[fallard]

So I found this Pearson and it is ready to sail and is being surveyed. My only concern is the boat is a federal registered vessel coast guard registered I believe. The boat is in Florida but titled in Ohio. The gentleman says it does not matter I don't need a boat title and I don't have to pay any taxes on the boat purchase price. He states that all I have to do is change the name with the coast guard and have a bill of sale. The boat will be stored in Florida. I went online and looked at the coast guard website and it states that you can't have a vessel documented in a different state in Florida for more than 90 days. The gentleman stated that you can be in Florida indefinitely. Also another question what if the taxes on the boat back in Ohio have not been paid? Any advice or help would be appreciated thanks.

I bought my boat in Florida and had to certify its removal from the state within 30 days of completion of commissioning. I did so, with a fuel dock receipt in Beaufort, NC within the deadline, but had a letter waiting for me when I got back to CT 2 weeks later, looking for payment of FL sales tax. Furthermore, CT didn't believe the purchase price (well under Blue Book) and I had to have the finance company produce a copy of the check that went to the former owner, or I would have had to pay $3K more in CT sales tax.

BTW, I had the boat registered in CT before I left FL and had it federally documented at the time of sale. Your documentation will state the home port and you will be required to update any changes on an annual basis to maintain your documented status (along with the $26 annual documentation fee, of course!)

Bottom line: You WILL be liable for FL sales tax if you plan to keep the boat in FL for any length of time. The clock will start once the boat has completed any commissioning work. I doubt your grace period is more than several weeks--certainly not 90 days.

 

[fallard]

So I found this Pearson and it is ready to sail and is being surveyed. My only concern is the boat is a federal registered vessel coast guard registered I believe. The boat is in Florida but titled in Ohio. The gentleman says it does not matter I don't need a boat title and I don't have to pay any taxes on the boat purchase price. He states that all I have to do is change the name with the coast guard and have a bill of sale. The boat will be stored in Florida. I went online and looked at the coast guard website and it states that you can't have a vessel documented in a different state in Florida for more than 90 days. The gentleman stated that you can be in Florida indefinitely. Also another question what if the taxes on the boat back in Ohio have not been paid? Any advice or help would be appreciated thanks.

I bought my boat in Florida and had to certify its removal from the state within 30 days of completion of commissioning. I did so, with a fuel dock receipt in Beaufort, NC within the deadline, but had a letter waiting for me when I got back to CT 2 weeks later, looking for payment of FL sales tax. Furthermore, CT didn't believe the purchase price (well under Blue Book) and I had to have the finance company produce a copy of the check that went to the former owner, or I would have had to pay $3K more in CT sales tax.

BTW, I had the boat registered in CT before I left FL and had it federally documented at the time of sale. Your documentation will state the home port and you will be required to update any changes on an annual basis to maintain your documented status (along with the $26 annual documentation fee, of course!)

Bottom line: You WILL be liable for FL sales tax if you plan to keep the boat in FL for any length of time. The clock will start once the boat has completed any commissioning work. I doubt your grace period is more than several weeks--certainly not 90 days.

 

[fallard]

I have not tried this on a P-35, but on other keel/cb boats I have been able to partially raise the centerboard when weather helm go to be too much. This moves the center of lateral resistance aft and slightly reduces heel, (at the price of a bit more leeway), which reduces weather helm a lot. At least on other Keel/cb boats, when combined with blading out the sails, weather helm has been reduced to a manageable level. The nice thing about a tiller is that you can also rig a 'Manila Mike' (or more properly a "Shockcord Sam") to reduce the wear and tear on the helmsman, or steering force down to a level that a windvane can manage to steer the boat.

Jeff

Catboats, with their barn door rudders and single sail are notorious for weather helm. Jeff's suggestion on raising the CB to reduce weather helm worked on catboats for the same reason he cited. It also mattered a lot when we got a new catboat sail that was flatter going to weather. Perhaps roverhi should check the condition of his sails--if that hasn't already been done.