Brian, they may be registered in say South Carlolina but they are not, can not,
be US documented and operated by non-citizens.

That some countries allow their citizens to register some boat with some state
-- and then ignores the international conventions -- in no way means that some
county -- say Brazil or Italy or Singapore -- will accept it as the same as US
federal documentation.

close, but a couple of points

boats can be "registered" with a state (New York, Alabama,
California, Guam, etc), and usually have to be to kept in use in that
state for some period of time. you do not need to be a US citizen to
register or use a boat in any state. mostly, you just have to pay
your fees. state registration is usually not recognized by national
governments of the world.


There are many US registered yachts in the Adriatic - owned and sailed by
Slovenian nationals; everywhere down the Croatian coast there are Ol' Glory
ensigns flying on ships with no one speaking English on board.

Slovenia, now a EU member state, has high import tarifs for recreational
boats (to protect their own industry, Elan in particular) and many
Slovenians register their new imported craft in Delaware - it's a cottage
industry there.

Imagine, the USA, a flag of convenience country.

BrianH.