Importing used boat from the USA

[MonArk]

Hi,

Has anyone any experience of importing a secondhand boat from the US - shipping costs, import duty VAT etc?

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

 

[MonArk]

Explanation

Sorry I should explain that I am returning to sailing having has a classic Mobo for the last few years and boats seem to be cheaper over there even with the exchange rate.

Thanks

 

[Salty John]

Worth a search on the forums, this is a frequent question.
Unless the boat complies with the requirements of the RCD it will be necessary to make it compliant and that can be a very expensive business - sometimes impossible. VAT will be due.
I shipped a 40' boat from the USA in 2002 and it cost around £6,000.

 

[Elessar]

Hi,

Has anyone any experience of importing a secondhand boat from the US - shipping costs, import duty VAT etc?

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

i've done it.

The seller paid the shipping costs and VAT and import duty were handled by the shipping agent. All straightforward. 2% I think the import duty was and remember vat is on the cost of the boat, the shipping and the duty.

If you get a receipt for less than you paid to try and reduce your tax liability, expect customs to value the boat themselves and charge you what they see fit.

The vat certificate is an unlikely and insignificant looking piece of paper which I lost, causing much subsequent grief.

You will need to CE mark the boat if it isn't already. That will be your biggest headache.

 

[Elessar]

Hi,

Has anyone any experience of importing a secondhand boat from the US - shipping costs, import duty VAT etc?

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

also - shipping costs are much cheaper than I expected but are on volume so are worse for sloops due to the mast length (which is laid on the top of the boat) being charged times beam times boat height. Ketches, gaff rigs etc etc obviously don't suffer this.

You can get specialist yacht movers now I think that take the boat on deck even with the mast up, I've no experience of this mine came below becks on a car transporter.

 

[MonArk]

importing from the USA

Thanks SaltyJohn and Elessar. That is very useful. It gives me enough to work out whether the net saving is worth the extra hassle. I looked at the RYA guidance as well. I had wondered about the dutch company that uses a transport ship that floods its hold and the boats can go in wet in the stern.

Thanks again.

Nick

 

[Elessar]

Worth a search on the forums, this is a frequent question.
Unless the boat complies with the requirements of the RCD it will be necessary to make it compliant and that can be a very expensive business - sometimes impossible. VAT will be due.
I shipped a 40' boat from the USA in 2002 and it cost around £6,000.

interesting that my boat cost less that £2k to CE mark.

It was a model that was available in the EU so the hull shape (ie stability) didn't need surveying, and the engine was also available in the EU so noise and emissions data was available.

The neccessary mods were done by me ie free labour and amounted to mods to bilge pumping, labelling, soundproofing (making it oilproof rather than more sound absorbent), fire extinguishers and adding cocks to the scuppers.

 

[Tranona]

Thanks SaltyJohn and Elessar. That is very useful. It gives me enough to work out whether the net saving is worth the extra hassle. I looked at the RYA guidance as well. I had wondered about the dutch company that uses a transport ship that floods its hold and the boats can go in wet in the stern.

Thanks again.

Nick

Suspect by now you have probably discovered it is not worth it. The costs if you ship are likely to be at least 40% of your purchase price in the USA and the boat is likely to have a low resale value here. Where it can be worth it is you are buying an older EEA built boat that does not need a CE mark and you sail it over yourself.

An older US built boat is almost certainly a no-no because of the cost and hassle of getting a CE mark - the biger and more complex the boat, the greater the hassle, plus the fact that much of the equipment will be US spec, further reducing its value!

If you think about it, if it were a good deal there would be a ready market for US boats, but there isn't. And if it was viable, prices would rise as people took advantage of the imperfections in the market.

Different if you want to go world cruising where there maybe advantages in startingf rom US rather than Europe, but recognising that you would have to sell the boat outside the EU when you finished.

 

[Searush]

Different if you want to go world cruising where there maybe advantages in startingf rom US rather than Europe, but recognising that you would have to sell the boat outside the EU when you finished.

Simply go back to US to sell it?

 

[MonArk]

import from USA

Thanks everyone,

As ever some useful thoughts. The boat is a Nauticat so made in Finland which may make CE easier or even unnecessary - it may already have it. I am checking with the owner how it was imported and whether direct from Finland and with the hull number will see what Nauticat has to say.

Not sure the market is as perfect as would be necessary to achieve a level after import cost if only because there is a fair amount of hassle which most buyers won't want. However its a good point about the kit differences. At the moment I am waiting for a shipping quote but using an estimate for that the benefit is already down to about £7k and that's without CE and any re-kitting -eg radio.

Nick

 

[Elessar]

Suspect by now you have probably discovered it is not worth it. The costs if you ship are likely to be at least 40% of your purchase price in the USA and the boat is likely to have a low resale value here. Where it can be worth it is you are buying an older EEA built boat that does not need a CE mark and you sail it over yourself.

