My first trawler..I hope!!.

[robbie]

Hi All,

I would appreciate your input with a problem I’m going to be facing very soon, I have finally found, what I believe to be my perfect trawler, I intend to view it A.S.A.P. it will be my first large boat, the price is at the top limit of my budget and here starts the problems.

The trawler is located in NC USA, that means I will have approx 1650nm run to get her home to Newfoundland, transport by road is out of the question cost wise, and although I’m studying navigation as hard as I can, the thought of sailing her home alone gives me the screaming nightmares, I’m not foolhardy enough to attempt the journey alone, I don’t have a clue if a 30ft steel trawler tug can make a coastal passage… Oh boy I thought this would really be an exciting time but it’s turning into a whole heap of uncertainty!!!.

So how can I cruise her home?, hiring a captain could be very expensive couldn’t it?, I was thinking of asking a fishing boat skipper from NL to come with me, but what are the chances of finding someone who’s travelled up the East coast before?.

I started out really excited at the thought of owning my own boat, perfect as she is for my needs, I even stuck with what I consider to be the best advise any new buyer can have, and that came from TF, “don’t buy the biggest boat you can afford, buy the smallest that suits your needs”, but now I’m faced with the possibility that buying her will stretch my retirement budget too far due to those unforeseen extras and the logistics of just the trip home!!.

Does anyone have a rough idea of what sort of overheads I can expect to encounter when buying in the US, i.e. sales tax, any registration fees etc, and any suggestions on getting her home would be very welcome.

Here’s some specs, I estimate about 40 hrs cruise time between re-tanking that’s allowing 20% fuel reserve.

Length 30ft
Beam 10.5 ft
Single 120hp Lehman 2gph
Tank capacity 100gals
Cruise 8knts
Nav equipment full

Robbie

 

[Chrisjs]

With a 10ft beam you should be able to truck it - assuming it is not too high. Probably cheapest, easiest approach and does not put extra hours on boat. 30ft is a bit small for an offshore trip of 1,650 miles. Even assuming a trip up the ICW, through NYC and up to Canada from Cape Cod you must be looking at about 300 hours run time (6.5kt), probably over 35-45 days depending on weather etc. A captain will cost $9000-10,000, fuel will run about $2500, plus food, dockage, etc. Trucking must be less costly and certainly faster!!

 

[Tad Roberts]

You will have to pay GST when you clear customs into Canada, you may also owe PST, though you might be able to put that off. The easiest is to leave US registration in place until you get home, then apply for the Canadian License (provincial number) or Ship's Registration (Federal Name). Double check this with Canada Customs.

With Respect, if you can't afford to get the boat home, you can't afford the boat. If you run the boat north, expenses, insurance, fuel, travel, tools, spares, etc. will add up to the trucking cost. The alternative is to hire a delivery skipper and crew for him/her. Trucking the boat to Maine and then have a delivery skipper bring her home may work as well.

 

[robbie]

Hi Chris,

All good points, I estimated about 210 hours @8knts, with good weather..lol... about 21 days running 10 hours a day.

I suppose I could get a quote to truck her up to say Maine, and then cruise her up through Nova scotia and across to NL, with no border crossing and no VERY expensive ferry trip that would cut the cost significantly.

What is the cost of diesel per gallon on your side?.

Robbie

 

[robbie]

Hi Tad,

Thanks for that, crossed post there, yes trucking to Maine would be easier.

Affording the boat is not a problem, but at present I'm in the process of retireing, re-locating and selling some property so cash flow is limited, the boat I found won't be on the market for very long, so it's a matter of moving as quickly as I can to secure the boat, it's a dilema, I don't want to be rushed, but neither do I want to lose this boat.

 

[Codger2]

With Respect, if you can't afford to get the boat home, you can't afford the boat...... Trucking the boat to Maine and then have a delivery skipper bring her home may work as well.

Good advice! You probably don't want to hear it but, nevertheless, it's sound council..

