Buying in Florida, sailing back to Australia, Costs, regulations, customs.

[manawatuman]

Hi, I'm considering flying to possibly Florida and purchasing a used FP 40.
I have a 3 mth window to check out several boats, get a survey, make my purchase and sail out of US waters, is that plenty of time?
What are all the rings and hoops I will have to jump through regarding paperwork?
What are the fees and taxes etc, is Florida the best state to do this?
Whats customs and border like to deal with etc.
Ideally I would really appreciate a step by step of the process and any other matters of concern.
I have no experience at all with sailing and catamarans, but im jumping in feet first and plan on spending the next 3 years cruising and sea some of the world.
Thank you in advance


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[DeepCut]

You have No experience in sailing and yet you want to locate, survey, buy and then sail (around the world?). Perhaps better would be take a "learn to cruise" course and spend a couple weeks on a boat, perhaps after a few weeks going to a major boat show (Annapolis) where you will see things in all new light... They also have courses addressing many of your topics you will need... (Stay off the nice shiny boats... you will want a new one). Then go shopping the used market.

[manawatuman]

Hi, thanks for you support and friendly reply.
I was at the Sydney boat show a few weeks ago where I booked my ICC with IYT which will be completed this year. My friend will be sailing the yacht back to Australia with me. Please stay off the nice shiny beers you may come across as sarcastic

[DeepCut]

When I go to airplane events (Oshkosh, Sun N Fun), I don't get to closet new airplanes as I was in market for previously enjoyed plane. The advances in avionics /tecnology is impressive. The costs is even more staggering...aviation avionics for a 4 seater airplane can easily have 75,000 or more to upgrade GPS(x2) and autopilot .

Looking at new boats, you will see where the trends have lead to and look for those designs that were "early adopters" . One of the advantages of buying used boats(and airplanes) is that the bugs are identified by others and you know what potential problems to look for..

My biggest tip is to spend some time on a few boats to know what you want in a boat. Your friend, being very knowledgable, will be able to tell you what he wants in a boat. (My brother, with 6-7 years more flying experience, advised me heavily on my first used airplane...He pretty much picked it out and I wrote the check. Worked out well.)

[vmattiola]

In all seriousness though, rushing something like this is never the way to go about it. I think in 3 months you could arrange to seek out, find, survey, and start moving the right boat....but, if the boat needs some work, even minor work, you could be pushing that schedule rather tightly.

Assuming you want to re-register the boat in Australia, which I'm certain will take some time...probably more on the USA side of things.

I'm thinking if you are able to come to USA, complete the transaction & survey, and peace out you could pull it off, but if you need work done. Another story. The next best place I can think of for parts & such would be St. Martin. 1000nm upwind.

Even if the boat isn't re-registered Aus yet, you could still just keep cruising as USA registration and use those papers until your Aus reg finalizes.

Not positive on US Custom & Border protection, but they typically seem to be much more concerned with vessels coming IN, rather than vessels leaving.

On the topic of no sailing experience, you really should consider at least having someone who's a sailing instructor aboard for the first bit of passagemaking.

[DDabs]

good luck!

[nauticalnomad]

Id aim for Malaysia or Asia somewhere and sit there for 6 months before making the journey to Australia..
Its hard to get any sense out of Australian customs until they arrest and impound you on the day and charge you GST on everything you have purchased on your trip from America..
However if your last port of call was Timor then they would only assess you on that delivery..
I have various emails from Au customs and they are contradictory in what they require.
Id leave the boat in Asia if it was me anyways..
Australia is not like it used to be.
Asia is beautiful and cheap. Register the boat in Langkawi and explore that area.
You wont want to head back to Australia at all....
I am in The Med now with a UK reg boat and making my way to the Southern hemisphere very very very very slowly.

[savoir]

Learning to sail first would be a really good idea. Buy something small and cheap and park it on a Caribbean Island where you can mess about to your heart's content.

By the way, there is zero paperwork for local boats leaving the US.

[Auzzee]

Contact the Australian authorities and you will find them to be helpful, efficient full of good, correct advice. You need to provide all the details of the yacht you decide to purchase, for them to place it on the Australian registry. (Five years ago, it was a once only cost of $1100 to register it for a lifetime).

They will walk you through the process step-by-step. I also found the US Coast Guard to be quite helpful. The boat you purchase must be actively struck from Coast Guard registry and the documents need to be notarised by a US attorney. This de-registration must be included with other relevent documents, presented to Australian authorities.

Now, after registering your new purchase remotely, if you sail the boat to Australia quickly enough to be legitimately called a 'delivery trip', you will be able to write off much of the cost of delivery against the purchase price of the boat. This is important as the Australian Government will charge you GST (10%) of the purchase price; less the cost of delivery as long as it is done "In a timely fashion".

In assessing the boat for tax, the Aussie Government will usually charge you 10% of the US purchase price (In $AU). But they are not fools. They know the market and if you underestimate the price, to reduce your tax bill, they will then smell the proverbial rodent, and will have the boat assessed by a local Aussie surveyor...and the result will be considerably more than you paid for the boat in the USA.

If you do the right thing, the Aussie authorities will treat you well and will expedite your registration and entry. If you try to play them, they will show no mercy!

