what regs/redtape for bringing a foreign built boat to US waters for liveaboard?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Squidly-Diddly, Apr 13, 2020.

  1. Rumars
    Joined: Mar 2013
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    Rumars Senior Member

    Yes, in the EU the cutoff point between recreational and commercial is defined by lenght with 24m beeing the cutoff point. Anything over is considered commercial regardless of how it is used. This applies to all EU member nations. Operating a private yacht over 24m is something else and subject to national flag regulations. You need at least a commercial deck officer patent (STCW-95) but some countries have exceptions to the training required, giving commercial endorsements to "yacht training", meaning you don't have to go to university for it. The most famous of this "commercial" tickets is the british Yachtmaster, and this regulation is one of the reasons you see so many superyachts under the Red Duster (the british MCA is also the regulatory agency for a lot of tax havens) and why the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean is so prevalent in the industry. Basicly for a fee you can make it "from zero to hero" in a few months and you are good to go as captain up to 200GT including commercial (charter) service. Other EU states have similar regulations but solely for "traditional boats" (variously defined, but usually something that is or just looks vintage) while others offer no shortcut to a propper STCW-95 training.
    From the EU perspective, the US is a unregulated paradise when it comes to licenses and import. As far as I know the only category where the US has really stringent federal regulations in place, are steamboats over a certain size or power where you need a licensed steam engineer to operate and certified boilers.
     
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  2. Ike
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    Ike Senior Member

    I had forgotten about the steamboats. Completely off my radar.
    Of course the reality is that most large yachts in the US are operated by licensed professional crews. The "owners" have so much money it is nothing to them to hire a captain and crew. They have "better" things to do with their time than go back to school to get licensed and take exams and so on. Sound cynical? I suppose it is. To them the yacht is fun to have but it's mainly a tax write off. They can list it on their corporate income tax as an expense. It becomes a place to entertain business associates and politicians. Malcolm Forbes used to bring his yacht Highlander to Washington DC every spring for about a month and hold "meetings" on board with senators and representatives and business associates. I ran past it many times on my daily run. I took a really magnificent photo of Leslie Wexners' yacht , the Limitless (96m ) in Fort Lauderdale in 2000. A magnificent yacht. Unfortunately it burned to the waterline in 2007. Last I heard he was having a new one of the same name built by Azimut but she's not as big as the original. But he's getting modern, Port and Starboard crews, that is two crews that alternate voyages.
     
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  3. jehardiman
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    jehardiman Senior Member

    IIRC in WA state not having that is up to a $20000.00/day fine. I even have to have all those things on my Catalina 22.
     

  4. Ike
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    Location: Washington

    Ike Senior Member

    However, Federal law only requires it on 26 ft and up.
     
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