[WHOOSH]

WAB, you have an interesting chicken-egg dilemma (where you plan to sail will influence where you shop for a boat but where you buy the boat will influence where you use her) but keep in mind you are asking a question about legal residence generally, not just related to boat ownership. Here are some general thumbrules which will apply:

1. It is far easier to become a legal resident of a 2nd state than it is to remove yourself from the tax rolls of the state in which you currently reside. YOU may think buying a boat in Alaska and registering her there and keeping her there - and even moving there - will eliminate you from sales tax liability in WA, but your WA tax collector might not think so. So...rule #1 which I would follow is to change your legal residency before concluding the purchasing of a boat, assuming you purchase out of state and wish to remain out of state. Check with WA and also your preferred alternate state (if there ends up being one) about what they each consider absolute proof of residency. I''d bet the minimum will be driver''s license, voter registration, permanent mailing address and proof of current tax liability (e.g. vehicle registration/tax payment).

2. You can''t really get away with a ''stateless vessel'', which is to say a boat you don''t bother to register anywhere. This is because any taxing authority where you happen to place the boat will potentially decide it is liable for use tax there unless you can prove it has been (and should only be) taxed elsewhere. Given that you''ll be taking out a loan, USCG Documentation may be mandated by your lender. OTOH, if you plan to register the boat in Canada, you may be forced to finance in Canada since a U.S. lender may be reluctant to have the vessel''s loan secured by an out-of-country boat with an out-of-country title.

3. I see this question often on BB''s like Sailnet''s and I think, with respect, it''s the reverse of the right question to be asking. Since purchasing a boat is a big decision, financially & WRT one''s lifestyle, it might seem obvious to plan one''s future residency around the purchase of the boat. The "I can live anywhere" notion has an appealing sense of freedom and leads folks to realize they don''t necessarily need to buy in their home state. But there may be many reasons why you will end up wanting to remain in Washington State...or for that matter, want to relocate to a specific other place. Weather, family, friends, employment opportunities (getting SS doesn''t mean you won''t ever want to work again), state services that align with your particular needs and interests are all potentially more long-term and more significant issues than owning a boat. But...having said all that, if you still think that buying a boat naturally leads to reconsidering where you live, then my sense of your sequential steps would be: 1) where do I want to live and play with my boat, given financial and other considerations? 2) what are the steps to become a resident there? 3) Based on how I''ll be using the boat (lakes? coastal? wet/cold vs. humid/hot? seasonal vs. year round) what kind of boat should I be looking for? 4) Where can I find the type of boat I''ll want that I can affordly get to where I want her to be?

Good luck; hope it all comes together for you.

Jack