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Apollo
18-02-2012, 12:37 PM
I have been requested by a few members to post this up. This is a bit lengthy, but so was the process.
Part1
Having gone through the process of recently buying a boat to bring back from the US, I thought it was worth sharing a few thoughts with you about how I went about it, what I did right and wrong, what challenges I faced, who I used, what were the costs and what was the end result.
The comments and thoughts below are base from my experience and isn't meant to be a how to do it the best way report, but rather a how I did it report.

The research:
Knowing I was after a glass cente/side console fishing boat that I could use in creeks, dams, the bay/straits and on a good day, poke out the front, I set myself a size of 17-19' and motor range of 90-115hp four stroke. When trolling through the different US websites for boats, I found that their market is frightenly big with many different brands/models that I have never had experience with or in some case heard of, so the first challenge was to start classifying these brands as to quality, options and performance. Google is a great tool, but I came across a US website www.thehulltruth.com (http://www.thehulltruth.com/). These boys (read a hell of a lot of members) have an opinion on everything and a lot of knowledge. They also don't pull too many punches, so are a great source of information as to where a brand is any good in build quality, ride, historical issues, manufacturer history, motor performance, etc, etc. I did a lot of reading and once I started to narrow it down a bit, I asked a few questions which were answered with many opinions, including differing. It is worth Pming a few of the members who you feel have sound knowledge (real (ownership or plenty of times aboard) instead of 'I saw one once') and they are usually happier to elaborate further privately. A couple of other cultural differences is the size of boats we travel offshore in and how far we travel offshore. When describing my intended use in a question, they pretty much thought I was a manic wanting to travel offshore in a 17-19' boat. They are use to using much bigger boats (24'+) to do the same, but if you keep asking, you will find a few that already do the same there in similar size boats and can give you good feedback as to how they cope with that intended use. Also, they love the ponies (who doesn't), so will often urge you to go the max hp.The US have different (wider) trailering width rules than here and also a much more relaxed attitude to trailering weights, etc. In the words of one broker 'if it rolls down the road here, it is legal' Do your research on these as a lot of their boats are too wide to trail here or need a permit to do so. Also they have a lot of boats that within our limits but sit on very wide trailers meaning modifications would be difficult.

Several of the US boats are also sold new here through importers/dealers and have local reports done on them. Brands like Scout, Hewes, KeyWest, Triumph, etc.

Once I had it down to two or three options, I started the search for a boat.

