What's Involved in Purchasing a Boat Outside of the U.S.?

S

Steuermann

Member II
Has anyone ever repatriated a boat to the U.S.? In other words, what's involved in purchasing a U.S. built boat in, in my case, Canada, and bringing it into the U.S., specifically, Washington state? I can imagine lots of red tape and arcane "gotchas" that I would not normally foresee.
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Not quite the same, but it was an 'import'

Hmmm....
close, but probably no ceegar...

We bought out Canadian-built Niagara 26 in '83, and imported it from BC into the US at the Customs entry point @ Pt Angeles. Duty has declined to zero, IIRC, since then, but in 1983 I had to write out a $900. check to import an $18K boat.
Straightforward process as I had the bill of sale and a current survey with me.

OTOH, it took some letter-writing to ultimately get an OR title created. Since we had purchased it from the original owner in Canada, there was no list of past owners to confuse the issue.
My dealings with the Oregon Marine Board were amicable, but their task was (and is) to make sure that a person registering a vessel is not trying to sanitize the title on a stolen boat. I appreciate their diligence. :nerd:

What are the specifics for the deal you are considering?

Also, do check in with the WA boat registration folks, on-line and on the phone. Take detailed notes.
:)

LB
 
mherrcat

mherrcat

Contributing Partner
I don't know what the legalities of bringing a foreign boat into the US permanently are, but I would be concerned about making sure you have a clear title to the boat in the country where it is purchased in the first place. I was reading something recently about buying real estate in Nicaragua and apparently establising who actually owns a piece of property for sale can sometimes be murky. I can't imagine what the issues would be if you discovered after the fact that some property you had purchased was actually owned by someone else.

I'm sure the boat having been originally built in the US is at least one plus.
 
Last edited:
S

Steuermann

Member II
Just to tie the ribbons on this, I PMed Marc. It seems we're neighbors.

Got my questions answered via Marine Documentation Services in Anacortes. Very helpful folks and very reasonable prices. Still looking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top