Importing from the US

Hi all,
trying to get some decent info on importing a 34' CHB trawler from th US, has anyone here imported before, plan to travel over mid next year, any feedback would be appreciated

Offthehook said:

Hi all,
trying to get some decent info on importing a 34' CHB trawler from th US, has anyone here imported before, plan to travel over mid next year, any feedback would be appreciated

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How do you plan on getting it here?
Have you had a quote on price?
Have you read through the tax implications on the customs web site?

I'm just curious -- why would anyone in Australia come all the way over here to look for a trawler? Is it the range of available choices, the price, or both? Or perhaps some other reason?

jwnall said:

I'm just curious -- why would anyone in Australia come all the way over here to look for a trawler? Is it the range of available choices, the price, or both? Or perhaps some other reason?

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Aud -Usd close enough to parity
Something like this if you could find it would be $500,000 up instead of $100,000

Though they are getting cheaper and they are few and far between.

These are about as good as it gets

http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-f...011273&Silo=Stock&Vertical=Boat&Ridx=0&eapi=2

http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-f...686185&Silo=Stock&Vertical=Boat&Ridx=4&eapi=2

I do have my eye on this but it has quite a few issues

http://www.aboat.com.au/60ft-timber-converted-trawler/

"Something like this if you could find it would be $500,000 up instead of $100,000

Though they are getting cheaper and they are few and far between."

Would also be $500k if you could find it (in decent condition) in Canada. I doubt you will actually find one for $100k in the US, unless it is ready for a $400k refit.

koliver said:

Would also be $500k if you could find it (in decent condition) in Canada. I doubt you will actually find one for $100k in the US, unless it is ready for a $400k refit.

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Cough cough

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s9/54defever-offshore-pilot-house-trawler-11400.html

From what I`ve seen the US/AU price ratio is less than 5:1.
There are several brokers in Australia advertising US located boats, at an AU landed price, which appears lower than the price of a local boat.
I doubt those brokers have inspected the US boats they advertise. Buying an overseas boat, without first inspecting and surveying it, relying on the assurances of a broker who has likely not seen the boat either is, to put it nicely, unwise.
Recently some US brokers placing adverts on the boats for sale site Yachts & Boats for Sale in Australia & New Zealand | Yachthub, it seems to have ceased now.

Parmenter:

Sorry for your trouble selling a sweet looking boat. didn't realize it was a woody.

the choice would be one of the main reasons, with the $A close to parity, and the price of the boats on offer its worth considering.....yachtworld.com vs boatpoint.com.au, various CHBs in every price and configuration, worth a look just for price comparison

I sold my boat to a au and it was 28000$ to ship it there it was a 40 footer

From another thread, US to Brisbane for a 50fter

Insequent said:

My cost for shipping, cradle, port charges both ends, lashing & securing, marine surveyor was around $80k. These 'extras' are not optional even if steep, and are a significant portion of the total. Then there is duty and GST.

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Then there are the boats that are built in Oz shipped to the States and back again.

I bought my pilothouse GRP 53ft boat in USA. I would do it all again, but only if i could not find the right boat here in Aus. USA has the choice and quality if USA made and the type of boat. Tell me the last Australian made pilothouse cruiser in the 50 ft range that was made here? Riviera basically only make flybridge sports cruisers. Why does an Aussie company not make a decent pilothouse cruiser like the one i bought in USA?

When i bought mine i actually ended up doing close to a full refit. The engines are good, but basically everything has been redone or replaced. After three years of ownership where i hvae lived aboard, she is in top condition.

The question is could i have got what i wanted here in Aus? Even today, there is nothing around here which is on par with what i bought. We are going back to USA in December and going to look at a LRC Hatteras and a larger Tollycraft. We would like to move up a size which would end up being our last boat. Once again, i can not find a comparable boat here in Aus.

My boat is for sale here in Aus at a price that would be below what you could import a decent boat. We will wait and see what happens.

THere are so many moving pieces when importing a boat from USA. I highly recommend it, BUT do your homework and prepare yourself well.

Andy,
A good find. Kalinda`s hull is described as Oregon, suggesting the hull timber came from the US or Canada, yet another journey.
Oregon is a generic term here, I think of it as Douglas Fir (I`ve an old 2 height bookcase I believe is Douglas Fir).
The old Halvorsen factory at Ryde/Putney still remains, old and tired, occupied by various boat repairers. There were originally 8 parallel slipways for constructing new Halvorsens.