The search:
With either a Scout 175 Sportfish or KeyWest 176 BayReef as the main target with several other possibilities, the search was on. Both these boat have good reputations over in the US with some strengths and weaknesses when compared to each other. The Key West was very well regarded by a lot of the yank owners and also by those that use them a fair bit. The scout was perceived as being a great boat but of recent had some issues, so the older ones were regarded better, but have an issue of taking water through the scuppers when fitted with a big four stroke. Both are consider very safe boats and have fully foam positive floatation. Both can be bought here new from Australian reps and the reports from those here that have them indicate they they handle our conditons very well and ride exceptionally well in comparison to most local boats.
For searching, the internet is a great bit of kit. I used google a bit, but found two sites that churned out a lot of boats. One was 'search tempest' and the other was 'boat trader'. The first gave predominatley private boats and the later broker/dealer boats. You can try US ebay and a few others as well. I also found a couple of sites from dealers that were given positive reviews from members on thehulltruth, so these were searched as well. Getting information in general from the yank sellers was frustrating at times. Some were great, but they must have a different email culture to us for a majority. In general expect 20% of your emails to be answered and only 20% of the questions asked in your email to answered. The amount of times, I would ask a dozen questions about the boat and motors in an email, only to get a response 'Thanks for your enquiry, the boat is in great condition and checks out. If you have any further questions please contact XYZ'. Anyway, I kept bashing away gaining extra information on boats to either shortlist them or rule them out. One trick that is worth mentioning here that certainly increased the response rate was to NOT mention in your opening emails that you were from Australia as the thought of scammers or dealing with the export process certainly turned some of the people off. The brokers/dealers that are use to selling boats to Australia are much better at replying to emails. A few people suggested just ringing them, which I did in some circumstances, but found it frustrating to ring at an approriate time to continually get an answering service, so stuck to emails first to weed my way through the possibles then a call to for a probable. Yamahas certainly take the loin's share of the market there and a majority of boats sported one (2s or 4s). A lot of boats that seems like a good deal initally fell by the wayside once questions were asked and extra photos supplied. Some things I found to watch out for is the amount of trailered boats that are kept in the water during summer and wrapped away for winter. This lead to boats with very little hours on them, but also trailer sized boats that had antifoul paint applied to the hull (they refer to it as bottom paint). When considering the trailer under the boat, I found some would be an very easy modification to get it registered here with the main items being adding brakes (few of theirs do have brakes), change of and addition of lights and the coupling changed from their 2" to our 50mm. Where the trailer mod was not that practical, then there are numerous manufacturers there that build Aust spec trailers in gal or aluminium for a lot less than here, but getting one built/moded here from a favourite manufacturer would be reasonable option and sell the existing trailer there and bring your boat back in a cradle. If you end up buying through a broker, then often they will trade in the existing one and replace it with a new Aust spec one with compliance VIN plate. Now a word of warning - remember the above mentioned 'if it rolls down the road, it is legal' attitude, well this applies to their trailer capacities as well. I had the issue where the trailer that was to go under my boat was questionably within limit and even using their optimistic weight calculations put it right on the limit as this 'close enough' attitude would be fine there but no so here. Put it down to a cultural difference, but definitely something to be mindful of when checking the existing or new trailer of any boat you are to bring back. There are rules, procedures and fees to bring a trailer into Australia. A search on the internet will revell the process, but this must be done earlier to get the permit. Alternatively the shipper/broker may organise this on your behalf.

Apollo
18-02-2012, 12:39 PM
Part 2

Shipping costs vary a fair bit depending on the size of your boat, where it is located, from which port you will ship from and how it will be shipped (container, RORO, etc). I found Ian at Import-a-boat very helpful. Ian is based at Grafton and certainly knows his stuff. There are several other very reputable firms operating from Australia that either ship boats for you or will act as a broker to handle seller negotiations, shipping and customs/port details. Alternatively many of the US dealers/brokers will offer shipping as a part of their quote, but be aware that irrespective of who you use, ensure all costs are included (eg interUS transport, packing, fumigating, cleaning, port fees (here and there), customs, shipping, insurance, etc). Shipping is cheaper from US the west coast, but the range of boats for the type I was looking for was considerably greater and cheaper in the South East US area (FL, SC, NC) and this made up for the extra shipping cost by being able to choose from a greater amount of options. Road freight in the US can be expensive and so proximity to the port of dispatch can bear significantly on the overall shipping price. Another option for moving your boat from the seller to the port of sail, is to use Uship. Get on to their website to check it out, but basically you give the details of the boat, town it is to be picked up form and where it is to go, some timing and transport businesses bid on the job to transport your boat. Some of these costs can be much lower than quoted by your shipper as it can be done as a back load. You can use it to get a cost to bring it all the way back here, but I am unsure how good that is.
Although I found a few private sellers that were ok to deal with, I ended up going through a dealer that sells 'certified' boats and exports a fair few to Australia. They were recommended through thehulltruth and bring containers of boats to Australia regularly. Their name was Rogue Motion and I note that they will be setting up an Australian dealership here to bring boats over and sell them here as well. There may have been a slightly cheaper option but I found them very complete with their service and answered my continual questions. The price given to me was for everything including Australian port fees, so all I have to do was rock up at Brisbane Port with the ute and they hand over my boat, trailer and title to head off to get it registered. Yeap, they looked after everything including, import permits, port and customs dealings here in Australia. Despite the boat being certified, I still got third party checks down on the boat/motor for my own piece of mind. These checks only turned up a sticking themostat which was fixed. I have no issues whatsoever of recommending people contacting Marcus Taylor at Rogue Motion if they are looking at buying a boat for the US. He/they were extremely good with their service and thoroughness.

