Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an address

trouville

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We think the water in the port might not be so good everyones feeling a bit undynamic today,

we decided to eat at the casino cafeterria, we packed the rest of the fresh salad rolled some endives in ham sprinkeld chees over took the rest of the grilled potatoes and a coke a cola bottle of red wine 1 meter of bread and off we went! (that would have cost 12 euros each if we bought it there each!!And we would have had to walm it in the microwave as well!!)

We are mixed group one lives aboard a 2o meter boat another on a small first 6 meters! we were from Germany scandanavia France Italy and England. we all have in common small bugets and no fixed address,i think we all have boats papers a bank account and driveing licence.BUT should we??(The Italian hasent a bank account as he fled from his wife!)

THE QUESTION:How can you own a boat without a bricks and morter address somewhere?? When i bought a boat with the old blue book part one i had to give an address which was writen into the stamped box on the back as new owner.

NONE of us have any property which is registered in our names anywhere!

Lets take someone called "Man of straw" Lets say hes 21 years old his father who he dosent see much of remarries. The son "man of straw" reterns to the "family" home after compleating university to find its sold!Finds the new address goes along.The new woman opens the door hands man of straw a cheque for £10000 and tells him to piss off!

The flat he stayed in as a students gone he goes to a hotel.Next morning he goes to Maldon where he knows theres a harrison butler for sale looks it over and buys it then and there puts his things aboard his new home.But what address will he have put on the ships papers????

He has no address but that of the boat he lives on.

He changes the cash into Swiss france travelers cheques buys a second hand seafarer depth, sextant, hand bearing compass & some frey bentos pies(He dident know anything about food then even added salt and ate cornish pasties in pubs!!)

There were up to date charts he left for France.After a year he found himself up the arno where then he could tie up to an old pontoon under trees keeping the hot sun off(and dripping sap on the deck!!)only a short walk into Pisa where then he could climb the leaning tower enjoy all the anceint history freely (have to pay today)

The walled city of Lucca a short train ride away provided lots to see the narrow streets cooler in the summer heat,there was is also a very good cantina for lunch and a suprisingly inexpensive returant by the prison that has had many famous people eating there and it was very good!

It was in a nearby cafe he met the owner of an English language school as he was English, the two spoke it seemd a teacher was needed urgently and man of straw thought this a good opertuntiy and agreed to start the next day!

All he had to do was to wander along to te admistration fill in a form and be issued with a tax number.

WHAT address could he give????? They wouldent accept the "second old pontoon after the first bridge"

Later man of straw now speaking resonable Italian took the train to Rome where hed been offerd another teaching job he was interveiwed over lunch salary agreed one year contract and a place for the boat!

Man of straw stayed at the cafe as his train dident leave untill 16.00 he orderd a coo bottle of est est est some cheese olives and more bread & thought of all the wonders he would see in that great city!Sleeply he boarded the first class carrage de rated to 2nd as it was old but very comfortable without air conditiong he dident like anyway!

He fell asleep! then sudenly he woke looked at the platform it was Pisa! He rushed to leave the train which being an express would stop next in Florence if it started!! In the rush he forgot his jacket!!In which was his passport and driveing licence!!!!

If he had lost his licence how could he have replaced it without a fixed address?????? Being Italy his jacket was kept but his papers put in a post box and eventualy arrived at the British embassy in Rome who kindly sent it up to the then counsulate in Pisa!

We just made this adventure up but man of straw could and dose exist! The question is if you only have your boat as your home and have as we all have a free place without a post address how can you manage in todays society??

No tax number, no driveing licence no PADI no boat papers no bank account!!We cant see a way around it without "useing" an address but thats NOT legal!!!!

Dose any one have any answers????? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

I said legaly!These days you cant use an accomadation address to register a car or licence!And ofcom want a real address as well.

Thats another point if you want a licence for your SSB you must have an address in the UK!
 
Well if your Part 1 registered, you have to have a contact address in the UK (by law), for any correspondance that the MCA may want to send to you. Obviously this needs to be a reliable friend or relative, who will forward the neccesarry on to you.

You could use a shipping agent/accountants/solicitors office etc, all for a modest fee.

When I was professional boat bum/wharf rat in Spain (many years ago, in a similar situation as you describe) I used the address of my local bar/cafe. I had no problem with any of the authorities and all work was for cash-even better.

We now use a relative who sorts through what needs to sent on, and bins the rest.
 
