It is a hodgepodge of
regulations and enforcement.Seems like different districts have their own rules. One example is in
Long Island Sound. On the
New York side (Long Island) you check in. when you enter the district but not again until you leave the district at Cape May, NJ. On the north shore, Boston district, you are supposed to call in when you enter a port - so it does apply if you
anchor. There is a 1-800 number for the country and they will connect you to the relevant local
customs office, usually an
airport. When you talk to them they ask why you are calling and you have to explain their
regulations to them. Sounds like they right down your info and probably throw it out after you hang up.
We registered our Canadian boat in
Rhode Island (no sales tax) when lived on it in
NYC. The local customs office did not realize that they should have given us an open-ended cruising
permit. since we had visas to live in the US. That was explained to us by a guy who did know their rules when we entered the following summer from
Bermuda with both Canadian registry and RI
license.