Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Single Post

hellosailor · 08-10-2007, 13:33

Its not just boats, folks. Boats would be exempt from most of your tax complaints. It is mainly MOTOR VEHICLES that are taxed, and that includes MOTOR BOATS. If your sailboat also has a permanently installed engine, then it is not a "sailboat" it is an "auxiliary motor boat" meaning, there's an auxiliary engine and it is not a MOTOR VEHICLE subject to all DMV rules in most states. (A few treat boats differently.)

If I take a car with New Jersey plates and drive it down to Florida for the winter, and keep it parked in my driveway for 91 days, guess what happens? The NJ registration is void and there's a penalty for not registering the MOTOR VEHICLE properly in the new state (Florida) where is has been for longer than the required period--which is as little as 31 days in some states.

Boats are just bigger richer targets, they get hit more. And, boat or car, wait till your insurer gets notified that your "home address" and registration have changed.

So, this is not a "boat thing" at all. Got a boat? Got a hash pipe? Good, the same ground rules apply. Find out if it is legal to show them or use them in public, whenever you take them someplace new. Travelers have been getting dumped in foreign holes for "I didn't do anything!" since travel was invented. The nice thing is, the locals are much less likely to cook you and eat you these days. Most places, anyhow. [g]

08-10-2007, 13:33	#27
hellosailor Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 3,993	Its not just boats, folks. Boats would be exempt from most of your tax complaints. It is mainly MOTOR VEHICLES that are taxed, and that includes MOTOR BOATS. If your sailboat also has a permanently installed engine, then it is not a "sailboat" it is an "auxiliary motor boat" meaning, there's an auxiliary engine and it is not a MOTOR VEHICLE subject to all DMV rules in most states. (A few treat boats differently.) If I take a car with New Jersey plates and drive it down to Florida for the winter, and keep it parked in my driveway for 91 days, guess what happens? The NJ registration is void and there's a penalty for not registering the MOTOR VEHICLE properly in the new state (Florida) where is has been for longer than the required period--which is as little as 31 days in some states. Boats are just bigger richer targets, they get hit more. And, boat or car, wait till your insurer gets notified that your "home address" and registration have changed. So, this is not a "boat thing" at all. Got a boat? Got a hash pipe? Good, the same ground rules apply. Find out if it is legal to show them or use them in public, whenever you take them someplace new. Travelers have been getting dumped in foreign holes for "I didn't do anything!" since travel was invented. The nice thing is, the locals are much less likely to cook you and eat you these days. Most places, anyhow. [g]