As for sailing and knowledge of same. Sailing was developed by cromagnon man. It is a simple thing to do.There will be those who want to carry on about the 'art' of sailing and so on, but those who truly know will help rather than criticise. A basic knowledge of physics will explain to you everything from the propulsion/staying right-side-up, side of things... You will need however, to know what to do when things turn to s**t...and in any ocean crossing, they will do just that to one degree or another.

The theory of coping with threatening events is easy to learn; the practice is not so easy. Sailing in small, tender, non ballasted boats will furnish you with plenty of examples of what can go wrong in a blow. Taking appropriate action then becomes a practical necessity rather than a classroom supposition.

Learning on the job is the best way to become a sailor. Over-confidence is your biggest enemy and seasoned, supportive sailors WHO HAVE CROSSED OCEANS, are your biggest friends.

Best of luck.

[picklesandjesse]

I bought a boat in California 3 years ago. Hauled it worked flat out on it and left 5 weeks later. Sailed to Australia after making 2 stops. 72 days.
If you would like some advise/thoughts etc you could pm me here. No problem. John.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

Contact the Australian authorities and you will find them to be helpful, efficient full of good, correct advice. You need to provide all the details of the yacht you decide to purchase, for them to place it on the Australian registry. (Five years ago, it was a once only cost of $1100 to register it for a lifetime).

They will walk you through the process step-by-step. I also found the US Coast Guard to be quite helpful. The boat you purchase must be actively struck from Coast Guard registry and the documents need to be notarised by a US attorney. This de-registration must be included with other relevent documents, presented to Australian authorities.

Now, after registering your new purchase remotely, if you sail the boat to Australia quickly enough to be legitimately called a 'delivery trip', you will be able to write off much of the cost of delivery against the purchase price of the boat. This is important as the Australian Government will charge you GST (10%) of the purchase price; less the cost of delivery as long as it is done "In a timely fashion".

In assessing the boat for tax, the Aussie Government will usually charge you 10% of the US purchase price (In $AU). But they are not fools. They know the market and if you underestimate the price, to reduce your tax bill, they will then smell the proverbial rodent, and will have the boat assessed by a local Aussie surveyor...and the result will be considerably more than you paid for the boat in the USA.

If you do the right thing, the Aussie authorities will treat you well and will expedite your registration and entry. If you try to play them, they will show no mercy!

As for sailing and knowledge of same. Sailing was developed by cromagnon man. It is a simple thing to do.There will be those who want to carry on about the 'art' of sailing and so on, but those who truly know will help rather than criticise. A basic knowledge of physics will explain to you everything from the propulsion/staying right-side-up, side of things... You will need however, to know what to do when things turn to s**t...and in any ocean crossing, they will do just that to one degree or another.

The theory of coping with threatening events is easy to learn; the practice is not so easy. Sailing in small, tender, non ballasted boats will furnish you with plenty of examples of what can go wrong in a blow. Taking appropriate action then becomes a practical necessity rather than a classroom supposition.

Learning on the job is the best way to become a sailor. Over-confidence is your biggest enemy and seasoned, supportive sailors WHO HAVE CROSSED OCEANS, are your biggest friends.

Best of luck.

The cost of Australian duty is PLUS not less the cost of delivery.

[lordgeoff]

I think Oz customs will charge GST on the cost of the boat PLUS delivery costs...

[Bulawayo]

Deanwright.....a word of experience.
Have you watched the YouTube clips of S/V La Vagabonde? Its an Aussie guy, and later his new girlfriend. He flew to Italy and bought a a 43ft monohull and set off without experience. They are now in the South Pacific.
In my instance, I fitted out a 32ft HD&B, launched her in Cape Town and sailed to Brazil. That was in the 70's - long before Sat Nav came along for us little fellow's. and I was but a teenager in love with the concept - and still am. I later took courses and also learnt astro. Whilst I was training in Europe I did more courses - some good and some not so - but that South Atlantic experience was the decider.
I dont endorse just jumping off for everyone but its been done by many a folk and shall continue to happen as knowledge is pretty easily obtained and GPS has transformed navigation and weather reports are pretty easily come by.
I also reckon you'll hear loads of advice from people that are just plain scared to do what you are doing, or believe that you have to start out with a rubber boat in your bath tub and then 'grow' bigger by five feet every other year. All a load of tosh in my opinion.
If you have the confidence go for it. Good luck and if I can help just let me know.

Originally Posted by deanwright

Hi, thanks for you support and friendly reply.
I was at the Sydney boat show a few weeks ago where I booked my ICC with IYT which will be completed this year. My friend will be sailing the yacht back to Australia with me. Please stay off the nice shiny beers you may come across as sarcastic

[knockabout]

don't forget to give Australian customs 48 hours notice of entry by radio or phone before entering or risk big fines or jail or both

[Bulawayo]

Does that apply to every boat or just returning Australians/importing a boat?
Just curious how reasonable this is if approaching from NE/E. Is an approx date good enough? Thanks.

Originally Posted by knockabout

don't forget to give Australian customs 48 hours notice of entry by radio or phone before entering or risk big fines or jail or both