Buying an overseas vessel...Registration Questions

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Shokunin21

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Nov 27, 2022
5
Beneteau 40cc Lake Mead
Hi everyone. Sorry if this has been discussed before...I'm a U.S. citizen and am considering purchasing a vessel that resides and registered overseas in the U.K. Some brokers there tell me I can not register the vessel there in the U.K., that it must be done in the States, while some others tell me it's possible but with many complications (such as forming a corporation within that country).

So has anyone from the U.S. purchased a boat that resides in the U.K., Ireland, or France (any possible E.U. country)? If so, what were the steps you took to register the boat in its residing country or in the States? I would prefer to keep the vessel in E.U. waters for some time before returning to the States. So staying there for months or years without having a proper U.S. register concerns me obviously. Would love to hear if anyone has done this and how. Thanks always.
 
dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
4,307
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
The UK is no longer part of the EU. Bear that in mind. There will now be notable differences purchasing in the countries you mention from the UK. You are no longer able to have a UK boat and avoid Schengen rules - that you are a US citizen is really complicating things for sure.

I was a US citizen and bought a boat in Spain, but I was living there. It was also a long time ago so probably many things have changed. But I can tell you, it was a hassle with the bureaucracy at that time, and I was a permanent resident. It was not so bad to buy there and take it to the US ( I had a couple friends that did that), but to buy there and keep it there today, that's going to be tricky...

If you want to keep the boat there for a period of time with having paid the Schengen taxes and such - you definitely need to talk to a legal advisor there. I would not think buying in the UK and trying to do that would be the better way to go. If you want to sail for a length of time in the Schengen zone, I'd think buying in the Schengen zone would be less of a problem - if it's even feasible....

dj
 
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D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,799
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If you really want to hear a lot of divergent opinions on this topic head over to CruisersForum.com. That is a more international sailing and cruising organization.

You might also try searching Noonsite.com for information and the Seven Seas Cruising Association.
 
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M

Mifeo

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Mar 27, 2022
12
Dufour 365 Grand Large 0 Barcelona
They are probably pushing you to register the boat in your country of residence. UK registered boats have plenty of headaches, from the threads I've seen, in the EU. You can figure that one out...

I bought a spanish flagged boat. I am an American residing in Spain. It was no big deal. For someone in your position, I assume residing in the US but want to sail in the Schengen area, Polish registration is an option. I considered it for a few moments. The advantages I see are no periodic inspections, no licensing/certification requirements for the skipper, low cost of entry, and they don't care where you reside. Investigate it more, it might work for you.

What is universally a BIG DEAL is if, and where the taxes have been paid on the boat. Generally for registering someplace in the EU it needs to have VAT paid by someone at some point in time. For example in Spain it is 21% which is a real line item on the purchase of a boat!
 
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dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
4,307
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Mifeo said:
The advantages I see are no periodic inspections, no licensing/certification requirements for the skipper...
Click to expand
Now it's coming back to me why I considered it a pain to buy a boat in Spain back when I lived there. I had to get a couple certifications, had to get the boat inspected (nobody in the port where I bought the boat had a ships bell - there was one in the port and the person that owned it lent it out to everyone that was getting inspected as a ship's bell of a certain size was required -hahhahaha - Actually I'm sure the commercial ships all had one but almost none of the recreational boats carried one). Back then the tax was 18%... 21% is a real hit!

dj
 
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M

Mifeo

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Mar 27, 2022
12
Dufour 365 Grand Large 0 Barcelona
dLj said:
Now it's coming back to me why I considered it a pain to buy a boat in Spain back when I lived there. I had to get a couple certifications, had to get the boat inspected (nobody in the port where I bought the boat had a ships bell - there was one in the port and the person that owned it lent it out to everyone that was getting inspected as a ship's bell of a certain size was required -hahhahaha - Actually I'm sure the commercial ships all had one but almost none of the recreational boats carried one). Back then the tax was 18%... 21% is a real hit!

dj
Click to expand
Ya, the spanish love their paperwork. Between the CE mark from the builder (4 I think), the Nav Zone (8 of them) the boat was inspected to, the actual safety equipment you have on board at the time, and skippers certifications (4 spanish + recognition of RYA and ICC) just understanding how far you can sail offshore ”legally” is a learning curve.

I’ve acclimated :)
 
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