My search took many hours and a quiet a few early morning phone calls and happened over about six months, but that is partial because I ask lots of questions and am picky.

With regards to money transfers to the seller, I used OzForex as they gave much better exchange rates than the banks and no fees. They were very easy to deal with and the daily market reports were ideal for trying to time the transfers to the best exchange rates. My exchanges had rates of between US$1.04-1.07 for our A$, with the bigger ones being at the better rate - a bonus.

My advice with the search is to asks lots of questions (phone, email, etc) and if necessary request lots of photos from the angles you want them taken. If they aren't willing to do so, then consider why not! It is a real leap of faith to cough up considerable coin on a boat you haven't seen or touched or ridden in. You need to be comfortable first.

For what it worth, below is a break down of costs:
Boat - US $14466
Trailer - US $3124
Shipping - US $2911
Aust Port fees A$1490
GST - A$1950
TOTAL - A$23000 approx hooked up to my ute at Brisbane port

Add the HDSs and some other bits to make it what I want and it cost me $26k ish

There is still rego (trailer and boat) to go on this plus safety gear.
There is a boat advertised in Australia that is the same model but a year older and with an ETEC for mid forties, so I believe I have done well and the work has been worth it.

So there it is. An interesting experience and for me I got a boat that I probably couldn't justify buying locally. It isn't for everyone and there are plenty of great aussie built boats here if you prefer to go that path.

If you have any questions then please ask but bear in mind that my experience is based on what I did to bring one boat back, so don't take my opinion as the only option or even the best one - as always do your research to make the decision you will be happy with.

The boat as delivered (in seven weeks)and before the bow and console HDSs are installed is:
2007 KeyWest 176 BayReef (17'6")
Yamaha F115 four stroke with 138hrs and SS prop (41kts)
New aluminium Aust spec trailer
New Bennett M80 trim tabs, new bimini, new ICOM vhf, new batteries
Lowrance sounder/GPS LMS522
80lb Minnkota bowmount with new Ipilot
2 Livewells, deck washdown
2 Coolers
Swimstep

Steve

Jarrah Jack
18-02-2012, 01:18 PM
Thats a brilliant summary Apollo, the most helpful I've read anywhere. I looked at US boats when I was looking for a boat recently but cuddy cabs are rare over there. Your final costs are not much different to what I paid for my 520 sig ( 25.5k) that I mentioned on another thread. The motor was the same year and mdl as yours with 27 hours as the owner had a few health problems. The trailer near new as well so it makes a similar comparison. I'm still spending money on it though, but don't we always..........:)

Good luck with the new boat when it finally arrives.

Sheik
18-02-2012, 01:48 PM
Thanks Steve, that's a great summary, as Jack says. Must have taken you nearly as long to write that as it did to get the boat over! Very much appreciated that you took the time.
regards jim

bluefin59
18-02-2012, 03:30 PM
Great info that gives a man something more to think about .. Matt

Apollo
18-02-2012, 03:52 PM
Thanks Steve, that's a great summary, as Jack says. Must have taken you nearly as long to write that as it did to get the boat over! Very much appreciated that you took the time.
regards jim

Yeah it took some time, but I wanted to cover as much of the process I went through to give enough of a starting point for others to work from when thinking about. Thanks.


Thats a brilliant summary Apollo, the most helpful I've read anywhere. I looked at US boats when I was looking for a boat recently but cuddy cabs are rare over there. Your final costs are not much different to what I paid for my 520 sig ( 25.5k) that I mentioned on another thread. The motor was the same year and mdl as yours with 27 hours as the owner had a few health problems. The trailer near new as well so it makes a similar comparison. I'm still spending money on it though, but don't we always..........:)

Good luck with the new boat when it finally arrives.

Thanks Jack. I hadn't seen a full report done before, hence doing one. You are right that cuddies and half cabs aren't as popular there, but centre consoles and walk arounds are in plague proportion. Also glass is much great proportion of boats than aluminium which is probably the opposite of here. You should be arrested for getting that boat of yours at that price - a steal!;) As I said, there are plenty of great boats here and some good options for certain types of boats, but for the type of boat I wanted, there aren't many options here.


