Buying boat from USA with 4 partners. Any special considerations?

D

drivel

Member
Hi guys.

Well, i have finally starting the process of fulfilling my dream of owning a boat. Me n' 3 buddies are considering purchasing a boat from Washington state.

Are there any specific things i should be thinking about with respect to the process of buying, importing and registering the boat here, considering we will have 4 owners?

thanks a lot!!

see you on the water hopefully.

d
 
How much are you each investing?

Purchasing the boat from the USA should be smooth but sharing a boat with 4 parties probably not so much. If I was in on that I'd almost want a legel document outlining everyone's rights and responsibilities. Good luck you'll need it!
 
It may be a learning experience. Boats are more than a time share. Could be a little like 4 guys married to the same women.
 
If I were you I would keep it simple and only show one owner for the importing process. Go to the Canadian Border Services website and start looking for boat importation information there. They should have all of the forms and information there. You could also hire a customs broker such as Norman G Jensen or Fedex Customs Brokers for customs clearance.
 
could be a train wreck...hope not, good luck!

As for the ins and outs of the purchase, there's many threads on this site you could search.
 
make sure you do a title and lean search in the State that you bought it in.
have a copy or original of all documents , original Bill of Sale .
the boat import is actually wham bam ,and simple but the trailer brings dept motor vehicles and icbc into play.
its 10 times harder to import the trailer than the boat.
have BOS for it also and ALL papers in order , have a temporary lic to bang on it at the border or you wont be going anywhere.
otherwise , just pay the import taxes and away you go.
Good luck , your gonna need it more for all your partners in one boat than simply importing it.
 
I wouldn't say it's 10 times harder to import the trailer than the boat. I bought a boat and trailer in Oregon last fall and spent a grand total of 20 minutes at the border. Having all of the necessary documentation at the border makes the entire process very smooth.
Check out this link before you buy: http://boating.ncf.ca/buy-usa.html#jul12b
 
simple advice would be don't do it. Its all great until you all want to use it and have different plans or relatives in town you promised to take out etc. The big problem will be maintenance and repairs, who's going to do what and who's going to pay for what? What happens if one of you needs to get his money out and wants to sell? Can he sell his share to a stranger or do the others buy him out?

There's so many possible negative outcomes and potential for bad blood I wouldn't touch that scenario with a 10 foot pole.
 
One other consideration is where the boat was manufactured. If it was the U.S. or Canada, then no problem. If the boat is built in another country, then it will be subject to additional import duties that can make it very expensive.
 
MRWood said:
If I were you I would keep it simple and only show one owner for the importing process. Go to the Canadian Border Services website and start looking for boat importation information there. They should have all of the forms and information there. You could also hire a customs broker such as Norman G Jensen or Fedex Customs Brokers for customs clearance.
Click to expand...

I just brought a boat over from Washington State 2 weeks ago and everything went somewhat smoothly. I used a broker and it cost me 450$. I am glad I used one for first time doing it but I wont use one again. The commercial boarder crossing guards said it was a waist of money to use a broker as long as you do your homework and get the right documents. They said you can call them and they would help out with any questions you might have. And don't cross during a busy time of the day.Good luck with your purchase and avoid partnerships if you can because they hardly ever work out.
 
We have 2 threads within one here: 1. the idea of sharing ownership and use of a boat an 2. importing it from the States. I've done both so re #1--have an agree upon policy for repair and bills--if one person using it hits a rock because they weren't paying attention--who pays--the group or the individual. Likewise for damage caused by forgetting to check oil levels or whatever. Decide before hand and it takes the heat out of the situation. The other thing to do is to decide yearly on the market worth of your boat, just in case 1 person decides to bail you can use the most recent market value as a guide. We have successfully shared our boat (just 2 of us) for 4 years now and splitting the moorage and cost of new equipment in 2 is very nice. Re #2--importing from the States--the above comments are very pertinent--have all your paperwork in order. I would add that you should print off the online ad that includes the price of your boat to show the agent at the border if he disbelieves your smokin' hot deal price. I brought it along and sure enough, the guy expressed doubt that we bought the boat at the price we had the bill of sale for, so I showed him the listing from the net and he was happy.
 
4 men and a boat sound like a new series
seriously tough call, there will be some major fights and arguments unless your all joined at the hip.
on the importing stuff, very easy to do, have all paper work, including the original sales ad if you can (yes they will ask how you found it) bring it to the boarder pay your tax on the boat and away you go,
the trailer..... thats a little different, you'll need to do a RIV import, again easy to do just a little more involved, look here
https://www.riv.ca/Home.aspx

just went thru it all a couple weeks ago, pm me if you me any more info
Tim
 
Brought over a boat and trailer recently no broker went real smooth have all your paper work as outlined on CBS and you will have no problems.Let me know a year from now if you are all still friends.
 
Like others have said- Customs will likely scrutinize your bill of sale and may request supporting documents (online ad, email corrospondance with owner, etc.) in order to get as much tax out of you as possible. But aside from that, it's the trailer that can be the real hang up- so check out the other threads on here, the RIV site which lists types of trailers admissible/inadmissible to Canada and then get the ICBC trailer insurance binder in order.

Is it going to be used for pleasure use or commercial? If it's for a business (fishing charter or something like that) then I would suggest limiting your search to a boat 8.5 metres (~28') in length or less so that you can get in under the current 5GT limit and the associated extra regulations that come along with that.

Good luck with it.
 
I do not know of a single "partnership" in a boat that went well.. My advice? Don't do it. Otherwise, bringing a boat up from the states is a wank, just have the necessary documentation. As far as partnering, go to one of your friends wives and say "When the engine blows up, your hubby needs to come up wtih 5 grand to fix it". See what she says.

I've been around enough boats to know that sharing a boat is not worth doing. Buy a smaller boat for you rather then a big boat to share and fight over. I have yet to see a shared fishing boat go well, it's different then a cruising club.
 
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