Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

I have bought a sailboat from a european guy and need to import it into
US.

I'm told I need to find a specialized custom broker who knows how to do
something like this.

I need to find someone in Miami.

Can you recommend someone effective and reasonably priced in Miami,
preferably close to Miami Port or Miami Beach?

Thanks a lot

M

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

you will need a customs house broker. there is only one really that does boats
that everyone use. I cant find their name right now but ifyou call Jan Saxton
Yacht
documentaiton in Ft. lauderdale they will giveyou the guys name.
shipping sources are sevenseas and
yacht-transport.com hope this helps.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 22:24:42 GMT, MJ
wrote:

I have bought a sailboat from a european guy and need to import it into
US.

I'm told I need to find a specialized custom broker who knows how to do
something like this.

I need to find someone in Miami.

Can you recommend someone effective and reasonably priced in Miami,
preferably close to Miami Port or Miami Beach?

Thanks a lot

M

I wouldn't pay too much to a customs broker to do this.

All you need to do is to determine the right customs classification,
and document the country of manufacture and document the price you
paid....plus things you added. The duty is 1.5% from any country that
makes boats, plus a .21% processing fee with a max processing fee of
$485.

Customs classification can be complex but this looks like a
no-brainer: The number is 8903.91.00.25 if the boat is not over 9.2
meters long and has an engine and 8903.91.00.35 if it's over 9.2
meters. You might need advice if the stated length is less than 9.2
meters and the overall length is longer. . Here's the classification
scheme: http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/tariff/0310c89.pdf

The only time I can think of where you might be required to have a
customs broker is if you aren't with the boat when it clears customs.
If you happen to be shipping the boat, the freight forwarder can
handle all this.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 22:24:42 GMT, MJ
wrote:

I have bought a sailboat from a european guy and need to import it into
US.

I'm told I need to find a specialized custom broker who knows how to do
something like this.

I need to find someone in Miami.

Can you recommend someone effective and reasonably priced in Miami,
preferably close to Miami Port or Miami Beach?

Thanks a lot

M


Some further info
http://www.cbp.gov/ImageCache/cgov/c.../publications/
pleasureboats_2edoc/v1/pleasureboats.doc

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 03:32:50 GMT, (241295)
wrote:

What about buying a boat outside the country, and sailing it home? Can
one stop in other countries on the way home w/o problem? I'm considering
a purchase in South America and would be sailing through the Caribbean
enroute to a Mid Atlantic port. It would be nice to be able to stop in
at least a couple of islands to refuel & reprovision.


Assuming your home is the US, you won't have any problem from US
customs.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

Dick Locke wrote:

What about buying a boat outside the country, and sailing it home?
Can one stop in other countries on the way home w/o problem? I'm
considering a purchase in South America and would be sailing through
the Caribbean enroute to a Mid Atlantic port. It would be nice to be
able to stop in at least a couple of islands to refuel & reprovision.


Assuming your home is the US, you won't have any problem from US
customs.

Thanks, my question is about other island nations along the way.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 18:21:22 GMT, (Chelsea)
wrote:

Dick Locke wrote:

What about buying a boat outside the country, and sailing it home?
Can one stop in other countries on the way home w/o problem? I'm
considering a purchase in South America and would be sailing through
the Caribbean enroute to a Mid Atlantic port. It would be nice to be
able to stop in at least a couple of islands to refuel & reprovision.


Assuming your home is the US, you won't have any problem from US
customs.

Thanks, my question is about other island nations along the way.

I'm not a expert-level source of even US customs info, and you'ld have
to check each stopping point. I know you are liable for duties and VAT
everywhere if you leave the boat in a country "too long" but each
country will have its own rules for what too long is. I don't expect
anyone would object to a few weeks though.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

All of the "other island" nations require ships papers to clear in and
out of each one. So the boat has to be registered and/or documented
somewhere before you start out on your trip. If it is not, they won't
let you clear in/out of customs and immigration at each stop. You also
need passports and crew list for all aboard.
Kelton s/v Isle Escape

Chelsea wrote:

Dick Locke wrote:


What about buying a boat outside the country, and sailing it home?
Can one stop in other countries on the way home w/o problem? I'm
considering a purchase in South America and would be sailing through
the Caribbean enroute to a Mid Atlantic port. It would be nice to be
able to stop in at least a couple of islands to refuel & reprovision.


Assuming your home is the US, you won't have any problem from US
customs.


Thanks, my question is about other island nations along the way.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

Thanks to all who are responding.

To be very clear, what I am exploring is picking up a boat in So.
America and traveling fairly directly to the USA, but with brief stops
of a few days at several ports along the way. A stay of a couple of
weeks would be the longest I imagine in any foreign port along the way -
and that only if there were problems needing repairs, or if there were
severe weather impeding forward travel.

