Importing a Boat to Australia

[meyermm]

Originally Posted by Mate

Just to get a bit off topic.
Say you have made your purchase and decided how your going to try get out of paying the import and gst ( bring it in as a charter boat), but not for me.
The boat is ready and you are waiting to save the money for the cost of the passage from the west coast mexico or US somwhere.
You are doing the passage as a delivery , and not really as a holiday , eg as fast as you can ( you had to borrow a heap maybe and have to get back to work asap)
But of course you will do a little site seeing , the odd dinner at a nice restaurant etc.
You obviously plan on sailing as much as possible , and use as little fuel as possible .

The biggy question . How much should you put aside or have for this trip, without the contingency of breakdowns / repairs, but including visa and immigration costs .
I was thinking 15k , would this cover it. Or am i way out of the ball park.
Remeber , a dream trip , no repairs etc included.

All your costs will be added to the boat price before the GST is calculated and any other government charges.

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Factor

Makes the oz boat look cheap to me.

Any price comparison of overseas vis-a-vis Aus boats, for the purposes of securing a boat landed in Aus, requires the addition of substantial costs to the overseas boat, viz. the delivery costs plus Duty & GST; the latter being effectively 15% on the purchase price PLUS the delivery costs.

There would also need to be considered the costs of vessel inspection(s), although this can to some extent be significantly mitigated by the sales process itself. For example, using a vessel surveyor and buying a production (as in a known layout and general features) vessel, along with the generally accepted practice of a fully refundable deposit, allows the inspection cost risk to be minimised, at least, and possibly cut down to a single, one-way (returning on the vessel for the voyage of a lifetime!) airfare.

All those additional costs noted, however, it is also generally true that overseas vessel markets are both much deeper (as in HEAPS more choices available) and more likely to see larger reductions from asking to selling prices reflecting Aus' relatively stronger economy (and thus stronger market for boat sellers) for the moment anyway.

[tuskie]

While the overseas market for new and secondhand catamarans looks very attractive to those buyers from Australia at the moment, for a reality check of what can go wrong get a copy of the November edition of "Cruising Helmsman".
Therein lies an article about an Australian couple who have bought a boat overseas and have suffered multiple episodes of bad luck since that time. They are presently dealing with Australian Customs, if that is the correct verb, regarding payment of duties and GST. It is a sad and sobering article that anyone contemplating DIY delivery should read.

For those forum readers who cannot access the Australian produced "Cruising Helmsman" magazine, I will attempt to give an accurate summary.
Australians Chris and Elaine Kleiss purchased "K-Sera II" a 14.7 m CT47 monohull yacht in Venezuela a couple of year's ago, upgraded many of her systems and are sailing her home. Despite careful prior planning, a couple of expensive medical and equipment setbacks exacerbated by the poor 60 cents to the US dollar currency rate at the time left them short of cash to meet Custom's importation charges. They have been battling with customs from offshore in Fiji for the past year. They are now in Vanuatu, considering their next move.

[Mate]

I to have heard something about this , and on phoning customs to learn more about importing, asked if they were aware of this case .
They said , they cannot at any point stop an Australian from returning home , and every case would be considered as it is handed to them . I asked if you could pay it off like you do your tax sometimes , and they said it would come down to the situation at the time .
My feelings from the converstaion were they are not total bullies , and if treated respectfully and honestly will do the same . Saying this , they do have a job to do and as we know some people just love that power .
I will look at the mag with an open mind .
I thought the couple had a boat for sale in Aus , real cheap ,to help with the cost but hasnt sold , this was some time ago , so totally unsure .
Some say buy in Aus , I say if I bought the same boat in Aus it wouldnt happen , fullstop , so by importing Im not taking anything away from fellow Aussies , in fact im improving and helping the ecnomy by requiring maintenace , repairs , spareparts , that would otherwise not happen.
My feelings may change the more I learn .
All the best of luck to K-SeraII"

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Mate

Snip
I say if I bought the same boat in Aus it wouldnt happen , fullstop , so by importing Im not taking anything away from fellow Aussies , in fact im improving and helping the ecnomy by requiring maintenace , repairs , spareparts , that would otherwise not happen.
My feelings may change the more I learn .
All the best of luck to K-SeraII"

Dissagree, every imported item no matter how big or small effects local jobs negatively. If it werent for beneteaus and Jenneaus ect there would be more Northshores, murrays,Mchonachys etc. In fact I just struggled to come up with some aussie names due to the amount of imports. Hanse,Hunters, oysters, laggoon this is easy. Think about the man hours in manufacturing lost to other countries.

Having said that, I am a hypocrite, Because, I see no reason "other than patriotism" not to buy one of the foreign boats as they are well made and well supported internationally.