 

[robbie]

Hi Walt,

But I do want to hear it, it's a great idea, but it's a bit like buying a new ferrari but not being allowed to drive it..lol.

I will start getting some estimates tomorrow.

 

[Tingum]

Ok, here is another option. Leave it in NC for the time being! This gives you time to get your business settled and time to learn the boat. Jumping on a strange boat for a long trip can be very trying (I do it for a living), something will go wrong, you can count on that. That way your boat is somewhere warm where you can play with it all year, who knows you may decide to head south rather than north. Good luck.

 

[bobsyiruncle]

I did it

I like the leaving it there option

 

[BobH]

Leaving the boat in NC for a while sounds like a good idea. Depending on where in NC, there are some nice cruising grounds off the ICW, a good way to get to know the boat. We loved the New Bern area, the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound are great protected areas to try out the boat.

We've made the trip north as far as the Canadian border in our sailboat. That part could be done single handed but would not be fun. Definitely need a reliable autopilot.

You might be able to pick up crew for sections of the trip. But I would definitely try to leave the boat for a while somewhere close to where you pick it up to get some time on it, get familiar with the systems, find out what works and what doesn't. There will be things that break or don't work to start with.

Bob

 

[robbie]

I like that idea guys thanks.

I need plenty of time just to master the electronics on this boat, It's just about state of the art, Raytheon A/P, scanning sonar, lap top interfaced to auto pilot, compass etc.

Pictures will be posted if all goes well with the purchase.

Robbie.

 

[IntervaleII]

I would suggest taking it up by water. This will be one of the best most rewarding experiences you will ever have. You may want to hire a captain for part of the way to learn the water way and boat systems. I bought my first boat which was a 40foot trawler and needed to bring it from Tampa Florida to Virginia. I hired a captain for a part of the way. I learned so much, more than I would have ever learned in such a short period of time. I did more boating in 3months than most of all the boaters in my marina did in their lifetime. Hiring the captain was the best money that I have ever spent in boating, I got so much particle learning and experience. Boating is the experience and learning, you never will get that by trucking it up to you. I have cruised the ICW probably a couple of dozen times in the last 10 years, never a problem, there are many marinas, anchorages, and places to see. I just recently took a boat from Tampa to Maryland this past December, what a great trip, take advantage of it. Who knows you may enjoy it so much you may want to cruise back south for the winter.
Enjoy the trip.
Capt. Don

 

[FF]

All good points, I estimated about 210 hours @8knts, with good weather..lol... about 21 days running 10 hours a day.

So this boat is 64 ft on the LWL?

Or your speed is optomistic , probably you will prefer to cruse 6K and lower your fuel burn by 2/3 ?

Deliver the boat yourself , there will be long stretches when you can engage the A and studdy the books for the electric toys. Plan at least 30 days .

Manual steering a compass and paper charts will do a fine job of getting you home.

The rest is fluf , nice but,,,,so what if you cant turn it on.

 

[Delia Rosa]

You will have to pay GST when you clear customs into Canada, you may also owe PST, though you might be able to put that off. The easiest is to leave US registration in place until you get home, then apply for the Canadian License (provincial number) or Ship's Registration (Federal Name). Double check this with Canada Customs.

Once you bring your boat into Canada, as a NL resident, you will be subject to NL 13% HST. Also depending on the origin of the boat, you might also be subject to an import tax of up to 9%. The tax man always wins!!

 

[Chrisjs]

Robbie:
I just checked out the charts (actually, just Mapquest!!). I figure if you really want to get your new boat up to NL with it's cold weather and high tax environment, you could look at splitting the trip into 2 parts. Bringing your boat up the ICW, through NYC and LI Sound to Cape Cod, then up to Portland, ME, should be quite practical with normal day time running. This would be "easy" part of the trip and a learning experience. The next part from Portland to the "outer reaches" looks like it involves more difficult offshore sections and would be faster and more direct across land by truck. I guess the real question is where do you intend to do your boating?? I know of several Canadians who for tax reasons and warm weather prefer to leave their vessels in the USA for longer seasonal use. For example if you register and keep boat in Rhode Island there will be no sales tax and modest annual fees. It is not a bad jumping off point to Buzzards Bay or points South.

