Boat Registration.

[Irish Rover]

Still don't get asked for more than a passport in rare visits by the PM. They don't come aboard either.

Things change and are changing.

[Unwelcome content removed]

I'm with @dgadee on this one. My experience of Customs, Coast Guard [port police] and Harbour Master offices in Greece and Türkiye when applying for Temporary Admission convinces me that showing up without printed documents is not a good idea. I've been asked for "originals" more than once and got very sceptical looks when I said I only received as email attachments. I'm shortly going to be exporting a VAT NOT PAID boat from Croatia then check-in/check-out in both Montenegro and Albania over the course of 3/4 days followed by a Temporary Admission application in Greece and subsequent reporting in a slew of Greek ports. I don't fancy my chances of doing all that without convincing looking printed documents.

 

[emmalina]

Of course it is progress. Paper is pointless for this type of registration. The objective has been met, the registration is complete on a digital database. Would you prefer quill, ink and scratching an entry on a ledger (-;

So I'm checkin to a group of islands in the south China sea no internet and lots of people wanting mountains of papers without which your going nowhere. Now would you tell me how the digital database is going to keep them happy ????

 

[srm]

So I'm checkin to a group of islands in the south China sea no internet and lots of people wanting mountains of papers without which your going nowhere. Now would you tell me how the digital database is going to keep them happy ????

No need to go so far. Our marina here in the Azores not only wants to see the boat's registration and insurance documents but politely ask if they can copy them. My boat's folder in their office includes annual copies of all relevant papers going back to my arrival ten years ago.
A couple of times I emailed them copies of the new annual insurance document; these were printed and duly added to the paper file.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

... includes annual copies of all relevant papers going back to my arrival ten years ago.
A couple of times I emailed them copies of the new annual insurance document; these were printed and duly added to the paper file.

How pointless and backward.

 

[john_morris_uk]

How pointless and backward.

It may be pointless and backward to you, but try telling that to the customs and immigration officials in numerous islands and countries we’ve visited in the last couple of years. We’ve done the normal thing and sailed from UK down to the Canaries and across to the Caribbean. Several places were paper only and cash only (and you’re very lucky to find a working cash point.). Even some places that advertised themselves as paperless, before we pitched up, once we arrived demanded paper forms and original paper copies of registration and insurance.

 

[GHA]

No need to go so far. Our marina here in the Azores not only wants to see the boat's registration and insurance documents but politely ask if they can copy them. My boat's folder in their office includes annual copies of all relevant papers going back to my arrival ten years ago.
A couple of times I emailed them copies of the new annual insurance document; these were printed and duly added to the paper file.

From memory last time I was in the Azores just had to do the forms once then the other marinas had it sharing the same system. The Portuguese certainly do like their paper and a form or 7.
But anyway, this thread is so normal for the forums being completely black & white. "things are going a bit more digital" is not allowed, just one or the other!! .
Completely different to the real world.

 

[Graham376]

As GHA says, the mainland Portuguese certainly do like paper and they have also been known to reject documents which have been laminated after receipt, they want them in the state they arrived. A couple of years ago I was organising a team of divers to inspect some of the moorings, they wouldn't accept email application, all the diver's docs (which I received by email) had to be printed out and handed in. Likewise, notary wouldn't email draft wills, had to post or hand them over as paper copies. Maybe things will change but I suggest everyone has paper copies as backup in case they won't accept digital.

 

[srm]

From memory last time I was in the Azores just had to do the forms once then the other marinas had it sharing the same system.

That's correct. All but two marinas (that I am aware of) are run by Portos dos Acores. A company owned by the government of the Azores that runs all the port infrastructure. Details of visiting yachts are entered on a common data base, though a second marina insisted on seeing my papers, and found that the previous one had made mistakes, which was why they asked for my papers.
The marina I refer to is one of the exceptions, it is my home port and owned by the local municipality.

 

[srm]

The marina referred to by SRM, unless there is local regulation that demands records are kept in paper format for a period of time, is acting in a very backward and inefficient manner.

The digital/paper arguments above have an interesting philosophical core. How do we store data so that it can be reliably recovered? In the short term a digital system is usually reliable, provided of course that the various bits of equipment keep working to spec. "Technology is wonderful - when it works". Even data sent to the mystical "Cloud" is stored on physical drives powered by electricity.
However, what of the long term. I have sent a number of different digital data storage devices and readers for recycling because they were obsolete. Anyone still use floppy disks, or can read data from a digital magnetic tape? Perhaps for some specialist applications but not generally.
For a few years I was on the team of a Masters degree programme in Archaeology, as a surveyor. I remember discussions along the lines of how best to present reports and findings for long term storage and retrieval. The consensus then was that physical records were the safest bet.

 

[Forum Admin Team]

Thread suspended pending review.

Posts removed. Please keep it civil.

 

[Quiddle]

You may not need paper but the offices you enter will ask for paper rather than a link to a digital resource.

Certainly not my experience in W Med. Always email insurance, passport and Pt 3 before arriving at office. Aduanas and Douane have also been happy with docs on the phone, passport excepted.

 

[Quiddle]

Still don't get asked for more than a passport in rare visits by the PM. They don't come aboard either.

Things change and are changing.

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I was boarded at anchor off Roquetas de Mar in June. Very friendy but asked me to unscrew part of the cockpit sole covering the autohelm ram.

 

[doug748]

Apart from that. I always take originals where I can (or copies that can pass as such) registration docs can be replaced if lost so no big deal though I was told the bill of sale is sensitive and should never be kept on board.

 

[capnsensible]

I suppose this subject boils down to those who have been places where paper documents are required. And those that haven't.

I don't see any point being smart about it, if you carry both paper and digital, you are covering yourself.