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P.S. I think the boat can stay in any EU port indefinitely, if I understand the rules right, whatever the flag (the boat will have been bought VAT-paid inside the EU). I have a job, unforunately, and will not be spending 183 days a year anywhere except slaving behind my desk, so the Spanish situation can't happen to me.
The Spanish situation is a case where a person who is resident in Spain has to re-register (re-flag) his cars and boats in Spain and pay Spanish taxes. This applies to people, not boats.
For boats, as distinguished from their owners, if I understand the regime correctly, the important thing is VAT. If VAT is not paid, then a boat can be used in EU waters based on being temporarily imported for up to 18 months. But if VAT is paid, as in my case, then whether the flag is U.K., U.S., or Somalian, the boat is legal forever (not her owner, however, who has to respect the immigration regime according to his citizenship!), unless she is sold outside of the EU, in which case her VAT status is extinguished.
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