Great info that gives a man something more to think about .. Matt

Thanks Matt. My freighting cost were quiet cheap due the boat coming across in a container with another boat and a motor, but I got quotes of $5-6k to bring it back solo. I was also lucky in that the boat was shipped from the same port it came from so internal US freight costs weren't an issue.

Steve

bar raider
18-02-2012, 06:07 PM
fantastic looking boat!!!

I've been "dreaming" of something similar for yonks and looked at the 485sf but not at its price, i always came back to sticking with my old trusty runabout.

but you've got me thinking.

Captain Seaweed
18-02-2012, 06:55 PM
great read Steve and I cant wait to see you out and about, I would be excited. Are there any sites your would recommend to import a 30-40 ft boat? The white rhino will be going for a model that lives in the water I feel.

Cheers
Marty

This is the best article I have ever read in regards to importing, top job mate

Apollo
18-02-2012, 07:18 PM
Thanks guys

Marty, the challenge will be to work out which of the squillions of 30-40 footers will suit your intended needs and which of the crop over there are well regarded and which are crap. My suggestion would be to go onto thehulltruth and ask that question giving your intended use. If you ever reckon this site can get interesting with opposing points of view, well let just say that being a moderator there would be interesting. There are also several owner review sites there, but most will LOVE their boats. Once you are comfortable with a model or two or three, get onto say boat trader and start looking. Alternatively, you can get a broker or dealer to hunt you down one. At one stage, rogue motion offered to do this for me and organise inspections, transport and shipping on my behalf. There are several operator in Australia that will provide the same service. If you were to buy a boat, I would consider someone like Ian at Import a boat or (Justin, I think) Portsea Marine in Vic to organise the shipping aspect.

There are alot more bigger boats there than little boats, so you would have some choices to wade through. The also love their ponies, so expect some rippers.

The most important thing to remember is that when you get the boat here, is to remember your friends - MATE!!!

Steve

TheSaint
18-02-2012, 07:20 PM
Great thread Apollo & great insight to what needs to be done to bring a US boat in. It's something would like to do in the future as the boats here just aren't setup the way i like them or don't have big enough hp rating..

Lucky_Phill
18-02-2012, 07:30 PM
great read Steve and I cant wait to see you out and about, I would be excited. Are there any sites your would recommend to import a 30-40 ft boat? The white rhino will be going for a model that lives in the water I feel.

Cheers
Marty

This is the best article I have ever read in regards to importing, top job mate

You will note the " Boating Chat " sponsor on the front page of this section.

Leisure Imports do the whole box and dice, if you want to go down that track.

cheers LP.

And Steve.... thanks for the indepth submission. Now, about that barra farm ???????????????


Phill

Apollo
18-02-2012, 08:42 PM
Thanks guys

Marty just did a quick check on boat trader for 30-40' power boats in the $1=$200k range and it only came back with 12000 boats for sale. Sorry!

Captain Seaweed
19-02-2012, 10:31 AM
Thanks guys

Marty, the challenge will be to work out which of the squillions of 30-40 footers will suit your intended needs and which of the crop over there are well regarded and which are crap. My suggestion would be to go onto thehulltruth and ask that question giving your intended use. If you ever reckon this site can get interesting with opposing points of view, well let just say that being a moderator there would be interesting. There are also several owner review sites there, but most will LOVE their boats. Once you are comfortable with a model or two or three, get onto say boat trader and start looking. Alternatively, you can get a broker or dealer to hunt you down one. At one stage, rogue motion offered to do this for me and organise inspections, transport and shipping on my behalf. There are several operator in Australia that will provide the same service. If you were to buy a boat, I would consider someone like Ian at Import a boat or (Justin, I think) Portsea Marine in Vic to organise the shipping aspect.

There are alot more bigger boats there than little boats, so you would have some choices to wade through. The also love their ponies, so expect some rippers.

The most important thing to remember is that when you get the boat here, is to remember your friends - MATE!!!

Steve

Steve I would never forget you mate, thanks for the info!

