Leaving a foreign yacht in USA for a year?

[jonax]

Hi

10 years ago me and my wife crossed the atlantic in our 25 footer. Entered USA in West Palm Beach and took the icw up to Maryland. It was by then late in the season so we decided to ship the boat home.
Now we are ready to cross over again. Hope to reach New Orleans and plan to leave the boat there in some kind of storage for a year or so. Need to go back home and work for a while.

Did anyone do this? Leaving a foreign yacht in US waters. Will there be problems with the law?

And if anyone know of an affordable place to store the boat somewhere around NOLA, please let me know.

Oh yes, the boat is swedish.

kind regards

jonax

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Jonax.
No problem. You deposit your ship's papers with Customs, and boat is in bond. You can't legally move it.
Otherwise, your boat's cruising permit is good for a year, no matter how limited your personal immigration/visa status.

[gaucho]

Gord is right. I did something similar for two years. Even if you end up "overstaying" (boatwise) your cruising permit, as long as you hand it in the CBP, the boat can stay in the US until you are back. Even if that implies "overstaying" the permit. Of course whenever you decide to start sailing again, if the permit is due, then you will have to leave US waters for 15 days and you could come back. You might want to look into a port (if you are free to choose) that has a foreign country close by: eg Cuba or Bahamas or Mexico, in case you have to leave the US for those said 15 days.

[Montanan]

You may need to register the boat with the State in which you intend to keep it. Each State's laws are unique in this regard and need to be specifically researched

Reference to the State of Louisiana vessel registration and titling.

Boat Registration / Boat and Motor Titles | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

[psk125]

Originally Posted by Montanan

You may need to register the boat with the State in which you intend to keep it. Each State's laws are unique in this regard and need to be specifically researched

Reference to the State of Louisiana vessel registration and titling.

Boat Registration / Boat and Motor Titles | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Often the state laws apply to vessels "in the waters of" that state. If the boat is out of the water, said laws should not apply.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by psk125

Often the state laws apply to vessels "in the waters of" that state. If the boat is out of the water, said laws should not apply.

In some instances you are correct but then there are most States that include within the State, e.g., on a trailer, or in a boat yard. Rather similar to a vehicle registration and titling requirement. Also the dinghy may need separate registration and titling.

Also there are the host of Use tax and property taxation rules for having a vessel in State, County / Parish and or City requirements.

Use tax being where the boat is located not where it is purchased which triggers Sales tax.

[ausnp84]

When I bought my first boat (Oday 34) it was UK / SSR registered and the owner had had to return to England for an operation. The boat had been on a canal slip behind someone’s house in Ft Lauderdale for well over a year and I don’t believe he notified any authorities. When I bought it, I just updated the SSR registration, then sailed it out of Florida within 3 months. The broker didn’t make any mention of state tax, having to get paperwork from bond, etc. Hope that helps!

N

[jonax]

Oh, thanks for all replies. Maybe we try to leave the boat in Texas, maybe in Lousiana. We will see. But from your information it does not seem impossible.

/jonax