Visit our Popular Forums

skipgundlach · 06-04-2016, 07:08

From the correspondence which led to that search, to a boat rafted to us after buying, but not paying tax in NC, and less than 6 months ago; followup to the conclusion is that nobody contacted me from either office; that was over 2 months ago...

Check this out; I see why Charles Martin's no longer there.

I have a message into Cacciatore; my presumption about his email that I
copied you on is apparently wrong, as it bounced.

From a FL DOR pdf, this seems to excuse you, even though it's likely that
the marina is not a RRF nor in CCC of your boat:

Boats Temporarily Docked in Florida
When Florida sales or use tax has not been paid on a boat brought into
Florida, the boat is not subject
to Florida use tax when the boat remains in a Florida registered facility
that rents dockage or slippage
for a period not to exceed a total of 20 days in any calendar year. The
20-day period begins on the
day the boat is docked at the facility.
If the boat enters Florida for repairs or modifications at a registered
repair facility, the boat may remain
in Florida tax exempt until the repairs or modifications are completed. The
20-day period stops while
the boat is being repaired or modified. Once the repairs are complete, the
owner has the balance of
the 20-day period to remove the boat from Florida.
Storage of a boat at a registered repair facility does not qualify for
tolling of the 20-day time period.

(Ed note; tolling refers to counting the days you are not doing repairs.
But nobody's counting, anyway.)

From http://dor.myflorida.com/Forms_libra...t/gt800005.pdf

My contacts (Martin and Kalfas) assured me that the reality rather than the
language was what counted. Further, the trawler thread shows that
enforcement has become virtually toothless.

So, your intent is not to evade taxes, but, instead, move through FL on your
way elsewhere - AND make tax revenue from your purchases and repairs.

I'll follow up if I hear from either Cacciatore or Loebig, but given what
I've seen directly so far, and by inference in my searching, I don't expect
to. Once you've passed the 6-month mark, it becomes moot, in any case.
AND, if you paid taxes when you bought it, those would apply, in any case,
IF you somehow were liable...

Onemoreproject · 06-04-2016, 07:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by robgrant1

You might enjoy this Active Captain post on the subject of wifi in the Bahamas:
https://activecaptain.com/newsletters/2016-02-03.php

Its nice to get back on track to the original topic of this thread.

Thanks for sending that link. IT was was very useful to hear how sim cards and cell phones work in the Bahanas. I wonder if it works so well in other countries?

I am trying to evaluate if cell phone hot spots are adequate or if it is worth it to get the Wirie Pro.

I'd like to hear more about peoples experiences using cell phones as hot spots!

Thanks for staying on-topic.

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

There's a ferry from US to Bahamas??

That is my understanding from the time I had a concern about taxes.

Certainly, I have no reservations about leaving my boat in FL for extended periods of time, having properly exported it from FL, and spent well over 6 months cruising the US east coast before returning.

And, here's what I found in searching for Charles Martin: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s...rt-13423.htmlf

It confirms my personal experience, even before he retired...

Indeed there is: How To Get Here â€“ Grand Bahama Island â€“ Ferries | The Official Site of The Bahamas. Thanks for the sales tax info.; gives me some options I didn't think I had.

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 07:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemoreproject

Its nice to get back on track to the original topic of this thread.

Thanks for sending that link. IT was was very useful to hear how sim cards and cell phones work in the Bahanas. I wonder if it works so well in other countries?

I am trying to evaluate if cell phone hot spots are adequate or if it is worth it to get the Wirie Pro.

I'd like to hear more about peoples experiences using cell phones as hot spots!

Thanks for staying on-topic.

Mea culpa for the drift

Here's another Active Captain link that might be helpful: Help Center » eBoatCards

barboak · 06-04-2016, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemoreproject

So the question was asked earlier, why not use a cell phone for a wifi hot spot instead of The Wireie or a DIY solution cobbled onto the Bullit or a Groove?

I am new to this subject of WiFi and needing a 3G connection to access the net when WiFi is not available, but I am starting to get it. You need both.

Can someone please explain what the advantage or preference might be for buying the Wireie Pro or building a DIY solution for 3G, over a cell phone hot spot? No matter which solution you choose, you are still going out and buying a Simm card and putting it either in the Wirie or the cell phone.

I got a bit loss on this thread but: the cell phone will be limited to it's antenna range, we have used a Wilson cell phone booster which worked well in the past. A few years ago we installed a sim-card router with an external antenna on the rail and it works great at extending the range of cellular data! We get a local SIM card, usually Digicell and install it in the router. Now that we installed our Island Tome groove with it's own router we have two routers at the nav station one for wifi and the other for cellular data. Very happy

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemoreproject

Its nice to get back on track to the original topic of this thread.