-----------------8<---------------

If you think about it, if it were a good deal there would be a ready market for US boats, but there isn't. And if it was viable, prices would rise as people took advantage of the imperfections in the market.

Different if you want to go world cruising where there maybe advantages in startingf rom US rather than Europe, but recognising that you would have to sell the boat outside the EU when you finished.

the boat would need to be worth less than £10k for the 40% to hold true.

When I imported mine, total costs were £40k, shipping, purchase, taxes, mods to the shorepower electrics, CE etc. - everything. A surveyor valued it at £55k immediately (i did this for the insurance) and similar boats were asking £65k at the time. All excluding the cost of my labour though.

So it can be worth it.

It's the date of import to the EU that matters so if you sail a pre 1999 boat over you still need a CE mark. If you can prove it was being used in the EU in 1999 I think there is a loophole though, but just being EU built isn't enough.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

You could always have her delivered by sea!

 

[Tranona]

Thanks everyone,

As ever some useful thoughts. The boat is a Nauticat so made in Finland which may make CE easier or even unnecessary - it may already have it. I am checking with the owner how it was imported and whether direct from Finland and with the hull number will see what Nauticat has to say.

Not sure the market is as perfect as would be necessary to achieve a level after import cost if only because there is a fair amount of hassle which most buyers won't want. However its a good point about the kit differences. At the moment I am waiting for a shipping quote but using an estimate for that the benefit is already down to about £7k and that's without CE and any re-kitting -eg radio.

Nick

Interesting that it is a Nauticat as there have been two cases written up in the mags (can't remember which ones) recently and one was a Nauticat. Both took place when the $/£ was nearer 2/1 than the current 1.5. The Nauticat (was a 33 or 331) was bought in the Great Lakes where I guess the market is pretty limited and obviously had to be trucked to the coast. If the boat is pre 1999 no CE necessary, post is likely to be fairly easy even if no mark has actually been issued.

The other case was a 1980's Giles 38 so no CE required. Very niche boat with limited market and very low value in US. Detailed costs in the article added up to nearly 40% purchase price. Not difficult to rack up this when VAT is 17.5%, (soon to be 20%), building shipping cradle, trucking, insurance, shipping, clearance charges etc. Obviously the higher the value of the boat the lower the %age represented by fixed costs such as shipping which are size rather than value related.

I think you have to look at each individual case as there are obviously some boats where there are advantages - not least in some cases because the boat in question may only be available in the USA, but such boats usually have low values in Europe because of that!

 

[Elessar]

If the boat is pre 1999 no CE necessary, post is likely to be fairly easy even if no mark has actually been issued.

The other case was a 1980's Giles 38 so no CE required.

I'd don't think this is correct. It's the date of import (first use in the EU) that matters so you need a CE mark for something you bring over now even if its build pre-dates CE rules.

edit - I've looked this up.

Exemptions are a one off built pre 1950, a boat designed and used exclusively for racing or a boat less than 8ft long. Otherwise you need a CE mark.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Otherwise you need a CE mark.

... or else ... what happens? Not what can happen, but what actually does happen? How many boats are boarded each year by officials looking for CE marks? For that matter, how many CE marks are checked as genuine? If the little plate with the CE mark falls off my boat, do I have to stop sailing her?

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... If the little plate with the CE mark falls off my boat, do I have to stop sailing her?

Of course not, you just worry about the VAT status.

 

[Elessar]

... or else ... what happens? Not what can happen, but what actually does happen? How many boats are boarded each year by officials looking for CE marks? For that matter, how many CE marks are checked as genuine? If the little plate with the CE mark falls off my boat, do I have to stop sailing her?

I took 9 months to get my CE mark and I was never asked for it. I was not legal as the boat was in use.

You will find it hard to sell the boat though and if you are caught it's a £5000 fine. I suspect if you had an insurance claim the insurance company could use it as an excuse not to pay.

So it's up to you......

It's not just a plate - you get a new HIN, a certificate and a sticker which goes at the helm. It won't come off.

 

[Tranona]

I'd don't think this is correct. It's the date of import (first use in the EU) that matters so you need a CE mark for something you bring over now even if its build pre-dates CE rules.

edit - I've looked this up.

Exemptions are a one off built pre 1950, a boat designed and used exclusively for racing or a boat less than 8ft long. Otherwise you need a CE mark.

No, that only applies to non EEA built boats. If it was built in the EEA, even if it was exported it does not require a CE mark. That is what makes it potentially more viable to import an EEA rather than a US built boat.

 

[Ubergeekian]

It's not just a plate - you get a new HIN, a certificate and a sticker which goes at the helm. It won't come off.

No sticker at my helm. It must have fallen off!

 

[Elessar]

No, that only applies to non EEA built boats. If it was built in the EEA, even if it was exported it does not require a CE mark. That is what makes it potentially more viable to import an EEA rather than a US built boat.

yep you're right. I thought it had to have been USED in the EU but the wording is actually "built/put into use"

apologies for the inaccurate info posted before. The boat I imported was American built but available here as an official import.