"Jason" wrote in message
...
Is there a federal "documentation-registration" vs provincial
registration like the US doc and state reg?

Sort of. There is federal documentation. It is mandatory for vessels 15
G.T. (gross tons, a measure of volume, not anything to do with
displacement). Costs would probably be about $250 Cdn for flagging it as
Cdn vessel, and additional $250 for an approved surveyor (like somebody from
ABS) to do the measuring. Some fees are he

http://www.canlii.org/ca/regu/sor2-172/part53635.html

Documented boats can be used more easily as security for marine mortages. A
documented boat is also an absolute proof of ownership.

Then there is a licensed vessel for smaller vessels. These are more locally
admininstered (though not the provinces) and are generally involve less
paperwork. I don't know if can get a non Cdn flag vessel licensed in Canada
without being there.

Is it possible to change flags without physically taking the boat into
Canada?

Yes. Talk to transport Canada about what you have to do.

We have Canadian passports - US legal residents and living in Oregon.

Cruising friends we knew 8-9 years ago bought a boat in Boston and
cruised the boat thru the Pacific for 4 years before taking it back to
Vancouver. I seem to recollect that they changed the flag over to
Canadian in Boston and never had to do anything but paperwork. Then
when they returned to Canada they had to cough up some $ for duty.

If you're keeping the boat in the US, I'd just get it flagged as a US state
licensed vessel. If you're not US citizens, you can't get it as a US
documented boat. If you bring it into Canada, you probably won't have to
pay any duty if the boat was built in Canada or the US (free trade) but
you'll probabably have to pay some fees and perhaps taxes.

--
Evan Gatehouse

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