"Registered" boats a non-citizen can own and operate. "Documented" they can
not.

Well,

I'm not an 'undesirable alien', but I've just recently (three weeks ago)
bought a US registered boat
(lying in Georgia). I was meaning to sail the boat along the East Coast to
Newport, before crossing
the Atlantic to my 'home country' (Belgium).
I was informed by a Flemish counterpart of the ASA that there would be no VAT
(Value Added Tax: 21%
!!!!) due because the boat was built in 1984. Once I got to cutting through
the red tape to get the
boat registered in Belgium, it turned out to be that ... I will have to pay
this additional 21%
(where on earth is the "added value"?).
Because I don't want to save the Belgian economy all by myself, I've decided,
with pain in my heart,
to re-sell the boat.
Should anyone be interested ... http://plastiekske.tripod.com/ForSale
Asking price: US$72500 because I want to make a quick sale (I've paid
US$74500, which already was
IMO a bargain)

Frank