US Boat ownership / registration

[DaveNTL]

We have just returned from a boat hunting trip to the States. Over the last six months we have been through all the in's and out's of State sales tax etc and registration in an effort to do this as economically as possible.

We know the rules on boat registration in the UK (we are Brits btw) and know for example that a national of another country cannot register a boat in the UK, he can own it and a UK national can register it for him.

This is what we have now learnt regarding US boat registration - and would welcome comments from forumers who might have more / different information.

A non US national can own and register a boat in the US. However, as well as registration they have Coast Guard 'Documentation' and a non-national cannot 'document' the boat.

When we have asked about the effect of this on anything (even to the nice man at the US Coast Guard office) the answers is. Nothing.

They don't seem to be able to give a good reason why they actually 'document' a boat. They said, well it helps to trace the boat details, and, if you want to get a mortgage you need it - which we don't so that's ok.

Any comments on that?

Incase you're wondering why we want to do this it's because we want to start our liveaboard life spending a few years on the east coast of the USA with some venturing to the Carribean. If the boat is registered in the States it doesn't have to leave when we do. Initially we will be going out a few months at a time flying backwards and forwards.

I have seen threads on sales tax and for those interested in what we found here's our two-pennuth.

Each state has it's own sales tax varying from 0% (Rhode Island for example) to $55 in Delaware and a $2000 maximum in Virginia, and 6% in Florida.

In Maryland at the top of Chesapeake Bay I think it's 5% but we were told that the local tax man does scour marinas looking to jump on cheapo's who registered in Delaware if they stay more than a certain number of days.

So, we are buying our boat in a state where there is 3% tax but trucking it to Norfolk Virginia and paying a one off $2000 to register it there. Virginia does have a 'property tax' which also applies to boats but this only equates to $35 / annum.

After you have owned the boat six months there is, apparently, little hassle from states like Florida if you go there, provided you don't say, stay in one place for months on end.



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[PaulS]

Registration at the state level is relatively simple and straight forward. You pay the fees and taxes and go on your merry way.
National registration, in the form of Coast Guard Documentation, is on a national level andallows one to avoid having to register in the various states.
I have heard of officials in foreign countries being reluctant to accept state registration documents...demanding national registration. I don't know how wide spread this is, but it has happened to people who only had state registration documents.

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[DaveNTL]

That's interesting about foreign acceptance paul.

Regarding registration in the various states, the ones we have looked into require you do that too, I'm not aware of being able to avoid it.

I still don't see it being a huge issue for us. I don't particularly want to fly the US ensign once to start to move out of the states. We'll register in the UK then.

Another interesting quirk that we cleared up was the SSB / long range radio licensing issue that was flogged to death on the message boards a month or so back. Basically the US 'opted out' of the international regulations on this by announcing that they 'will not search for or prosecute' people with SSB radio's but advise US owners that this may be a problem for them in foreign waters.

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[Salty John]

If you are not a US citizen then documenting your boat isn't an issue - you simply can't do it. We cruised for years in the US on a state registered boat, MD, between Florida in the winter and Chesapeake Bay in the summer. Never had a problem. When we left for the Bahamas and the Caribbean we listed her on the British small ships register and that was acceptable everywhere we went.

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[DaveNTL]

well it's good to hear from someone who's done it js48

unfortunately the b@#3@9d who we were buying the boat off pulled out in the 11th hour

there's a few others but the mrs is well p'd off at the moment and is talking about a new car

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[miki_b]

try google search:"delaware boat registry" and you'll get a few sites that will give you the answers. I know quite a few people (not american citizens)who registered in Delaware. This state doe's not have taxes like the others and I am told the procedure is simple and may even be done by e mail.

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[Salty John]

Yes, you can register in any State without being a citizen, but you cannot federally document a boat. To register in Deleware you should technically have Delaware as your home port - the place you normally use the boat - but I'm sure it's not seriously policed. Documentation is serious, however, and I know of cases where non-citizen skippers of documented vessels have been prosecuted.

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[DaveNTL]

prosecuted for what js48? as i said in my original post, we enquired with the Coast Guard in florida and they said - yes "said", they gave me nothing in writing - that "it isn't necessary"

they said.. "well, if it gets stolen we have a better record of the boats details if we are on the lookout for it", and, "if you want to get a mortgage you will need it"

still didn't give any reasons why we should worry about not having it. totally outweighed by the advantage of being able to keep the boat there without continuously going in and out and getting cruising permits

mik_b, my comment regarding delaware wasn't so much any critisism of delaware, more that we were told in other states that (because they have the hump with delaware's ease of registration) they look out for delaware boat's infringements - if there are any

but once the boat has been registered for six months after the initial purchase there's basically not much they will do - apart, perhaps, if you sat in the same marina in florida for a year



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[Salty John]

For skippering a "documented" boat when not a US citizen. Just a cautionary note for a Brit employed, for instance, to deliver a US documented vessel - no can do. As you noted earlier, there is no requirement to document a boat. You need only have State registration, and that is all you can have if you are not a US citizen. If, as a non-citizen, you buy a documented boat you have to have it de-documented, a simple procedure.

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