Cuba denied ...

[chantler]

Does anyone know whats involved in re-registering a boat in the U.S. to your own home country? I'm Canadian and have the long term plan of buying a used boat in Florida or ?? and using it 2 or 3 months a year for the next few years. After that who knows. Would re-registering to Canada create a hassle when I wanted to resell?

[Brent Swain]

Contact the Canadian registry of shipping. With NAFTA, I see lots of USanian boats being bought by Canadians and being registered here. No problem. Import taxes are minimal.

[chantler]

I was thinking I'd never bring it back to Canada. Just leave it down south and use it in the winter. I just thought the paper work would be tidier for border crossing in places like Cuba if every thing appeared to be from the same country. I will talk to the Canadian registry though, thanks Brent!

[killarney_sailor]

If the US boat is state-registered in the US then you just show up at the Canadian registry of ships with the bill of sale. If the US boat is federally documented (I think that is the term), you have to get it deregistered. We used an agency for this and it cost about $200. Then you take the bill of sale and the certificate of deregistration to get the Canadian registry. If you sold the boat to an American they would have to reverse the process. No big deal and has happened both ways a lot as currency values have swung. Now that the looney is high, the move is south --> north.

A bigger concern is that the Canadian-registered boat can only get a one year cruising permit in the US then you have to leave the country for 15 days (Bahamas, Bermuda) before you can get another permit. The exception to this is if the owner has some sort of official residency in the US eg a visa, green card, etc.

[Minnewaska]

I get cranky over US citizens willfully breaking the law and visiting Cuba (although it can be done legally in limited circumstances, which is great). However, I'm not aware of any laws that prohibit direct transit between the US and Cuba by non-US citizens. Indeed, because the Cuban government is hostile towards the US, you will and should be searched well upon return. If you're not doing anything wrong, that should be less inconvenient than sailing elsewhere for days, just to arrive from another country.

As mentioned, a Canadian citizen can not document a boat under the US flag anyway. I'm not familiar with Florida's laws, but I'm sure they require all boats to register there if they spend more than a defined period of time. Usually something between 30 and 90 days, although, in RI it is 180 days. In any case, it's really just a money grab and has nothing to do with the boats home flagged country. Mega yachts are often flagged in Caribbean countries, when they are actually owned by US citizens, to avoid sales taxes.

If Cuba is a necessity for you, have the title issued in Canada, not the US. Get a US cruising permit . It seems like you plan to leave the country for a period of time anyway, so the cruising permit terms may be manageable for you. Be sure you understand and follow them. Pay our Florida registration fees, but put a Canadian hail port on your transom and fly a US courtesy flag, which you take down when you leave US waters.

Enjoy it.

I maintain an opinion that Cuba isn't worth it for a US citizen. There are thousands of ports that I won't reach in a lifetime. While I would enjoy seeing Cuba, I have plenty to do until it is opened up to us.

[sea_hunter]

Personal Feud removed per forum rules- Jeff_H SailNet Moderator

[sea_hunter]

Originally Posted by chantler

Does anyone know whats involved in re-registering a boat in the U.S. to your own home country? I'm Canadian and have the long term plan of buying a used boat in Florida or ?? and using it 2 or 3 months a year for the next few years. After that who knows. Would re-registering to Canada create a hassle when I wanted to resell?

Don't bother registering your boat in the US. Generally the "6 months less a day" rule applies as a Canadian citizen visiting the US. It's easier if you have a documented boat as Florida only gives 90 days to reregister. Fly both flags.
Official Website Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

[sea_hunter]

Personal Feud removed per forum rules- Jeff_H SailNet Moderator

[sea_hunter]

Personal Feud removed per forum rules- Jeff_H SailNet Moderator

[bljones]

re: Visiting Cuba on your own and staying on the right side ofthe Cuban Democracy Act- How do you visit Cuba, and NOT spend any money there?

Sea Hunter, none of your chip-on-your-shoulder post above has anything to do with an American citizen sailing directly to Cuba.
Organized "cultural exchanges" and group tours are a whole different kettle of fish.