Coast Guard Registry for Med and USA (54 Amel)

[reynoldsa]

We bought a 54 Amel in Spain, wanting to Coast Guard register and not sure what state is best. If you have experience or a link that clearly recommends one over the other that would be most helpful. We currently live in Iowa, not planning to flag her for Iowa although we own property here, just can see sailing the world with a mid-west state on the stern. (or is there an advantage to that?) Thank you for your advise.

[psk125]

See other thread for homeport requirements for Documented vessels. (Essentially, it has to be a place recognized by the U.S. Post Office.) One famous racing mega-boat was home-ported in Aspen, CO. The main concern of the USCG seems to be the size of the lettering. Some states may charge you sales tax if they find out about a boat home-ported there. (California comes to mind.) Most foreigners will not know or care that Iowa has no coastline.

[reynoldsa]

I tried to find this thread mentioned in your note, I do not see one titled that, could you please point me in that direction?
Related question, if the lettering is the correct size, does matter if what is printed on the back of the boat is not located in the USA if documented with the USCG?

Thank you

[psk125]

Sorry, thought it would be easier to find than it is: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...at-214397.html

Requirements for hailing port are specified on the USCG pages for Documentation, online. It MUST be a U.S. location. That said, (as shown in the other thread) there is still a lot of leeway. Belfast (Maine) Rome (New York) Macon (Georgia) Berlin (Connecticut) Toledo (Ohio)...

[KimSails]

fun hailing ports...Hell, Michigan maybe? Not far from where I live, Hell freezes-over every winter here!

[jmastal70]

Important to check the tax laws in the state you are thinking of choosing as the place where you keep the boat. Check with a reputable broker. You may want to register the boat in a state that does not impose a boat tax, e.g. New Hampshire or Rhode Island, for example. USCG Documentation does not free you from tax implications, as far as I know , and I went through the process last year.
Fair winds across the beauracratic sea.

[Dooglas]

Do you plan to dock/moor the boat in the US? Where would it be kept? Most states will require local registration if you plan to keep your boat there for more than a limited period (the actual time period varies from state to state though often 6 months).

[AZUS]

Our boat is registered with Paradise Valley, AZ as the home port. Always a point of discussion and amusement in US and Carib. In the Med, the US flag is what’s most noted. In short, can be any recognized town. In Med doesn’t matter.

[Montanan]

Reference the National Vessel Documentation Center at this website:
http://https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-...on-Center-FAQ/

The "hailing port" just needs to be a place listed in the Department of Commerce's Publication 55D. It does not need to be a city or town but they are all listed, nor does the hailing port need to have a post office / zip code. You will find that most every place is listed, mountains, creeks, valleys, canals, water ditches, buttes, quarries, cemeteries, schools, battle fields, arenas, universities, churches, temples, synagogues, creeks, monuments, water falls, dams, reservoirs, bayous, lakes, shopping districts and shopping centers, historical districts, sports arenas and national / state and local parks, ski resorts, theme parks, ghost towns, major ranches. The list goes on and on. Essentially, if a local would know where you are talking about by using the description then it is likely to be found in that document.

I have found it difficult to view that specific document on-line. I found it and posted a link on this forum a while back, but don't know what the link is now.

The hailing port does not need to be a place that is navigable or even have water. It can be a dry lake or a desert.

It has to be a place in a State, a Territory or a possession of the USA.

It could even be a place that was named after a ranch's cattle brand, such as Two Dot or Circle, Montana.

[Donald Bryden]

You are getting a lot of advice and all of it seems to be good. I'll just add to it. In my case, I registered my boat in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I had lived in the area summers up to the time I left on the world cruise. My suggestion would be to choose some place that has a connection to you, such as where you last lived, went to school, etc. A friend of mine choose Anchorage, Alaska for some unfathomable reason. He had never been to Alaska. He was forever being sought out by people who did have a connection with Alaska. I thought it was comical, but I think he grew weary of it. By the way, Wisconsin did not attempt to tax me. All the Coast Guard cares about is that there are no two boats with the same name and same home port.

[Moody46CC]

When listing a home port for USCG documentation, it has no bearing on taxes, fees, and all the cute terms used as euphemisms for taxes. Those are determined by where you actually keep the boat, and that need not be the same as the so-called home port. There is one slight fly in this ointment, however. Many states or counties or other taxing agencies will buy the USCG documentation list and if your home port falls in their jurisdiction, you will get a tax bill. You then have to prove to that agency that the boat is not kept there. The agency will usually require some written proof, which a copy of your marina or mooring lease for some other location usually suffices. If you are abroad in the Med then a few marina receipts scattered about the full year will do the trick. Oh--if you decide to change the home port after returning stateside to coincide with where you will keep the boat or some other location, the USCG will be happy to allow you to change the home port--for a new documentation fee of course.