Well, I think it could be done in Italy, if your boat is less than 10.5 metres long as it doesn't need registering: it's just an object (sorry, Kyra, dear, of course you're not an object...) and the engine certificate is not made out in anyone's name. The problem remains of finding a mooring, but one step at a time...
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

Use a friends, a marinas, cafes, relatives etc. I'm sure most people once you explain the predicament wouldn't mind you using their address as a point of contact for mail.
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

It gets worse rather than better!

On the old part one you could use any address in the world!No address needed in the UK at all!!Its probably becouse it needs renewing every 5 years now.

We all "have" addresses NONE with relatives! They are in flats where there are several more post boxes than flats!In that case the person knows the agency.

In Italy and France i know someone that lives in and cleans maintains the flats who collects and sends on my post but its NOT MY address!!

Back to man of straw!

Man of straw sails down to Rome finds the ports a bit bad but stays.Haveing found flats in Rome cost 1.2 million lira and are very hard to find! Teachers salary 1.2million lira!! Plus another 200 thousand Lira for extra lessons equals teacher short fall!And a lot of woman teaching.

Some months later a Frenchman sails in with a 40 foot wooden boat he wants to sell to buy a plastic boat but must first sell his Hwooden boat which needs quite some work.Man of straw finds almost every frame broken!!No wonder its for sale

It dose have a bit more room and part 1 reg!Price agreed Italian phoned who wants to buy man of straws boat.OK. Frenchman calls and agrees to buy plastic boat forms filled in money paid man of straw now has a new boat with a little more space Old boat collected by a happey Italian!Was a really good boat!

Man of straw starts repairs builds steam box gets wood rivets and starts carfully removeing the interior in stages through three cabins and cockpit.

Part one reg arrives at Rome address!

What would happen today with no UK address??And every 5 years!!

How would man of straw register his 12 meter/40 foot 12 tonner??Today???
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

I will advise the men of straw to pass your informed post to the Greece authorities if hes asked for papers there!

And today were all feeling rather negative. Actually weve just poured a drop of white to see if that helps!It dose seem to!This evening we grilled again! Hagis!!

It fact French hagis! You better not ask whats in them but its umm good with roats oinions and garlic cooked in there skins and green beens with chopped crisp bacon and chestnuts we used up the charcole.Began with mortezla tomatoes olive oil and black pepper and tortilla crisps.

Then Comte cheese from a place that has good water!(good cheese must have good water!)Even the cows drink it!! With a corn bread made by the German!!

We all wonder if we posted to soon?but most of us will be leaving soon!Well winter has two sides.



ERRATUM:

The lunch committee have read my posts and while agreeing it what was decided in gereral, object to one point


The amount given to "the straw man" was £1000 not as writen.


I felt that today with the gerneral lack of purchasing power of the £ the sum should reflect todays reality plus some!

The committee want me to say many of us have little more to spend than then, all benifits that used to exist have gone, and that the economicaly challenged liveaboard is becomeing more so year by year. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

Not only are your posts most unhelpful but now unacceptable your comments should be removed were realy disgusted!

On top of that some of those that i ate with today were very active in getting smoking stopped that non smokers have a space

My girlfriend died of lung cancer becouse she smoked.Not long ago.
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

[ QUOTE ]
I said legaly!These days you cant use an accomadation address to register a car or licence!And ofcom want a real address as well.

Thats another point if you want a licence for your SSB you must have an address in the UK!

[/ QUOTE ]

You are assuming that Offcom have the wit to check.. The DVLA barely do the minimum part of their job let alone check on addresses - and there are over a million unregistered cars on the UK roads at the moment.

Were you in a port / boatyard I would say that its perfectly legit to use their address - thats how you would get any mail, isnt it? Otherwise you have no alternative but to use an accomodation address. Dont tell whoever that it is an accomodation address.

When did you last hear of someone being fined for not having a fixed address? Where would they send the fine notice?

In any case, its probably not legal to be wandering about without informing the tax man where you are. So why bother about other minor address issues.

If you were determined enough to want to argue, you could probably take the matter up legally. You are perfectly entitled to live on a boat with no fixed address, and refusal to give you licenses because of it is arguably discrimination against you which breaches your human rights. This is what the pikeys, sorry travellers, say and you see enough of them moving around in large flash trucks and vans - which I'm sure are all taxed and registered.
 
Re: Very serious question.How can one LEGALY own a boat without an add

All understood, it just that simple things get harder!I just thought there might BE a 100% Legal way it dosent meen i would use it but be nice if there was.

I also want to say that with the government in UK and the EEC there has been soooo much legislation enacted that often its poorly thought out!

Yesterday in the gardian online the catholic church told no 10 that its anti discrimination law aimed at refugees meens it will have to close centers becouse the law discriminaes against the cathlic docturin!!
 
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