I would have, I expect, the pre-sale registration, a Bill of Sale to me,
the signed-over Title, and of course passports for myself and crew.
Should I arrange to have the Title submitted here in the USA before
departing SA? I've bought & sold here in the USA so I am familiar with
state to state issues. But if I do this it will be the first
buy-overseas-and-bring-home. Any suggestions on methods of preparing
documentation for smooth port clearance along the way welcome.

Importing a sailboat in Miami
 

We're in the middle of this very thing -- see www.mvfintry.com -- boat
on the British Registry, purchased in England, coming back to the USA,
God willing, next June.

Briefly --
The boat's US customs status and its registration status are two
different things. You can register (document) the boat in the USA
before it leaves the country where you purchased it and then travel
home, making as many stops as you like. The authorities in the
intervening countries will see a USA document and will have no way of
knowing that the boat hasn't cleared US customs (and wouldn't be
interested even if they did know). You clear customs and pay duty on
arrival in the US.

You can also, technically, use a state registration, but having
checked in to about forty countries on various yachts, I know I'd far
rather have a USCG Document than the little card you get from
Massachusetts, particularly if I wasn't fluent in the local language.
(If you really want to do a state registration, search in this news
group and read more.....)

Now for the catches....

1) proof of ownership
2) tonnage survey
3) time to get the USCG Document
4) licenses for captain and crew
5) FCC licenses

1) In order to get a USCG Document, you need to prove, to the
satisfaction of the USCG, that you own the boat. In our case, this
was easy -- she was on the British Registry in the name of the seller,
we got notarized bills of sale on both the British form and the USCG
form. She had to be formally removed from the British Registry and
then that form, the measurement (see below) and the bills of sale
submitted to the USCG Documentation Office.

If she's on the national registry in the country where you're buying
her, this should be no problem. The USCG Documentation Office will
answer questions by e-mail or on the phone; if you don't like the
answer, you may want to hire a documentation specialist. (I didn't.)

2) If the boat is 79' long or more, you have to have her measured for
registry tonnage -- this takes a surveyor from one of the major
agencies -- Lloyds Register, ABS, Bureau Veritas, etc. This costs
money and requires hauling out, I think. The stated tonnage on her
current registration is not acceptable to the USCG (at least the
British tonnage wasn't in our case). Under 79' you can use a formula
which is on the USCG web site. If she's bigger than 50 or 60 feet and
you intend to do a lot of foreign cruising, you might think about
having her surveyed to see if it comes out with a lower number than
the formula. In many countries, your harbor and lighthouse dues
(which can be considerable) are based on tonnage -- having a lower
number is good.

3) It took the Documentation Office about six weeks to turn around our
document, and that was without any snags. If you need faster action,
it may be possible -- I don't know. You might also be able to
register her in your name in the country where she is registered now
and travel back to the USA on that registration (many countries,
including the USA and Great Britain require you to be a citizen to own
a boat under their flag). You could also register her in a third
country, Gibraltar, for example. The bottom line is, however, that I
would want a registration in my name. There are a lot of countries
where you could get hung up for a long time if you tried to check in
with, for example, only the old registration and a bill of sale...

4) In the USA, the operator of a recreational vessel under 200 gross
tons doesn't require a license to drive the boat. In most of the world
there is reciprocity -- if you come from a country that doesn't need a
license, you don't need a license even if that country's own people do
need one. This is not universally true, however, and you might want
to check with the consulate of countries in South America in which you
intend to stop -- I don't know this, I just remember reading that
someone, maybe the Pardey's, had trouble with this somewhere in South
America.

5) You will need radio licenses for you and for the boat. While the
FCC rules now allow boats in the USA to operate VHF unlicensed, going
foreign requires both a Ship Radio Station Authorization and at least
a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator License. The FCC web site is
almost unusable, but persevere and you will find applications for both
of these on line. You can apply for the Ship Radio Station
Authorization before you get your USCG document -- just leave the
space for "Official Number" blank on the application.


Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com



(Chelsea) wrote in message ...
Thanks to all who are responding.

To be very clear, what I am exploring is picking up a boat in So.
America and traveling fairly directly to the USA, but with brief stops
of a few days at several ports along the way. A stay of a couple of
weeks would be the longest I imagine in any foreign port along the way -
and that only if there were problems needing repairs, or if there were
severe weather impeding forward travel.

I would have, I expect, the pre-sale registration, a Bill of Sale to me,
the signed-over Title, and of course passports for myself and crew.
Should I arrange to have the Title submitted here in the USA before
departing SA? I've bought & sold here in the USA so I am familiar with
state to state issues. But if I do this it will be the first
buy-overseas-and-bring-home. Any suggestions on methods of preparing
documentation for smooth port clearance along the way welcome.