Hi
Maybe you already made your mind up. However, the following may assist. I imported a 40 foot boat in 2009. You will need to add cost of a cradle if she comes as deck cargo, plus 5% import duty, plus 10% GST. Also if there are refrigerators/freezers aboard you will need to purchase a refrigeration license for around $3000.
The advantage of USA purchase will be a vast array of options.
Once she arrives you will have to add a transformer to enable 240Volt shore power charging to the USA 110 Volt system.
Good Luck

ynot1500 said:

Hi
Maybe you already made your mind up. However, the following may assist. I imported a 40 foot boat in 2009. You will need to add cost of a cradle if she comes as deck cargo, plus 5% import duty, plus 10% GST. Also if there are refrigerators/freezers aboard you will need to purchase a refrigeration license for around $3000.
The advantage of USA purchase will be a vast array of options.
Once she arrives you will have to add a transformer to enable 240Volt shore power charging to the USA 110 Volt system.
Good Luck

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Ynot,
What is a refrigeration license? I know you guys are partial to your cold beer ..but a license to operate the refer?
Cheers,
HOLLYWOOD

Greetings,
Mr. H. It may be a surtax to make sure no Lucas refrigerators enter the country.

Before you import 110v 60 hz refrigeration into Australia make sure that the manufacture allows the refrigeration to be operated on 50 hertz. A step down transformer will drop the voltage from the Australian 220 v to North American 110 v but will pass through the Australian 50 hz. Many North American units will not work on 50 hertz, others will be damaged with time. Given the cost of the Australian refrigeration license if applicable it might be better to leave the refrigeration in the US and buy Australian. But then I don't know the Australian costs.

I've never heard of a refrigeration licence either, and I live here. He may be referring to the type of coolant gas in it. But I would think the US are even more tough on ozone killer gas, so would expect it would have an acceptable refrigerant gas in it. The voltage and AC frequency would be the only real issue I would think. Frigs are a bit more sensitive than most other appliances to that.

I have a refrigeration licence as part of my qualifications and it allows me to handle all HFCs.
When doing so a record must be maintained of all gas kept in cylinders and weight of gas used for system top ups ect.

If they are charging to bring friges in I would scrap them and install new units once the vessel was landed in Aus.

Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

I have a refrigeration licence as part of my qualifications and it allows me to handle all HFCs.
When doing so a record must be maintained of all gas kept in cylinders and weight of gas used for system top ups ect.

If they are charging to bring friges in I would scrap them and install new units once the vessel was landed in Aus.

Cheers
Benn

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the regs. look pretty simple to comply with, have the system evacuated prior to shipping and certified. recharge down under.
HOLLYWOOD

hollywood8118 said:

the regs. look pretty simple to comply with, have the system evacuated prior to shipping and certified. recharge down under.
HOLLYWOOD

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Expect the recharge to be expensive. According to the man from Sydney`s well respected Moorebank Refrigeration(from my memory)the new gas used is $300+ per kilo. Cost is supposed to be due to the current carbon tax. He warned me any gas used was going to cost when I had him uncouple and recouple the freezer,he retained all but a smidgen and charged nothing.

Peter B said:

I've never heard of a refrigeration licence either, and I live here. He may be referring to the type of coolant gas in it. But I would think the US are even more tough on ozone killer gas, so would expect it would have an acceptable refrigerant gas in it. The voltage and AC frequency would be the only real issue I would think. Frigs are a bit more sensitive than most other appliances to that.

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There are a couple of Australian lawyers on the Forum and perhaps they will chime in. My US legal background should not be trusted outside of the US. However, when I looked at the Australian law it appears to be designed to "encourage" an importer to have the offending gas taken out before the vehicle/device reaches Australia. Thus any recharge would be made in accordance with Australian laws which may require adapting or changing the equipment.

$3,000 AU buys a lot of refrigeration work.

Having lived with boat refrigeration back into the last century I think it is wise to have a system which fully complies with the local rules. You don't want your food to go bad a couple of years from now while you try and obtain special gases or parts.

Hi
I used a shipping broker that my company used for import/export of various products. They advised then to import any refrigerant (Gas) you require a license. I explored replacing the frig & freezer but with the associated cabinet work, the license was the way to go. The licence cost (2009) $3000, plus about $3.5 for the weight of gas.
I forgot to mention fumigation in the last message. ONLY use an AQIS approved fumigator. I didn't and had to have the boat re-fumigated upon arrival

Most US boats have Halon fire suppression systems that need to be removed before it is shipped.
Freight cost from Florida to Australia is around $1,000 per foot for boats around 45 to 55 feet. Make sure you get a shipper with a good reputation. I sold a 55 Fleming that arrived 500 miles from the original destination agreed to, good thing the buyer made arrangements not me.
Add cost of moving to the ship and preparation for shipping.