"Courtney Thomas" wrote:

I am told that the U.S. can commandeer your boat at will if USCG documented.

Would this be true if she was out of U.S. waters ?

The Coast Guard is in lots of places that are not US waters. So Yes I
think it could happen.

Would this ever be true if not USCG documented or if of foreign registry ?

The CG can and will board and inspect boats that are of foreign
registry outside of US waters, and also I think will do the same with
state registered boats.

I should add that fear of U.S. gov. seizure is not a significant motive
here, just an example of a potential disadvantage of USCG documentation, and
a weighing of pros & cons of USCG documentation is the sole consideration.
Another disadvantage, in certain waters, might be... flying the U.S. flag,
at all. On the other hand, registering as a foreign vessel would require
importation & licensing fees, which
is a not inconsiderable cost and would be a good reason to maintain USCG
documentation.

I guess under the 'right' circumstances any government can legally do the
same, but in that I'm considering hailing from a non-U.S. port, and maybe
registering it as a non-U.S. vessel, I was wondering what information should
be factored into such a decision.

The bottom line: if said boat is operating out of the U.S., or hails from a
port other than U.S., what [dis]advantages are there in having USCG
documentation ? Or is hailing from a U.S. port required for USCG
documentation ?

You can have any post office in the US as a hailing port regardless of
whether you or your boat could be or have been there or not. There
are so many places that are named for other places that it probably
wouldn't be a problem to find a place name in the US to put on your
boat. Just down the road from us is Scotland, and California and
across the Chesapeake is Berlin. But IIRC you can't be US documented
unless the owner of the boat is a US citizen

Sorry for not being initially more clear,

Courtney



"Wayne.B" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 17:44:09 -0400, "Courtney Thomas"
wrote:

What is gained or lost by discontinuing USCG documentation of a private
sailboat ?

Since there is no cost or effort to staying documented, why would you
want to drop it?

As long as the boat is not financed there is very little to lose
except that you will be required to post state registration numbers in
the US. If the boat is financed, you probably have a contractual
obligation to remain documented (and insured).