' Fly your vessel's flag as identification for the country where it is
presently registered-documented. If the vessel's flag country changes,
change the flag you fly.
' Expect delays in foreign clearing, if not worse, if the vessel is not
documented. If you have to travel with a non documented vessel, prepare
the way in advance of your arrival. Fax your papers to your next
destination and make sure they know you are not documented. Carry a
certified Apostille copy of your registration title.
' Getting insurance may be difficult or impossible for international
travel, if the vessel is not documented. Advise your insurance company
concerning the steps you are taking to avoid problems with the lack of
being a documented vessel.
' Buying a boat in a foreign country can be complicated and frustrating.
There are a myriad of tax, duty, insurance and documentation issues to
be dealt with. If you intend to cruise in the country where the boat is
being bought, consider chartering it under a bare-bones charter, until
you get it where you want to change its registration; this might include
taking it all the way home. The original contract having a termination
sale clause in it, where you then finalize buying it.

As usual there is more to it than just this, but this information should
help clarify the issues.

Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)

That should have been bare boat charter, not bare bones.

Apostille is a double certification where the state or country that
issues the document certifies the authenticity of the document signer.

Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)

The material I posted considers the issues in a world wide generalized
way as it not practical to cover all the possibilities in a short post.
It is true that state registered boats can be taken to nearby countries,
or for that matter even farther. But, what I posted is correct in the
technical sense and other countries can insist on it if they want.

When you hear stories of yachtsmen getting into some trouble in many
cases it is because they didn't have their paperwork technically up to
standards, even where the paperwork was not the given explanation. You
can't go wrong by having your paperwork technically correct.

State registration can take some time to verify;, days or maybe even
weeks in some countries. And, you can be held until it is verified.
There are special steps you can take to authenticate your registration
in those cases where you can't or don't want to document the boat.

I can't emphasis enough how smoothly foreign clearing can be if you have
ironclad paperwork and how ugly things can get when you don't have
everything neat and complete. The assurances of well meaning novices who
have been to one country and never had a problem with their half baked
paperwork, does not mean that you want to rely on that if you want to
cruise around the world. The horror stories almost always involve people
who were just trying to get by or had let something lapse.

Complete, thorough paperwork is very impressive to people who are the
authorities in foreign countries and who don't know you from Adam. It
will smooth your way and is the most likely way of getting them to allow
you some leeway, if you want some option that they have discretion in
granting.

That's a lot of good reasons for paying attention to the paperwork.

Mike