Where was the Ericson 27 made (E27)?

[grarya01]

Can someone tell me if all of the Ericson 27's (E27) made in California? I'm looking into the possibility of importing one from Canada to the U.S. and in my talks with U.S. Customs it looks like the import tax can be waived if you can demonstrate that the boat was made in the U.S., Mexico or Canada. Has anyone gone through this import process before, or could someone point to me to something online I can print that is "somewhat" official looking which demonstrates where the boat was made?

I saw that through this forum that I can perhaps request a Certificate of Origin. I am in the process of finding out if this is something that I would need to provide. Does the certificate of origin state where the boat was manufactured? Can someone provide me with info on how long the process of obtaining the certificate of origin takes to receive.

Cheers,

Ryan

 

[bgary]

All of the 27s were built in California (Irvine).

The production run ended (1978) long before the SoCal boat-building industry slowed down and got complicated (early 1990s)

You can verify this on your boat with the HIN (Hull ID Number). If the HIN starts with ERY, that three-letter manufacturer code asserts that the boat was built by Ericson Yachts, whose location of record was in CA.

 

[Loren Beach]

Might want to read over this thread.

Need an Ericson Certificate of Origin?

Now Available! Over the years we have had numerous owners come to us asking for assistance in obtaining a Certificate of Origin (COO) for their Ericson hull. Certificates of Origin are most commonly used in the importation of an object into another country; in order to establish the origin of...

ericsonyachts.org

The E-27 was indeed built in California. You just have to convince the Customs folks.

 

[supersailor]

Besides the Certificate of Origin or previous Documentation in my case, you need to do an international delivery. If you are doing a delivery on the West Coast, there are several of us who could give tips for the international delivery. For a delivery on the Lakes or the East Coast, you need local knowledge. If you get serious, I can give you my number and we can go through the process.

 

[Loren Beach]

I wonder what is meant by "tax", in the initial post?
I would guess that WA wants their sales tax. (?)

When we imported our prior Canadian vessel, our Niagara 26, I only had to provide a bill of sale showing my purchase price. This was back when there was still customs duty due for a boat built in Canada.

I paid $18K US for it, and had to write a check to the US govt for about $900, IIRC. It's been a while, and import duties went down to zero, many years ago. This was in 1983, arriving in Port Angeles for check in. As an Oregon resident, I did not have to pay any tax to WA.

Now it's all just historical trivia...

Actually, creating a new Oregon title issued took a month or two, for a boat that did not have (or need) a title in BC at that time.

 

[grarya01]

I wonder what is meant by "tax", in the initial post?
I would guess that WA wants their sales tax. (?)

When we imported our prior Canadian vessel, our Niagara 26, I only had to provide a bill of sale showing my purchase price. This was back when there was still customs duty due for a boat built in Canada.

I paid $18K US for it, and had to write a check to the US govt for about $900, IIRC. It's been a while, and import duties went down to zero, many years ago. This was in 1983, arriving in Port Angeles for check in. As an Oregon resident, I did not have to pay any tax to WA.

Now it's all just historical trivia...

Actually, getting a new Oregon title issued took a month or two, for a boat that did not have (or need) a title in BC at that time.

Thanks Loren. Regarding the tax, I was referencing the duty fee for importation which is currently 1.5% of the vessel's value. Originally I thought that this duty fee could be waived if the boat was manufactured in the U.S., Canada or Mexico, although I may have received incorrect information on that and am still searching for clarification. Washington state sales tax would still be applicable in my case. It looks like the certificate of origin (COO) would be very useful in the importation process...I should have read that COO article closer as it looks like that is exactly what it is used for. It doesn't sound like the COO is a required document however, and is just one of the items that can be used to provide "evidence of origin" when importing a boat to the U.S. In my case, calling the customs office at the port of entry has been useful in obtaining information.

 

[grarya01]

Besides the Certificate of Origin or previous Documentation in my case, you need to do an international delivery. If you are doing a delivery on the West Coast, there are several of us who could give tips for the international delivery. For a delivery on the Lakes or the East Coast, you need local knowledge. If you get serious, I can give you my number and we can go through the process.

Thanks for the offer, I may have to take advantage of that! I have been in touch with customs regarding the "self-importation" procedure. However, in looking over the CPB Form 7501, I may need to hire a broker for the paperwork side of it, as it is proving to be pretty hard to decipher at this point.