[jmschmidt]

First the US Coast Guard does not "register" vessels, it "documents" them. There is a big difference. This terminology has very specific meanings under US law. This terminology, when used by other countries may, and frequently does, have completely different meanings than in the United States.

Vessel "registration" in the United States is strictly a state function. The USCG has nothing to do with this process. A United States citizen (or legal entity such as a Corporation, Partnership, LLC, etc. that is controlled by a majority of United States citizens) may "document" a vessel with the US Coast Guard, a foreign person or entity may not.

Anyone; citizen, resident, foreigner of foreign entity may own a state "registered" vessel.

If a vessel is legally "documented" by the USCG it may also be required to be "registered" with one of the various states if it is kept for any period of time (which is determined by each state) within a state of the United States, usually for state and local tax purposes.

After dozens, maybe hundreds, of clear concise explanations of this process by me and many others on this forum, it still get confusing questions posted with incomplete information about "registration" and "documentation" of vessels in the US

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Donald Bryden

You are getting a lot of advice and all of it seems to be good. I'll just add to it. In my case, I registered my boat in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I had lived in the area summers up to the time I left on the world cruise. My suggestion would be to choose some place that has a connection to you, such as where you last lived, went to school, etc. A friend of mine choose Anchorage, Alaska for some unfathomable reason. He had never been to Alaska. He was forever being sought out by people who did have a connection with Alaska. I thought it was comical, but I think he grew weary of it. By the way, Wisconsin did not attempt to tax me. All the Coast Guard cares about is that there are no two boats with the same name and same home port.

Unlike many other countries rules for flagging of vessels, the USA does not require that the vessel have a unique name and hailing port. There are many boats with the same name and hailing point. In the USA, the name and hailing port is not a unique identifier but the issued number is unique.

You will not need to pursue State registration if your vessel remains in foreign waters. If you return to the USA then you will need to review the rules specific to the State in which you have entered as to that State's specific registration rules. If your vessel is documented with the USCG then it will not also be "titled" by a State, but it may need to be registered by the State in which you remain for a period of time. There are temporary exemptions for transiting vessels and there are State issued cruise permits for visiting boats. Every State is a sovereign with their own rules of their waters.

[Montanan]

And of course, if you are a Proud Podunker, then you may desire to chose that place actually places as your hailing port.

Per Wikipedia:

Places named Podunk

Vinton's Pond Dam on the Podunk River

The United States Board on Geographic Names lists places named "Podunk":

Podunk, Connecticut, an area of the town of Guilford in New Haven County
Podunk, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ulysses in Tompkins County
Podunk, Vermont, an area of the town of Wardsboro in Windham County
Three places, over 100 miles (160 km) apart, in Michigan:
Podunk, Michigan, a community on Podunk Lake in Barry County
Podunk, Michigan, a crossroads in Gladwin County
Podunk, Michigan, an alternative name for Rogers City, MI in Presque Isle County, Michigan
Podunk, Michigan, the south eastern portion of the Village of Manchester, Michigan centered on the current village offices, formal before consolidation with the western portion "Manchester" changed in attempts to improve community image, the concurrent USPS designation of the Village of Manchester, Michigan zip code 48158. Washtenaw County, Michigan
Other areas known as Podunk include:

An area of East Hartford, Connecticut in the Podunk River basin including Vinton's Pond
An area, now a ghost town, nine miles (14 km) south of Shattuck, Oklahoma in Ellis County
An area in Dixie National Forest containing a guard station known as the Podunk Guard Station
Within Worcester County, Massachusetts (and involving three New England towns, each adjacent to at least one of the other two):
Podunk, an unincorporated area in East Brookfield, according to The Straight Dope
The Podunk Pike, which runs from Sturbridge, north through East Brookfield, and into Spencer
An area of northwestern Rhode Island 3 miles (4.8 km) WNW of Pascoag

A sign in Holley NY
An alternative spelling; "Podonque" is found as the name of a road leading into a settlement area (intersection of County roads 23 and 243) which is still sparsely populated, believed to having been established in the 1800s as: Podonque, Town of Rushford, New York, Allegany County, NY
An area near the Erie Canal lift bridge in Holley, New York
Podunk, Wisconsin, a now defunct town containing a sizable Bradner, Charnley & Co. logging camp, in Door County, Wisconsin

[Montanan]

Everything and more than you might want to know about documentation of vessel in the USA.

Reference US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 46 Shipping, Part 67 - Documentation of Vessels

In particular, sections:

67.117 Vessel Name Designation.
67.119 Hailing Port Designation

Subpart 1 Sections 67.120 - 67.123 Regarding Marking requirements.


https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...l#seqnum67.117