 

[BobH]

Leaving the boat in NC for a while sounds like a good idea. Depending on where in NC, there are some nice cruising grounds off the ICW, a good way to get to know the boat. We loved the New Bern area, the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound are great protected areas to try out the boat.

We've made the trip north as far as the Canadian border in our sailboat. That part could be done single handed but would not be fun. Definitely need a reliable autopilot.

You might be able to pick up crew for sections of the trip. But I would definitely try to leave the boat for a while somewhere close to where you pick it up to get some time on it, get familiar with the systems, find out what works and what doesn't. There will be things that break or don't work to start with.

Bob

 

[robbie]

Hi All,

There seems to be several options open to me that I hadn't considered before asking you guys, my biggest problem is that I'm about to retire so I will be in whole different phase of my life, It hasn't sunk in yet that I will not have the time restraints of work, vacation time etc interfering with my life style.
My entire career has been spent in the aviation industry, it's a very hectic existence, I spent almost 20 years as a flight engineer, hundreds of countries, thousands of airports and hotels.
As you can imagine, I'm pretty good with electronics and VOR navigation having spent thousands of hours "up the pointy end", not that it helps much on the water!!

So why not bring her home myself, I don't have any time limits, apart from the weather of course, I'm alone now, with only my dogs as company, I've seen quite a few US airports but come to think of it I've never really seen anything else or had a chance to meet the people.

I'll take it slow and easy with no rush, spend a couple of weeks in NC getting to know the boat, then decide when I think I'm ready to move north, that will keep the stress to a minimum, I've already had one heart attack, so I would really like to avoid another one!! lol.

all the above comments are dully noted and very much appreciated

Robbie

 

[FlyWright]

Robbie, I think you'll find there are a lot of similarities and shared skills between flying and boating. You'll have no problem with navigation, electronics, radio communication, and will have an easy time learning your boat's electrical, hydraulic, plumbing, and propulsion systems. It's interesting to me how much in aviation has its roots in the nautical world.

I spent my career in aviation and after 39 years of flying, retired last Nov. It takes time to transition to the new pace. I've found that life is great at 8 miles per hour instead of 8 miles per minute. After 6 years of ownership, I'm now getting used to the fact that it takes 2 hrs to travel 15NM! I can now stop and smell the roses whenever the spirit moves me and take pleasure in the journey.

I hope you enjoy your transition to retirement boating as much as I'm enjoying mine. We're very blessed to be able to pursue our passions throughout our careers and into retirement. Cheers!

 

[yachtbrokerguy]

Check with the tax man in North Carolina to find out liability for sales tax. There may not be any tax due as a non resident, if you take the boat out of state within a certain period of time.
If the boat was built in the US you might not have any import duty to bring it to Canada, but if it was built in Asia or Europe you must pay duty is what I have been told.

 

[Moonstruck]

I think that sales tax on boats is capped at $1500.00 in NC. I am not aware of anything like the Florida provision for taking a boat out of state.

 

[robbie]

Thank you guys,
I will inquire where the boat was made as I have no idea, then I'll make some calls to customs and tax office.

Flywright, thanks for the good wishes, it's not going to be easy, too many pre dawns in the middle of Africa running my butt ragged trying to get airborn before the sun comes up and drops the torques below minimums for T/O, those were days...no they weren't, they sucked!!! lol.

Chrisjs,
Thanks for that info, I will be in the North East of NL, I was wondering what I would do if the boat was hauled out for close to 6 months a year, my house is in a quite bay, it does freeze over and the previous house owners told me they lost thier dock 2 years ago when a small iceburg found it's way into the bay and swept it away!, so I'll certainly give your suggestion some thought.

Robbie

Robbie