<John wrote in part: Personally, I think its too much of a hassle to avoid taxes if you are planning on staying in US waters for some period of time. You have to live like a gypsy.> Ah ha! As I look at the title of this forum I tend to think that "Passagemaking under Power" covers just this type owner/operator. One who is or is planning to be on the move in the worlds oceans. Aka a sea gypsy if you will. Other lists tend to cover those that cruise but tend to return to their home bases after the weekend, week or month cruise. Re the crew requirements of foreign nationals on US Documented yachts. This is only on merchant, commercial or boats for hire, not private yachts. Only the master needs to be a US citizen, if I recall correctly. http://tinyurl.com/2e5s9f page 6 2(a) As I just said to another listee in a private post. It can be as advantageous to document in a state that has no sales/use tax. It certainly would be cheaper if you are a citizen of the US. Most countries documentation/flagging for their own nationals is much cheaper than foreign or offshore flagging. We have many friends who flag in their own countries for rates similar to the US Documentation fees. Taxes/duties/VAT aren't due unless they bring them into "home waters". Many never do. In looking out our pilothouse window there are many "cruisers" who have been gone 10, 20 and one even 37 years roaming about on the worlds oceans. They have gone thru several boats during this time and never once have taken them "home". Paying sales/use/Vat taxes on each of them certainly wouldn't be the wisest thing to have done, IMHO. One item that can swing offshore registration is that most US insurance companies will restrict your areas of operation/coverage. Few insurance companies outside the US will insure US flagged boats as they take a caustic view towards the lawyers and lawsuit that tend to develop area Us flagged boat claims. Perhaps Al Golden, if he's on list, can comment on this. Offshore flagged boat will have many more insurance/coverage options available to them, at least from my experience. IF you need insurance then being able to purchase coverage allows you to set your destinations vs. an insurance company doing so. One last thing is that few if any finance companies will touch a non-US Flagged boat. You either have the funds to purchase it outright or it's a no go for offshore flagging. Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58

I stand corrected... I read the USCG doc and only the master in charge of a US Documented vessel has to be a US citizen, at least according to USCG rules. My information came from a couple of boat owners who had experienced problems with paid crew (not the Master) when dealing with Immigration. In one case it turned into a protracted argument about what constituted a 'guest' versus a 'paid crew'. In the second case, the foreign crewman had to pretend to be a guest during immigration clearance. That said, I haven't been able to find any on-line doc that indicates whether US Immigration treats US flagged vessels any different than Foreign flagged vessels, especially as regards foreign nationals on board, either guests or crew. Does anyone have any experience with this? John Marshall > > Re the crew requirements of foreign nationals on US Documented > yachts. This > is only on merchant, commercial or boats for hire, not private > yachts. Only > the master needs to be a US citizen, if I recall correctly. > http://tinyurl.com/2e5s9f page 6 2(a)