Apollo
19-02-2012, 10:34 AM
You will note the " Boating Chat " sponsor on the front page of this section.

Leisure Imports do the whole box and dice, if you want to go down that track.

cheers LP.

And Steve.... thanks for the indepth submission. Now, about that barra farm ???????????????


Phill

Phil

You are right and I have heard some good reports for Leisure Imports, so they would be a good option here.

Re the barra place, you would want to be very quick. Send me a message or call if you are keen.

Steve

MTAQ/BTAQ
20-02-2012, 07:26 AM
i am interested in buying a similar vessel but in commercial survey (2D) - i will have to do some homework and see what i can come up with.

Has anyone done anything like this but for a commercial vessel - do they have similar survey standards and would MSQ pass this vessel?

Apollo
20-02-2012, 07:55 AM
i am interested in buying a similar vessel but in commercial survey (2D) - i will have to do some homework and see what i can come up with.

Has anyone done anything like this but for a commercial vessel - do they have similar survey standards and would MSQ pass this vessel?

A few of the guides use US boats for their businesses, so I am sure it is possible. They are all positive floatation.

snapperdan
21-02-2012, 06:35 AM
i am interested in buying a similar vessel but in commercial survey (2D) - i will have to do some homework and see what i can come up with.

Has anyone done anything like this but for a commercial vessel - do they have similar survey standards and would MSQ pass this vessel?


I think if you look at the new survey rules if it has a ce rating (europe) which many us made boats now have it can be put in survey, there are a few contenders in charter service in oz.

Same goes for bigger boats there are vikings and cabos in service here.

top_deck69
24-02-2012, 07:07 PM
Hi Apollo,

When it arrived in Aus, did you have to put the trailer back together yourself or is that included in the port fees??

Also other than the trailer import permit was there anything else that needed to be organised?

Cheers
Ben

Apollo
28-02-2012, 09:45 PM
Hi Apollo,

When it arrived in Aus, did you have to put the trailer back together yourself or is that included in the port fees??

Also other than the trailer import permit was there anything else that needed to be organised?

Cheers
Ben

Ben, it is still halfway across the pacific, so I can only answer your questions based on this.

The trailer will be put back together for me by the unpackers and this is included in the costs I have paid but has been arranged by the shipping agent/dealer I used. I have opted for the deal, where they are responsible for putting through customs, etc and I rock up with the ute on the right day, hook it up and head off to get it registered.

The dealer also organised all paperwork including the permit to import the trailer as they send quiet a few boats to Australia.

Steve

3rd degree
29-02-2012, 10:47 PM
Thanks Appollp, great read and insight into the process.

Cheers
Jim

top_deck69
02-03-2012, 02:57 PM
Thanks Apollo,

hope your boat turns up in good nick

Refugee
28-05-2012, 04:47 PM
Hi Appollo,
Great read mate. Did the boat arrive on time and on budget? Looking at this for my next one too.

Beatsworkin2
28-05-2012, 05:34 PM
U obviously haven't been down south not to many ally boats there all glass and rigs u can only dream of

Beatsworkin2
28-05-2012, 05:47 PM
Sorry last state was for. Apollo not good with computers but a trip down there will blow ur mind fished snapper comps down there quite an amazing sight to see the money put into some of these boats one ally boat per 100 and hundreds do get put in the water first time I seen gave me a chill

Apollo
28-05-2012, 06:37 PM
Hi Appollo,
Great read mate. Did the boat arrive on time and on budget? Looking at this for my next one too.

Yes on budget, but there were some issues with the trailer that drew the time out. I have done a seperate post 'The US boat -the final saga' so do a search for that in the boating section.

Steve

Smithy
28-05-2012, 06:54 PM
Paul Dolan the Hervey Bay guide is taking delivery of a Key West so that is a good endorsement and to answer MTAQ/BTAQ is must be possible. You have Jason Wilhelm, Rob Wood and a couple of other guys with Skeeters in survey on the dams, Lindsay Dobe with a Nitro and Motty is getting a new bass boat in survey at the moment so they are out there.