“... On Tuesday night, Mr. Kerry's office released a statement remarking that he would pay the full amount he owes to the state of Massachusetts ...”

Which would be zero.
Is he paying tax, AS THOUGH he were berthing the boat in Mass?

[hummingway]

I thought that any smaller vessel used for pleasure was considered a yacht. Maybe it stopped being a pleasure when he had to answer questions about tax evasion.

[opsailor]

Meant to engender discussion on what is a yacht. When I was a kid in South Florida, it seemed everything larger than 32 feet was a yacht. Now you rarely hear the term used.

Political angle just a great side benefit.

[rebel heart]

If I remember correctly the old and "official" answer is any vessel that can fly a yacht ensign, rather than the US Ensign. Which, again trying to remember, means you're conducting pleasure boating. It was used to distinguish between boats that needed to clear through customs and such.

Now a days anyone who calls their sailboat a yacht is either trying to sell it, or someone a little high on their horse.

[Stillraining]

Don't like the guy...but I would do the same ( avoid paying ) any more taxes then forced to If I were in the same situation....Nothing wrong with it at all.

Look at how many ships are registered to foreign ports for tax and liability reasons.

At least its a sail boat...in that I wish him well.

I have never understood any negativism an the amount of money individuals spend on their toys..As long as the money is legit to begin with....Failure bankers getting fat bonuses while leaving struggling home owners to burn is not legit money in my book as an example.

Its the American dream after all to be able to not only own the tools of production, but to profit from them and reward yourself with a lifestyle fitting to that reward...Modesty of course is a grand and possible higher virtue...but I don't begrudge anyone there way with their money gotten by hard work.

If I could afford say a 500,000.00 boat don't think for a moment
I would not spent a lot of time in my tax attorney's office trying to figure out how to reduce my pay out to Washington State to zero if possible....Few things in this state are run to my liking...nor do they ask me about them either.

Kerry's got more virtue then I apparently ( I guess he can afford virtue)...I would have told everyone to pound sand...nothing he was doing with that boat purchase was illegal or improper as I read it...just smart stewardship...Some states are just to greedy.

It use to be here in Washington that a Federally Documented boat was not subject to state licencing fees...well that was just to easy of a money pool to tap into for the state to pass up any longer so they nixed that rule.

As a business owner Im into every deduction afforded me by law... I think Mr. Kerry caved in to public pressure...in his line of work and living in the glass house he has chose to do, I suppose its a chump change exchange for him in the long run though.

[GordMay]

We’ve had several previous ineffective discussions, seeking to determine our own definitions of undefinable terms:
What’s the difference between a boat and a yacht?
What’s the difference between a boat and a ship?
How far offshore is offshore?
What’s the difference between an offshore vs a coastal boat?
How long is a piece of string?
How much does it cost ...?

All of these approach the supposedly non-existent “stupid question”.

[FrankZ]

A yacht is a boat two feet longer than the one you have.

[rebel heart]

Hey Gord what's a bluewater boat and can you recommend me the best one? Also, should I have a multi or a mono, and should I carry a gun onboard?

[zeehag]

a YACHT can house a helo on board. under that size is a boat.

[garrens]

A yacht is a boat that the owner pays someone else to maintain. I imagine Kerry's is a yacht!

[detav007]

I love these threads, they've usually got some funny stuff in them. I would consider a yacht to be anything with a berth not used for work/income.

[mason_jj]

My previous insurance company tried to tell me that my 18' bowrider was a yacht! No head or sleeping quarters but still a yacht. They were trying to force a marine survey on me at my expense because under their new rules my boat became a yacht. They claimed that because it had an inboard/outboard engine it was a yacht.

I promptly cancelled and hung up!

Jeff

[cdennyb]

The way I see, if it cost me under 200K it's a stupid sailboat that I have to work on myself... if it cost $7 million bucks... it's a damn yacht and someone else works on it FOR me.