Bringing a Bahamian registered boat to the usa

[Maine lobsterma]

I have a boat that was given to me but it is registered in the Bahamas and I'd like to bring it to Florida to work on it. It's a 32' sabre. My question is, how long can I have it in the usa for? Or should I just try to document it here?

[lars]

used to be 1 year with a extension for another year no charge at customs

[tomfl]

Probably need a few more details about your plans to answer your question. If you haul the boat and work on it while it is on the hard you can probably get by with doing nothing government wise. If you live on it in a slip or on a ball it may well depend on how busy your location is. Some places FWC walks the docks looking for stickers while in other areas there is really no enforcement. If you plan to move the boat between locations while living and working on it you will probably have 180 days to register it.