sgwright67
Member III
Hello Vikings,
As I expand my search south of the border, I am wondering... are there any Canadians in the group who have knowledge of, or experience with, buying a US boat and bringing it back to Canada? Some of things I am curious about may also be common knowledge for US owners. As I see it, there are 3 possible scenarios for us buying a boat in the US, in order of decreasing likelihood:
1. Buy a boat in Washington and sail it home to BC, after spending some time in US waters getting familiar with the boat.
2. Buy a boat further away, and have it trucked to Washington, then follow option 1.
3. Buy a boat in California, sail it locally for a while, then either sail it home to BC, or south to Mexico, which is where we really want to be anyway.
I have read up on the import process, and know that I might register it at a Canadian port of entry, and pay the PST in BC.
Things I am not too sure about:
Insurance: I am not sure if it is a simple matter for a non-resident to get insurance while the boat is in the US.
US boat registration transfer: Are there restrictions for a Canadian registering a US boat? I assume I will need to transfer the title/registration in the US before I can register it in Canada.
Payment: If I go through a broker, I assume there will be some assistance with payment and the above issues, but for a private sale, what forms of payment are typically accepted in the US?
I assume I will deal with the same survey and haulout issues as here at home.
Anything else I might have missed? It's probably a long shot that we'll go this route, given that US pricing after exchange, transport, hassle, and possibly incurring double sales taxes will unlikely prove to make a boat very compelling.
As I expand my search south of the border, I am wondering... are there any Canadians in the group who have knowledge of, or experience with, buying a US boat and bringing it back to Canada? Some of things I am curious about may also be common knowledge for US owners. As I see it, there are 3 possible scenarios for us buying a boat in the US, in order of decreasing likelihood:
1. Buy a boat in Washington and sail it home to BC, after spending some time in US waters getting familiar with the boat.
2. Buy a boat further away, and have it trucked to Washington, then follow option 1.
3. Buy a boat in California, sail it locally for a while, then either sail it home to BC, or south to Mexico, which is where we really want to be anyway.
I have read up on the import process, and know that I might register it at a Canadian port of entry, and pay the PST in BC.
Things I am not too sure about:
Insurance: I am not sure if it is a simple matter for a non-resident to get insurance while the boat is in the US.
US boat registration transfer: Are there restrictions for a Canadian registering a US boat? I assume I will need to transfer the title/registration in the US before I can register it in Canada.
Payment: If I go through a broker, I assume there will be some assistance with payment and the above issues, but for a private sale, what forms of payment are typically accepted in the US?
I assume I will deal with the same survey and haulout issues as here at home.
Anything else I might have missed? It's probably a long shot that we'll go this route, given that US pricing after exchange, transport, hassle, and possibly incurring double sales taxes will unlikely prove to make a boat very compelling.