 

[supersailor]

The trick lies in avoiding the Canadian taxes which are rather eye popping. Buying on Canadian soil triggers them. If you say go, you need to know what to write into the contract. You haven't mentioned your sailing experience, the location of the boat, condition, type of power, or where its home port will be. A survey is a wise investment as many things you will never notice will be found. I saved three times the cost of the survey in bargaining strength because of hidden flaws. Free or $100 boats are usually a very bad deal.

Boats are expensive to fix and you should reserve at least 40% more than the sale price for necessary repairs.

 

[bgary]

This is purely anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt, but... when I was searching for my boat I looked at a few in Canada. A broker told me that the "simple" way to get a boat from Canada into the US was to have the seller (or representative) bring the boat to the US Customs Dock at some convenient location (we discussed Roche Harbor in the San Juans).... sign the papers and exchange checks for keys once the boat had cleared Customs, and then take it home. I was told that by doing it this way I'd avoid any import duty (presumably because the transaction took place in the US), although I'd still be on the hook for WA sales tax on the purchase price.

No idea if accurate or still true, and there are undoubtedly different processes going from US to Canada, but if you're in the Puget Sound area it's certainly worth a few phone calls to local brokers to find out the best-practices. They probably deal with this all the time. I'd start with Ben at Sail Northwest in Seattle, he was super helpful at answering all my many questions when I was on the hunt.

 

[grarya01]

The trick lies in avoiding the Canadian taxes which are rather eye popping. Buying on Canadian soil triggers them. If you say go, you need to know what to write into the contract. You haven't mentioned your sailing experience, the location of the boat, condition, type of power, or where its home port will be. A survey is a wise investment as many things you will never notice will be found. I saved three times the cost of the survey in bargaining strength because of hidden flaws. Free or $100 boats are usually a very bad deal.

Boats are expensive to fix and you should reserve at least 40% more than the sale price for necessary repairs.

Thanks for the tip on Canadian taxes, that wasn't on my radar at all. From a cursory search that does change things a bit regarding delivery. It looks like I could be subject to a 12% PST (B.C. provincial sales tax) unless the seller contracts the delivery to the U.S.? I may DM you Bob for some more info on this.

I'd prefer not to get into too many details right now on the sale, delivery, etc. until some of the dust settles. IF I did end up bringing it down, it would be from the Gulf Islands to Friday Harbor or Anacortes. I've got a fair amount of miles under my belt as crew on deliveries, as well as a couple of good friends with extensive captaining experience in the PNW and beyond, so we'll be good there if need be. Agreed on the survey, would never buy a boat without one. -- Cheers, Ryan

 

[bigd14]

A broker told me that the "simple" way to get a boat from Canada into the US was to have the seller (or representative) bring the boat to the US Customs Dock at some convenient location

Yes. This is exactly what I did. The broker moved the boat from Vancouver to Point Roberts where I took possession at the Customs Dock under the watchful eye of Homeland Security (actually they really didn’t seem too interested or concerned about the whole thing). I used Marine Documentation Services in Anacortes to prepare all the documents. They knew their business inside out and the whole process was seamless. I did not have to pay any Canadian sales tax. This was in 2016 so things might have changed. Good luck, hope the sale works out.

 

[hjohnson]

Can someone tell me if all of the Ericson 27's (E27) made in California? I'm looking into the possibility of importing one from Canada to the U.S. and in my talks with U.S. Customs it looks like the import tax can be waived if you can demonstrate that the boat was made in the U.S., Mexico or Canada. Has anyone gone through this import process before, or could someone point to me to something online I can print that is "somewhat" official looking which demonstrates where the boat was made?

I saw that through this forum that I can perhaps request a Certificate of Origin. I am in the process of finding out if this is something that I would need to provide. Does the certificate of origin state where the boat was manufactured? Can someone provide me with info on how long the process of obtaining the certificate of origin takes to receive.

Cheers,

Ryan

When we imported our E27 for the first time, we had to pay GST on her declared value. Did it while clearing in on Nexus, and received a tax receipt for "QTY 1 Boat" for $6000. At the time, we were still keeping the boat in Bellingham, but rules say that the first time a Canadian citizen brings her across the border, tax is due. We kept that paperwork aboard thereafter to prove we had already paid.