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MountainKing · 11-03-2020, 08:59

I will be buying a boat currently registered in Canada, in Grenada. My plan is to use Grenada as a base and sail up and down the Caribbean chain each season, returning to Grenada for hurricane season. My plan was to register the boat with USCG.

I'm currently living in NV, but only for a few more months to sell stuff I don't need and make an orderly transition. I have no plans to bring the boat to the US. At the most, if I was in the Bahamas and wanted to do a major upgrade (like lithium batteries, inverters, etc.) I'd consider shipping them to Florida and hopping over to pick them up for a week, but not staying there for any significant amount of time.

Do I even need to register with a state at all? I'm not trying to avoid taxes. I just want to do this right and have my ducks in a row. I might continue to use NV as a state of residence for paperwork and taxes. I haven't figured out where I should do that yet. I'll do some contract work in the US a few months each year, like a traveling nurse, but won't actually have any permanent place of residence in the US.

Thanks,
MK

dwedeking2 · 11-03-2020, 09:10

I use www.maillinkplus.com in Vegas for my mail. Pretty inexpensive and they have a nice online system. Very reliable.

Dsanduril · 11-03-2020, 09:38

The good news is that you don't need to register in any state if the boat is not in that state. From the Nevada NDOW website:

Quote:

It is a federal law that you register your watercraft in the state of primary use

If you federally document the boat then some states may require registration as a tax collection tool, but they may not require you to display registration numbers and will not issue a title (that is covered by the federal document). If you don't have a "state of principle use" then you don't need any state registration (and technically shouldn't be able to even get registration if the boat is not in the state). Different states have differing definitions, for the most part is seems that if the boat is in one state for 90 days/year they expect you to register there, but this does vary from state to state and there are exceptions for legitimate travel through a state that exceeds the time limit, boats in yards for work, etc. Every state is a bit different, so if you spend much time in any one state you may want to check, otherwise the documentation is all you need.

MountainKing · 11-03-2020, 13:26

Thank you. Any recommendations for an insurance company for my situation?

sailcrazy · 12-03-2020, 09:30

As US Citizens living and working in Asia, we bought our boat in Singapore, sailed her to the PI where we kept her, and documented her with the US Coast Guard. You will need to specify a Hailing Port (your choice), and then renew the USCG documentation ea year(you'll need an address for that). Over the past 20 years we have since sailed that boat around Asia, the Medd, and now the NE Caribb.....we keep the USCG documentation current, and that's all. We have checked into and out of multiple countries-all without issue. Almost all wanted to see/keep a copy of our USCG Docs, most wanted to see our proof of insurance, and some of the EU countries wanted my "Bare Boat Cert"....but nothing more. To my knowledge, as long as you don't have the boat in that state's waters, there's no requrmnt to register her with that, or any other, state.

KP44 · 12-03-2020, 09:56

You say you are keeping the boat in Grenada but that does not sound like the case. You are only planning to keep the boat there during hurricane seasons. You plan to travel from place to place. If you were a resident and keeping your boat in Grenada, then you would want to follow Grenada's rules about resident vessels.
USCG documentation is not registration, so never confuse the two.
Enjoy!

zstine · 12-03-2020, 11:46

When we were cruising the Caribbean we spoke to a few French sailors and a German couple. None of them had insurance on their boats, not even liability. These were boats worth $100k or so, not mega yachts. But insurance seems to be a very American concept in general... like Health insurance. Nobody else in the world has it.

No, you don't need state registration unless you keep you boat in a US state.

Sand crab · 12-03-2020, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by KP44

USCG documentation is not registration, so never confuse the two.
Enjoy!

Actually it is exactly that. From the USCG site:
Vessel documentation is a national form of registration.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organiz...on-Center-FAQ/

State registration in the OPs case is irrelevant as long as he keeps it out of the country for the most part. If you ever bring it here you will probably have to pay import duties (depending on where it was manufactured and the age of the boat). You may have to get the engines EPA certified.

StoneCrab · 12-03-2020, 12:13

The USCG is now providing an option for 5 year Documentation renewals on recreational vessels.

sailon46 · 12-03-2020, 12:35

I keep my boat in the Carrib for the last 8 years and I am insured with Atlass Insurance out of Fl. The carrier has been Lloyds of London. Talk to Ms. Falcetta and tell her that Ernest Lykissa sent you, no sales I am just a happy customer.

MountainKing · 12-03-2020, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by KP44

You say you are keeping the boat in Grenada but that does not sound like the case. You are only planning to keep the boat there during hurricane seasons. You plan to travel from place to place. If you were a resident and keeping your boat in Grenada, then you would want to follow Grenada's rules about resident vessels.
USCG documentation is not registration, so never confuse the two.
Enjoy!

Grenada is not a US state though.

MAJICDAN · 12-03-2020, 13:31

My sailboat is almost fifty years old. Florida requires that you have a motor the same year as the boat to register it as an antique. State antique license about ten dollars a year without any epa smog tests or restrictions. I keep paying the ten dollars every year so I have a home port no matter where in the world I travel.

singlespeed · 12-03-2020, 14:56

Get the vessel documented. Used to be that some EC countries did not accept state registration, but most now take it. We bought our US documented boat in the BVI, never paid a U.S. tax to any state. One year, we travelled up to Florida and took the ICW from Port Everglades to Washington, D.C. and returned to Riviera Beach over the course of nine months. Got stopped by various city marine patrols and twice by the Coast Guard. No one ever questioned the lack of a state registration on our boat or dinghy. Just be certain that you have the correct type & number of life jackets and in-date flares. Be certain that you have your black water throughhull locked off. Unlike the Caribbean, carry the necessary life jackets, sound devices and running lights (after dark) on your dinghy or face the consequences.