required paperwork for ocean going?

[ron17571]

Curious what is required on a boat paperwork wise.Registration and Insurance?What else to be legal?Crew list and passports?

[SeaSpark]

You are talking ocean going here so i suppose you want to visit other countries.

The paperwork required varies country by country so you will have to make inquiries about your specific destination. On the ocean itself you do not need much paperwork but i'd take a passport.

A tip i once read about, it works best when you come from a country witch language is not widely spoken but it is a good one.

To satisfy the local officials gather as much as official looking documents (including swimming diploma) as possible and put them in a file. Make sure it is as thick as possible.

At the moment authorities ask for your documents make sure to wear your best clothes, give them the file and bow.

Again, this works best when the file is in a language they do not understand.

[MikeJohns]

Seaspark
I like the swimming diploma, perhaps you could start a bussiness issuing them in some forgotten dutch dialect :-)

Ron

In europe if sailing another EU registered boat you may be required to show competency and insurance certificates before being allowed to clear out. Liesure vessels flagged in countries outside thew EU are exempt this.

Non EU vessels only need to carry passports and ships registry papers , and you can simply write out a crew list sometimes a bonded stores list is required, again you just write it out. French Pacific territories are very easy and informal, Caribbean is very easy too but you need to very polite to some officials . Australia , NZ are relaxed. Fiji is a pain to enter/exit but simple on the documents . I have not been to the Arab countries

in Nz the NZ reg yachts require a race CAT 1 clearance, which includes such things as a certified life raft, ssb and ALL the safety gear

Anwhere you will need ships papers , but not necessarily be the owner, most places in PacifiC can be entered without insurance, in fact few cruisers have blue water insurance.
thats all plus your own forged passports!

[safewalrus]

Sea Spark has the right idea! Every qualification you ever had or can beg borrow or steal. All in nice folder and always remember when visiting the 'powers that be' clean shaven, smart clothes (possibly resembling a yotty uniform ) always impress! Take your time and look the part, worth it's weight in gold - "you have to be seen to be keen!" " ******** baffles brains every time!"

[Frosty]

A stamp-- yes a rubber stamp with the boats name on it. They love rubber stamps , and if you have your own it impresses then no end. It kind of officialises your paper work which they look at as though he had just found it stuck to his shoe .

Its not that they dont like you or any thing its just that they are scared of loosing there cushy job, consiquently the more official the paper looks the better, Big smiles.

I heard of an official who asked for a stamp in Eygypt. What no stamp?--, Tut tut said the customs man ,--you should go and visit my brother in the market now go go go, he can making very good stamps.

Bit peeved by this obvious trickery he bought a potato and carved out the ships name with a pen knife. Stamp-stamp he got through even though the stamp was in negative.

[ron17571]

Thanks for the replys,id guess that the most important papers would be the green kind!