As long as we are selling our Coal, Cattle, Iron Ore to other nations we have to expect to lose jobs to imports. But, suggesting that importing a boat, instead of buying one here, will increase jobs is economics gone backwards. What youre doing is pushing resales down. That isnt so bad

Cheers
Oz

[Mate]

I was actually expecting a bigger floggin than that .

[Dragon Lady]

The numbers just don't add up to buy an Aussie boat and the designs are a bit limited if you want accomadation for family and friends.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

The numbers just don't add up to buy an Aussie boat and the designs are a bit limited if you want accomadation for family and friends.

Thats the sad part. Imports have pushed factories out of business. The only real production boat factories seem to be for sports cruisers and carbon racers.

Cheers
Oz

[Mate]

As much as people hate going off topic I feel this is related .
Where can I find an Insurance broker to insure a cat crossing the Pacific
I have done a breif seach and cant come up with anything.
This must also be added to the cost of importing a boat to Australia .
If its futher back in this thread I appoligise .
Thanks for any direction , Im nearly coming up with my Total costs which I will be happy to share . But already done Im sure.

[Capt Phil]

Hope this thread accepts my question... Wife is Aussie, I'm Canadian, planning on a move back to OZ in about a year and a half. Contemplating bringing a used US boat to Australia but alternatively considering purchasing used Tayana in Thailand or Indonesia and sailing it to OZ after we get settled. US boat would be shipped from west coast, probably Canada or Mexico. I understand that we can avoid duty but not GST if boat is NZ or US built. With the market the way it is in the eastern Pacific, some good deals about 25-30% off the US market at the moment. What problems should we anticipate on an import from the Asian market?

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

The numbers just don't add up to buy an Aussie boat and the designs are a bit limited if you want accomadation for family and friends.

The numbers are a matter for your self, but between Lightwave, Seawind, Fusion and semi production builders doing Jeff Schionning, Craig Schionning, Lidgard, Stanton and Grainger designs amongst many others, as well as Kerr, Easton and Mumby in the aluminium cat area, I would be suprised if you couldnt find a boat to suit your needs.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Hope this thread accepts my question... Wife is Aussie, I'm Canadian, planning on a move back to OZ in about a year and a half. Contemplating bringing a used US boat to Australia but alternatively considering purchasing used Tayana in Thailand or Indonesia and sailing it to OZ after we get settled. US boat would be shipped from west coast, probably Canada or Mexico. I understand that we can avoid duty but not GST if boat is NZ or US built. With the market the way it is in the eastern Pacific, some good deals about 25-30% off the US market at the moment. What problems should we anticipate on an import from the Asian market?

There is a free trade agreement between Australia and Thailand but I have no idea whether Thailand makes boats worth owning.

[lordgeoff]

Am new to this site. Not sure who gets this reply.
Re the cost of getting a boat back.
I travelled about 12,000 NM France to Oz in westerly direction. I used the engine for about 1200 hours at a bit less than 4Lt per hour. Fuel cost roughly $USD5,000.
Panama Canal was about $USD1,300. I did some repairs and cleaning along the way. Food and drinks were about what they would be on land. Probably less as there isn't the choice.
Didn't go into Marinas much but probably spent about $USD1,000 all up in Marinas. The most expensive was $50 a night in Aruba. Gibraltar about $USD25.
Stayed in a Hotel only one night at $USD120.
Took about 7 months so didn't rush too much.
Got my lackey back packer crew to bring a lot of food on board whenever I picked them up.
Travelled solo about half the way. (Which I prefer!)

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by Mate

As much as people hate going off topic I feel this is related .
Where can I find an Insurance broker to insure a cat crossing the Pacific
I have done a breif seach and cant come up with anything.
This must also be added to the cost of importing a boat to Australia .
If its futher back in this thread I appoligise .
Thanks for any direction , Im nearly coming up with my Total costs which I will be happy to share . But already done Im sure.

The only company I have found so far is Come what may! they have quoted 5% of hull value to cover sailing from Europe to Australia for a year. They also have a clause on named storms. You will probably find more info on other topics at this site.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by lordgeoff

Am new to this site. Not sure who gets this reply.
Re the cost of getting a boat back.
I travelled about 12,000 NM France to Oz in westerly direction. I used the engine for about 1200 hours at a bit less than 4Lt per hour. Fuel cost roughly $USD5,000.
Panama Canal was about $USD1,300. I did some repairs and cleaning along the way. Food and drinks were about what they would be on land. Probably less as there isn't the choice.
Didn't go into Marinas much but probably spent about $USD1,000 all up in Marinas. The most expensive was $50 a night in Aruba. Gibraltar about $USD25.
Stayed in a Hotel only one night at $USD120.
Took about 7 months so didn't rush too much.
Got my lackey back packer crew to bring a lot of food on board whenever I picked them up.
Travelled solo about half the way. (Which I prefer!)

$1300 for the canal, is that after the deposit is returned?
I believe the authority is fairly casual in returning it to your account.