Bringing a US flagged boat to the Med

[CaptJDK]

For years I have been toying with the idea of bringing my US flagged (Florida) and Coast Guard documented sailboat to the Med. Does anyone have any advise on that? What are the rules as far as keeping the boat for several summers in EU waters? What are the issues with the shore power voltage? Propane?
I met a couple last year that had brought their boat by yacht carrier from the US to Palma. They told me that they were only allowed to keep their boat there for 6 months or they would have to pay VAT. Any ideas on costs to bring a 32' to 35' sailboat by yacht carrier from Lauderdale to the Med?
Thanks for your words of wisdom.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by CaptJDK

For years I have been toying with the idea of bringing my US flagged (Florida) and Coast Guard documented sailboat to the Med. Does anyone have any advise on that? What are the rules as far as keeping the boat for several summers in EU waters? What are the issues with the shore power voltage? Propane?
I met a couple last year that had brought their boat by yacht carrier from the US to Palma. They told me that they were only allowed to keep their boat there for 6 months or they would have to pay VAT. Any ideas on costs to bring a 32' to 35' sailboat by yacht carrier from Lauderdale to the Med?
Thanks for your words of wisdom.

done to death here

Quick summary

(1) The boat is allowed 18 months in the EU, resettable by leaving for one day, VAT free ( 6 months was the old restriction, gone now a few years )
(2) Currently non EU crew are allowed 90 days in 180, then must leave EU for 90 days
(3)Shore power is widely available,230VAC 50Hz single phase , variable power , mostly IEC 60309 blue connectors

(4) Propane is not common, butane is widely available, Camping Gax cylinders being common, you will need to carry a conversion to allow this bottle to be used. Refilling is technically illegal, but still continues.

(5) Croatia and Montenegro WILL require a certificate of competency, but will accept many US ones, like ASA etc, some countries may ask for ICC but cannot legally demand it, again having an ASA or similar is useful.

(6) You will need insurance, minimum third party , typically 3 million euros public liability.

(7) A tolerance for beautiful near naked womem, great food, fantastic wine, amazing history etc

Ship based yacht transport will be in excess of 10K.

[CaptJDK]

Thanks.
I am aware of the different shore power cables as I have chartered many times in the Med. The problem is whether there is such a thing as a transformer to bring down the 240V to 115V.
I have dual citizenship US and UK, I can stay without problems as long as I want with the UK passport but the yacht is US flagged. Could be tricky although I can document that I am US-based.
Butane VS. propane could be a problem? Is it easy to convert?
Naked women? No problem.... As said, I have sailed quite a bit in that area. No big deal....

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by CaptJDK

Thanks.
I am aware of the different shore power cables as I have chartered many times in the Med. The problem is whether there is such a thing as a transformer to bring down the 240V to 115V.
I have dual citizenship US and UK, I can stay without problems as long as I want with the UK passport but the yacht is US flagged. Could be tricky although I can document that I am US-based.
Butane VS. propane could be a problem? Is it easy to convert?
Naked women? No problem.... As said, I have sailed quite a bit in that area. No big deal....

If travelling under a UK passport , then bring evidence of US residency ( a utility bill etc ) you can then avail of 18 months TIR for VAT , yet stay in the EU as long as you like

Yes you can get step down transformers easy, in the UK they are sold for building site power tools. you still have the 50 60 hz issue, but in general thats not much of an issue these days with modern systems

your propane stoves will work fine on butane with no mods. ( unless you have high pressure propane ) . a simple adaptor will take Camping Gaz bottles.

If you've chartered no worries, you'll know what to expect

[CaptJDK]

Thank you very much indeed.
I do enjoy the sailing in Croatia and Spain so much and want to discover more parts of the Med, like Sardinia, etc. This info was very useful.
I will have to check the yacht transporters as some quoted me close to $24K when I have heard from others that they only paid $16K for a similar boat.
Again, thanks a lot.

[roland stockham]

A good way of converting voltages is to get an charger that accepts all voltages and frequencies (most good ones do) then run any on-board stuff from the inverter. Avoids any issues of frequency and dodge pontoon electrics.
Biggest issue if you bring a US into Europe permanently is compliance to standards, if it was not built with a CE mark it can be prohibitively expensive to get one.

[CaptJDK]

Thanks. She is a Belgian made boat (ETAP 32S). Great sailboat. Too bad they don't make them anymore.

[George DuBose]

Quote: "Biggest issue if you bring a US into Europe permanently is compliance to standards, if it was not built with a CE mark it can be prohibitively expensive to get one."

As an American living full-time in Germany, I am a resident of the EU. Hence, I had to pay VAT to The Netherlands (on a reduced bill of sale) and then I had to put the boat through the Post Construction Assessment survey. I shopped around and had fees for the inspection that ranged from 3200-4000 euros.

Since all of my electronics, engine and many appliances were CE marked, the inspector hit me on only five "defects".

I had to add a second lifeline, a manual switch on the bilge pump circuit, be able to close my dorade ventilators, change a mildewed glass in one port that was delaminating and add gaskets to all my cockpit hatches. In the end, the director of the firm dropped the price from 3200 euros to 2200 euros.

So between the VAT and the PCA, I had to spend less than 5000 euros to make my 1973 Pearson 36-1 perfectly legal in the EU.

The French and the Scandinavians are particularly interested in non-EU boats and the fines are hefty. The Irish, English and Dutch haven't shown any interest in my tax and inspection documents, but I will be visiting other countries in northern Europe and the Med, so I want all my ducks in a row.

[George DuBose]

ProMariner makes a great line of multivoltage battery chargers, just change the plug on your shore power cord or buy an adaptor.

I also married a US propane pigtail with a European fitting and I do fill my own US tanks from a EU gas bottle, I don't do this onboard...

There are adaptors for US propane systems that will accept a CampingGaz bottle.

My ENO Gasgone propane oven manual says I need to change the burners for butane use, but I can't find butane in Europe anyway, CampingGaz is supposed to be a mix of propane and butane.

[chuckr]

We are an American boat and we sailed over in 2013. go boating got most of it right.

as for a transformer, get a 3-4000w transformer before you leave and you should not have a problem. we got a 3000 one and run a small heater off it, water heater and the entire boat. we also have 400w of solar so we try not to use the transformer unless we have to or when we winter over as we are doing now.

you will need some cert of competence if you are going to sail montenegro or croatia with your boat.

we get our usa propane tanks filled but we carry an adapter with us. Italy will not fill them but we got them filled in Tunisia, Croatia, and Spain (i think).

They will want to see your documentation.

as you are traveling on a brit passport you will not have the schengren problems we have.

bring lots of spare parts, such as fresh water pump, alternator, starter ect. very expensive over here.

not sure what else but if you ask we may be able to help.