foriegn yacht insurance & registration.

[Guest]

Hello, I hope someone can help.
I am hoping to sail a yacht over to my home in the UK from where I work here in the states this summer. I have no idea about how I should go about insuring & registering her, I am a brit so think I would be unable to get insured in the US & as she is in the US, registration in the UK will difficult until I import her.

Does anyone know away round this, any pointers would be most welcome.

thanks

 

[AndrewB]

So long as you are British and UK resident, getting SSR (Part III) registration for your yacht should be straightforward, even prior to importation. Contact the Ships Registry Office in Cardiff, tel 029 2076 1911 for information and application.

Many UK insurers will provide cover for sailing from the US to UK, provided you are crossing at a sensible time of year (May-June is best) and sometimes requiring 3 experienced people to be aboard. Check out any UK magazine and phone around. Pantaenius have a reputation for taking on unusual cases, but are expensive.

Don't forget that a US purchased boat will need to pay VAT and satisfy the RCD requirements when brought into Europe by an EC resident. The latter can be a problem unless the yacht is CE marked or it can be proved has entered the EC (including French Caribbean islands) at any time prior to June 1998.

 

[Guest]

we purchased a boat in Holland last year which was registered in Belgium. We needed all sorts of things sorted out such as proof of VAT paid, de-registration in Belgium, SSR registration in England, etc.

we used a professional advisor (www.ward-mckenzie.co.uk as it happens) and I am very glad that we did.

the pitfalls that Ward & McKenzie avoided for us more than justified the fees they charged and we had the relaxation of knowing that they were responsible for covering all aspects. We also arranged our boat insurance through W&M because it kept the whole thing as one package - the premium was competitive, anyway.

good luck.

richard s