Canadian Documentaion

[Charlie]

We all know that Canada runs on the metric system and US on miles. We also know that the conversion from metric to US is simple take the metric # multiply by 6 then add 12. for example to get a metric six pack you would multiply 6x6 = 36 then add 12. So ametric six pack has 48 beers. No wonder Canadians are such good drinkers. :cubalibre

What is the Canadian equivalent of US Documentation. My wife is a dual citizen and we are thinking of buying a boat in the US that was made in Canada. I have read in previous threads that there is not a sales tax on boats in Canada and that the annual fees are lower. Can anyone verify this? If this is true would we be able to 1) register the boat in Canada 2) bring it to the US 3) leave it in the US for a period of a couple years 4) sail it to Mexico and beyond.

I know 4) is ok what about 1) thru 3)?

[Vasco]

There is sales tax on a vessel in Canada except for the province of Alberta. You would have to have an address in Alberta to avoid sales tax. On a new boat there is also GST, a form of federal sales tax. The Canadian equivalent to documentation is registration, it costs $300 plus required tonnage survey if over 40 feet (actually it's in metric but it escapes me right now). I don't think there's really any advantage to what you are proposing. If you're talking a mega yacht the Marshall Islands seems to be getting a lot of flag of convenience business now.

[Tropic Cat]

My boat was a registered Canadian vessel when I bought her. I had to "import" the boat into the USA and pay import duty on the sales price of the boat. I can dig up the receipt if you like, but I seem to remember that the duty was 2%. Also, if your potential new boat is a documented Canadian vessel, you also have to have it stricken from the Canadian Government records before it can be registered in any US state, or become a documented USA vessel. It took the Canadian Government about 3 weeks to process my request.

I had a boat broker help with all the paperwork, and it really wasn't all that difficult.

Rick in Florida

[Tropic Cat]

One addition to my post. The previous owners of my boat were Canadians who kept their boat in Florida year round. I'm not certain it was legal, but it worked for them

Rick in Florida

[DeepFrz]

You can register your vessel as a Canadian vessel and keep it in the US. You can even visit (with boat) Canada (for short periods of time) without paying tax. US tax will already be paid.

Deep.

ps: Northern Washington is full of Canadian boats that stay there year round.

[rsn48]

Seems to me the Pardy's ran into this problem and it was discussed in one of their articles on their site. One of the Pardy's is Canadian, the other American - they were just up here in Vancouver around Christmas. I think this is one of those deals in which you are in the hands of the custom's official. I think for the Pardy's it started out bad, but then a more "experienced" customs official stepped in and charged them something like a dollar (for taxes) for the necessary papers or whatever to have their boat "Americanized."

I go to the Pardy's web site frequently, but of course when I goggled on it to find what I was looking for in response to your post nothing came up. The made in North America applies to American goods crossing into Canada. The rule is if it was made in the States, there is no duty. I don't know if the ruling goes the other way, logic would say yes, but when have governments been logical.

I have it, Point Roberts Marina in Point Roberts Washington is always trying to get Canadian boats to moor there (they were at the last Vancouver BC Boat Show). Send an email to them, I know they will have the answer. I received a package from them and included in it was details on how to take the boat down their - in terms of customs regulations. Since I opted to remain in Horseshoe Bay, I threw the material out. Here is a link to Point Roberts Marina:

http://www.pointrobertsmarina.com/

PS. Point Roberts is part of the state of Washington but is only accessible through greater Vancouver, bC so lots of American/Canadian business. In the old days, about 20 years ago, you couldn't drink in Vancouver on Sundays so Point Roberts was the place to go to drink.

[DeepFrz]

Here is another very helpful site, "Pat's Boating in Canada".

http://boating.ncf.ca/license.html

[Charlie]

Wow Guys!!

Thanks for all the good info. I'm quite (too) busy and will reply in more detail later but thank you for all the information that you have shared with me.