Purchasing from the abroad

[crow551]

I have noticed that there can be some good deals to be had by purchasing a boat from outside the US such as the virgin islands. I realize that some of these boats are charter boats. Does anyone have any experiences to add about purchasing a boat from outside the US? Are there any gotchas? How are taxes handled? Are charter boats a bad deal? I am looking at a Beneteau 38 and I live in Florida.

[hellosailor]

Make friends with the search engine--the topic has been discussed in depth before.

Gotchas may include duty, boat may not be eligible for documentation, title needs to be substantiated, and any problems or redress may leave you entangled in foreign legal systems with repurcussions you can't dream of.

Other than that folks do it without any problem all the time.

Where the boat is flagged and registered, where it was built, and the tax laws of your state will all make a difference.

A charter boat that has been refurbished may be a good deal, just bear in mind that in one year of charter use it may get 35-40 weeks of sailing and that's what? Five years of normal single-owner use? So price and condition need to be right--as they would be with any used boat.