Thanks for sending that link. IT was was very useful to hear how sim cards and cell phones work in the Bahanas. I wonder if it works so well in other countries?

I am trying to evaluate if cell phone hot spots are adequate or if it is worth it to get the Wirie Pro.

I'd like to hear more about peoples experiences using cell phones as hot spots!

Thanks for staying on-topic.

There's a post (denogail) on this thread that might give you some direction. Will AT&T work in the bahamas? | Bahamas Chatter

Dulcesuenos · 06-04-2016, 11:23

BTC data plan is $50 For 5 gigabyte's. We use an unlocked smart phone for WiFi when we can't find free Wi-Fi on the wirie which was 50% of the time. If you use a data card be sure to turn off auto updates etc on every device or you can burn thru the data quite fast.

Sent from my PLT1077G using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

BTC data plan is $50 For 5 gigabyte's. We use an unlocked smart phone for WiFi when we can't find free Wi-Fi on the wirie which was 50% of the time. If you use a data card be sure to turn off auto updates etc on every device or you can burn thru the data quite fast.

Sent from my PLT1077G using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Have you got the Wirie Pro with a sim card? Did you go through mrsimcard for your data plan or BTC directly?

Onemoreproject · 06-04-2016, 12:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by barboak

I got a bit loss on this thread but: the cell phone will be limited to it's antenna range, we have used a Wilson cell phone booster which worked well in the past. A few years ago we installed a sim-card router with an external antenna on the rail and it works great at extending the range of cellular data! We get a local SIM card, usually Digicell and install it in the router. Now that we installed our Island Tome groove with it's own router we have two routers at the nav station one for wifi and the other for cellular data. Very happy

I didn't know there was such a thing as a Sim card router. Where did you get the sim card router? Was it hard to program and get up and running? That sounds like it might be an affordable alternative to a $700.00 Wirie Pro.

hellosailor · 06-04-2016, 12:59

skip-
No pun intended, but the ferries seem to come and go. There was a high speed catamaran ferry out of Port Lauderdale, but IIRC the owners changed hands (or the service did) and the new owners are sending it over to their home, Spain, for service in the Balearic islands. There are overnight cruise junkets to the Bahamas that might be just as cheap as a ferry, depending on how you feel about the casino stop.(G) This stuff changes all the time.
Some year ago I got a free daytrip to/from Fort Laud to Nassau as a perq on a car rental. There's always something being offered, depending on tourism and politics.

"Sim card router" aka "Mobile hot spot" used to be $100 or whatever they could extort from a cell customer. Now available much cheaper, all depending on what options and features you want to buy:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-MR3...im+card+router

Tkeeth · 06-04-2016, 13:20

I have a rouge wave and there is really no setup. Easy to use, minimal, and feeds everything seemlessly. Everyone around me complains about the internet where i am and i have no issues at all

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellosailor

skip-
No pun intended, but the ferries seem to come and go. There was a high speed catamaran ferry out of Port Lauderdale, but IIRC the owners changed hands (or the service did) and the new owners are sending it over to their home, Spain, for service in the Balearic islands. There are overnight cruise junkets to the Bahamas that might be just as cheap as a ferry, depending on how you feel about the casino stop.(G) This stuff changes all the time.
Some year ago I got a free daytrip to/from Fort Laud to Nassau as a perq on a car rental. There's always something being offered, depending on tourism and politics.

"Sim card router" aka "Mobile hot spot" used to be $100 or whatever they could extort from a cell customer. Now available much cheaper, all depending on what options and features you want to buy:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-MR3...im+card+router

Might not work with BTC if it only takes dongles rather than standard sim cards.

barboak · 06-04-2016, 14:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemoreproject

I didn't know there was such a thing as a Sim card router. Where did you get the sim card router? Was it hard to program and get up and running? That sounds like it might be an affordable alternative to a $700.00 Wirie Pro.

Yes there are, I just did a quick search and found a bunch including on Amazon. We got ours in St. Martin 3 years ago and it's a Netgear router from Bell Canada i believe. Plug and play if I remember correctly. I carry sim card adaptors to fit different size sims to it

robgrant1 · 06-04-2016, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by barboak

Yes there are, I just did a quick search and found a bunch including on Amazon. We got ours in St. Martin 3 years ago and it's a Netgear router from Bell Canada i believe. Plug and play if I remember correctly. I carry sim card adaptors to fit different size sims to it

Can you use the standard size sims available through BTC? Do you use the router in conjunction with an antenna system similar to the Rogue Pro, Wirie, etal.?