Plastiekske wrote:
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).

Seems to me that there are a few alternatives. Why not sail the boat
through the Caribbean, getting far enough south to be out of the
hurricane track come late summer. While out there you can look into what
registration options an expat has, there are bound to be some that will
cost less than $15K (or euros).

BTW did you not figure the VAT or other registration expenses when
calculating whether or not you could afford the boat? Seems like a
rather expensive mistake.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

"Ric" wrote in message ...
Hello,

I am an "alien" as you americans like to call us. I'm even worse an
"undesirable alien" because your government won't give me a visa because of
a book I wrote.

However, I wish to buy a second-hand boat from a gentleman in New York. He
currently has the boat registered under a US flag. Will I be able to keep
the boat under US flag? I intend to live aboard and sail indefinitely, so
will have no fixed abode so no logical country to register the boat. It
would make things much simpler therefore if I just kept it under US flag.
Would this be permitted, given that I am an "undesirable alien" and do not
have an address in the USA?

Whats the name of the book you wrote?

And No you can not keep the vessel registered under a US flag. You
must have a US address to register a boat under a US flag. And it
would be nice if you paid some US taxes. Why should the USA protect
your vessel in international waters if you do nothing for the USA?

I suggest you get that stupid New Yorker to deliver the boat to you,
then you can pay import taxes to your own country and register it in
your country. If your in certian places like Cuba then just forget it
all the way around.

Undesireable alien free loader is more like it.

Capt. American

Capt.American wrote:



Whats the name of the book you wrote?

You could try following the link that he posted.

Cheers
Marty

"Martin Baxter" wrote in message
...
Capt.American wrote:



Whats the name of the book you wrote?

You could try following the link that he posted.

Forgive him, he's obviously a bit thick as I also explained that I don't
really have a "home country" and I would also far rather not have it under
US flag if I can avoid it as I quite like to have boats of other
nationalities give me a friendly waive as they pass, and I don't want the
USCG messing me around and I don't want to contribute my money to the US war
machine.

Ric wrote:

When you bought it, did the US authorities allow you a transit period to
take the boat back to Europe under their flag, or were you expected to
transfer it immediately to Belgian flag before taking possession?

no: the boat had to be deleted from documentation immediately: a non-US citizen cannot document a
boat in the USA.

"Plastiekske" wrote in message
...
Ric wrote:

When you bought it, did the US authorities allow you a transit period to
take the boat back to Europe under their flag, or were you expected to
transfer it immediately to Belgian flag before taking possession?

no: the boat had to be deleted from documentation immediately: a non-US
citizen cannot document a
boat in the USA.

So what was the status of the boat after it was deleted from documentation?
As you mentioned earlier, you never registered it in Belgium because of the
tax. Was the boat just not registered anywhere in the interim?

DSK wrote:

Seems to me that there are a few alternatives. Why not sail the boat
through the Caribbean, getting far enough south to be out of the
hurricane track come late summer. While out there you can look into what
registration options an expat has, there are bound to be some that will
cost less than $15K (or euros).

BTW did you not figure the VAT or other registration expenses when
calculating whether or not you could afford the boat? Seems like a
rather expensive mistake.

Like I said: I got my information from the Flemish counterpart of the American Sailing Association,
which I believed to be a knowledgeable source. It wasn't until I actually contacted the customs that
it turned out to be that this information was wrong.
I didn't say that I couldn't afford the additional cost, but ... I had planned other things with the
approx US$15600.
So ... I prefer losing US$ 2000 (or maybe even a bit more if somebody comes up with an acceptable
bid) to spending another US$15600 (although it breaks my heart, because this boat was the first one
I encountered having everything that I look for in a boat)

Frank

Ric wrote:

So what was the status of the boat after it was deleted from documentation?
As you mentioned earlier, you never registered it in Belgium because of the
tax. Was the boat just not registered anywhere in the interim?

well, since I bought it less than three weeks ago, it's still lying in it's slip in Georgia,
undocumented.

There's a catch-22 situation in this: in order to register the boat in Belgium, it has to be
physically present in Belgium, but ... in order to sail it to Belgium, it has to be registered

I've mailed the USCG to ask them if their exists a way out of this deadlock, but haven't gotten an
answer yet

Frank

Ric,

You covert American Rights but knock our values.

I wonder how the operative in M16 feel about your views?

I can't remember a time when I've agreed with JAX but on this I stand
Shoulder to Shoulder with his VIEWS; AND, "I'LL DRINK TO THAT!"

Ole Thom

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:06:44 GMT, Plastiekske
wrote:

Ric wrote:

So what was the status of the boat after it was deleted from documentation?
As you mentioned earlier, you never registered it in Belgium because of the
tax. Was the boat just not registered anywhere in the interim?

well, since I bought it less than three weeks ago, it's still lying in it's slip in Georgia,
undocumented.

There's a catch-22 situation in this: in order to register the boat in Belgium, it has to be
physically present in Belgium, but ... in order to sail it to Belgium, it has to be registered

I've mailed the USCG to ask them if their exists a way out of this deadlock, but haven't gotten an
answer yet

Frank

Not that I would recommend such a devious scheme, but in the world of
"what ifs"...

What if you sold the boat to a willing buyer, for say $10,000. At the
same time, the new buyer grants you an option to purchase the boat for
$10,000 and hires you to deliver the boat to Europe, where the new
buyer plans to cruise the boat. Plans change for unforeseen
circumstances once the boat is in Europe, say somewhere in the Antwerp
area, and you exercise your option to purchase the boat. The boat is
then registered in Belgium and tax is paid based on it's purchase
price of $10,000.

An alternative might be to sell a partnership interest to an American,
who could document the boat. Transport the boat to Europe. Register
the boat, terminate the partnerhsip.

I would hate to see you part with a boat for purely paperwork
complexities. Think form over substance...that is how the government
works