Documented vs State-Registered

[maine50]

Planning on being in the caribbean this winter (BVI, USVI and ST Martin). Will we likely to have a problem with a State registerd vessel? Thanks- Maine50

[speciald@ocens.]

Maybe - that is all I can say. They like documentation but I don't know of any boat refused entry.

[Jamel]

You are sailing to and entering a foreign country. You need a passport, your vessel also needs a passport. To go unregistered is inviting problems. There may be an insurance issue too, from your insurer!

[Mr B]

I checked it out for Australia, Australian State registration versus Australian Registration,
I was told that The state registration was all that was required, even for international travel.

I am bringing a cat back to OZ from Fiji,

American Rego, I dont know, You may be different,

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Jamel

You are sailing to and entering a foreign country. You need a passport, your vessel also needs a passport. To go unregistered is inviting problems. There may be an insurance issue too, from your insurer!

Unregistered, You come under Piracy laws, and can have your boat forfeited,

[Jim Cate]

This subject gets beaten up regularly, and there is a lot of misinformation bandied about.

We have been cruising full time since 1986. We have entered 13 different countries across the Pacific. Our two boats have not been documented, but have been registered and titled in the state of Illinois (our legal residence).

Not one single official has had a problem with this.

Cheers,

Jim

[s/v Moondancer]

Over the years we have entered over 25 countries, including almost every one in the Caribbean, on 5 different boats, registered variously with BVI, UK SSR, Florida and US coastguard documentation...

Never had a problem with any one of them.

[Dsanduril]

+1 on the not a problem.

Our boat is California state registered, has been in 50+ countries spanning 30 years, and the worst we have gotten is something along the lines of "really, this dinky little slip of paper is all they give you for boat registration - it's not very impressive". As long as it has the boat ID number, expiration date, and owner's name/address every single official we have presented it to has been happy.

BTW, have been to all the places mentioned by the OP using the state registration, none of them had any issue.

[svBeBe]

You might luck out and not encounter any problems being only state registered, but I do remember that at least one of the countries in the Caribbean recognized only documentation and would refuse state registration. One boat we met in 2006 ran into this problem and was refused inbound clearance. But for the life of me, I cannot remember which country it was; all I remember was that it was somewhere in the Eastern Caribbean. That boat left after being refused clearance and we never met up with them again.

We are now in our 48th country and in our 6th year going around. That was too far and too long ago to remember the specifics. FWIW, if leaving your national waters you should have your boat documented. It is easy and not expensive (although a tiny bit time consuming) and the yearly renewal is free.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[markpierce]

The primary advantage of being USCG documented rather that state-registered is that one doesn't have to (actually, isn't allowed to) show those unsightly registration numbers on the hull. (Yes, there are other advantages.) Some people might think you don't have a "real" boat unless it can be documented.

[Mr B]

State Registration here in OZ is fully documented, and then some,
Its only about $60-00 for 3 years, I will find out tomorrow when mine gets registered, Its very cheap tho,

And you cant get it online, You have to make an appointment and go in and see them and fill out the forms while you are there, They dont trust us, hahahahaha

Australian Registration is over $1000-00

I am not sure with the Australian Rego,
But you still need State Rego, From the state you have your address in.
PO Box is not good enough,

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Mr B

State Registration here in OZ is fully documented, and then some,
Its only about $60-00 for 3 years, I will find out tomorrow when mine gets registered, Its very cheap tho,

And you cant get it online, You have to make an appointment and go in and see them and fill out the forms while you are there, They dont trust us, hahahahaha

Australian Registration is over $1000-00

I am not sure with the Australian Rego,
But you still need State Rego, From the state you have your address in.
PO Box is not good enough,

Brian, you are aware that what you describe is ok as long as you don't ever want to LEAVE again. For an Aussie owned boat to be granted outward clearance, it MUST be Australian Ship Registered. No exceptions.

Cheers,

Jim

[Jamel]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I checked it out for Australia, Australian State registration versus Australian Registration,
I was told that The state registration was all that was required, even for international travel.

I am bringing a cat back to OZ from Fiji,

American Rego, I dont know, You may be different,

I have no idea where you are getting that info from but you will most definitely run into problems sailing internationally on State rego!

[Mr B]

Thanks Jim and Jamel,
This is my first time at any thing like this,

What I Have is to get the boat Back to Australia, Only,

I have a yacht club that does it constantly, Bringing boats through customs into Australia, They have the current info,

They have all my paper work and said it is enough for me,

If I ever leave Australia again in my boat I will look into that then.

I just tell it how its been told to me, Other than that, I dont have a clue,