importing a boat from the u.s

[andrew738]

hey guys im wanting to import a boat from the u.s and was wondering if anyone could give me some help with all the details ?.. importers , surveyors and so on also what sizes should i stick to with the boats and trailers i was wanting to get a large boat.
cheers.

[chocolatemoose]

this old chestnut ;)

loooots of advice will spill through here
but i guess my first peice of advice would be to look at the local market. see what boats are already for sale second hand here. if you can snap one up it would be a lot less headache than importing

there are so many american boats in australia now post GFC and minning boom money and people realising they bit off more than they can chew that some good boats to be snapped up locally already

any idea of type of boat you are after? budget etc?

[Ausgradi]

http://www.portseamarine.com.au/
Talk to Justin. He knows his stuff and No one could beat his prices when I used him last year for our Striper.
Service was sensational and he saved me dollars that others told me I needed to spend.
Worth a chat with him.

Good Luck!

[Apollo]

Andrew

Do a search of this website on the key words 'importing boat US', get a nice bottle of wine, sit back and start reading. There are plenty of really good threads on this site about the same subject including a couple I did about the whole process.

Best of luck
Steve

[ozynorts]

As chocolatemoose suggests check out the ones already here, and then compare the same boat in the US.
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=12974648&Silo=Stock&Vertical=Boat&Ridx=1&eapi=2
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2012-Seaswirl-2301-WA-101802153
Get one of the importers to quote you on the boat you want and see if it is worth the cost. Just my opinion.

[tropicrows]

Andrew

Do a search of this website on the key words 'importing boat US', get a nice bottle of wine, sit back and start reading. There are plenty of really good threads on this site about the same subject including a couple I did about the whole process.

Best of luck
Steve

Totally agree with Steve, do a search on here, i'm part way thru the process so I will reserve my comments until I have completed the process.

[Muddy Toes]

http://www.portseamarine.com.au/
Talk to Justin. He knows his stuff and No one could beat his prices when I used him last year for our Striper.
Service was sensational and he saved me dollars that others told me I needed to spend.
Worth a chat with him.

Good Luck!

Things must have changed a lot since I imported........Portsea were by far the dearest I enquired with.

[fisho64]

Things must have changed a lot since I imported........Portsea were by far the dearest I enquired with.

Where did you get to with it then?
As some of the quotes I received didnt seem to cover quite a few of the fees so "looked" cheaper
Portsea's covered everything on mine other than if a quarantine clean was required. Also got a refund at the end as it was less than the size quoted

[andrew738]

well i had my heart set on a big centre console but now im thinking i would like something with a cab, i dont really have a budget but from what i have been looking at probably around 20k before shipping and taxes.
I have watched the local boat market for a long time and i used to work for stillwater doing all their fitouts on their boats and the price difference is huge ... i realise there are probably alot of lemons for sale over there but i will use a surveyor or even fly there myself if needed.

[Muddy Toes]

Where did you get to with it then?
As some of the quotes I received didnt seem to cover quite a few of the fees so "looked" cheaper
Portsea's covered everything on mine other than if a quarantine clean was required. Also got a refund at the end as it was less than the size quoted

My story is on here somewhere if anyone wants info on my import.

I used a company called Watercraft Mix to import my 24ft boat. Cost $6,500 to bring in inside a 40ft container or my other option with them was Ro/Ro for a couple of grand more. However I've heard some rumors of their not so customer friendly service of late so I probably wouldn't use them again even though my experience with them was flawless.

Moral of the story is that if you've got a bit of time and a bit of savvy about yourself you can save a lot of money by contacting people over in the states to get inspections, cleaning, transport, trailers built bla bla bla instead of paying a premium here for other people to organise it for you. Isn't that the reason why we all import these boats? To save a bit of coin so we can pay our own holiday houses off instead off other peoples?

I did a lot of research before I brought my boat over, both here and in the U.S and Portsea came in very expensive with their transport prices and also with their trailers. I'm not bagging them or anything but they were over double the amount in their prices of transport and their trailers, money I couldn't justify paying when there are so many U.S based companies that can do it for far cheaper.

No doubt Justin or one of his family will come on here now as they seem to do when their name is mentioned but that was just my experience in importing a boat.

Good luck with it all. For what it's worth I bought my boat from Marine Connection in Florida......can't sing their praises enough as some others on here will also testify.

[Ausgradi]

Hi Muddy,
Ours couldnt come in a container as it was to big.
For RORO we found him the best priced at the time, But your right that may have changed, shipping charges and customs change daily.

Its all about research!!!!!!

[Muddy Toes]

Out of interest mate........what did you bring over?

[Ausgradi]

Hi , 2004 Seaswirl 2601 WA Hardtop. Got it from Lake Lanier near Atlanta.
Its an awesome sea machine.
Was a private sale from a One owner. Found it on ' The Hull Truth'.

Cheers

[wave dancer]

Biggest standard 40ft container is 9ft 6 inches high and 90 inches wide at the doors, unless you use an open top. If you are using a container best way is a shared container as you only pay per cubic metre and all associated import cost such as quarantine inspection, custom clearance etc. Do your homework and research however BECAREFULL. I have seen threads on here where people have recommended companies at the start of the process and have turned into absolute nightmares.

Cheers Mick

[LoungeLizard]

well i had my heart set on a big centre console but now im thinking i would like something with a cab, i dont really have a budget but from what i have been looking at probably around 20k before shipping and taxes.
I have watched the local boat market for a long time and i used to work for stillwater doing all their fitouts on their boats and the price difference is huge ... i realise there are probably alot of lemons for sale over there but i will use a surveyor or even fly there myself if needed.

Since the economy has picked up a bit in the US prices have gone up a lot, or maybe it's just because the Ozzies have been buying all the Yank boats? Anyhoo, $20K won't get you much now. Maybe an older 21-23 footer with a 2-stroke on the back, unless you want to go for the "budget" brands. It's still cheaper than buying a similar locally built boat but the risk/reward ratio is a lot worse than before. My 2c

[wave dancer]

Hi Ausgradi,

Nice rig mate, I am currently looking at the 2901. Its an 06 model which ticks all the right boxes. A bit of comfort for the misses and weekends away but also as you know an awesome sea and fishing machine. Still shopping around but hard to go past. :thumbup: ;)

Cheers Mick. :beer:

[ozynorts]

Just a couple to get the confusion started.:)
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006-Seaswirl-STRIPER-101880448
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2001-Seaswirl-2300-354254
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2005-Sea-Fox-23-101924371
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2007-Sea-Fox-216-Walk-Around-101959988
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2004-Trophy-2302-102000517
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2005-Robalo-R225-355951
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2003-Pro-Line-25-Walkaround-356128
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2002-Cobia-250-Walk-Around-101817444
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2004-COBIA-BOATS-210-Walk-Around-102019529

[chocolatemoose]

they sure love skid trailers in the US. there's enough old rotted skids pilling up at work to start a new Forrest

[mustang5]

Ausgradi, I brought the same boat over with portsea. May I ask how long shipping took and was it picked up from east or west coast?

I found I paid a bit more with portsea but they were a little easier to deal with than who I've used in the past. So it's always A trade off.

However the shipping time ended up being 3 times the duration quoted which is why I ask how long it took yours?

[portsea]

Ausgradi, I brought the same boat over with portsea. May I ask how long shipping took and was it picked up from east or west coast?

I found I paid a bit more with portsea but they were a little easier to deal with than who I've used in the past. So it's always A trade off.

However the shipping time ended up being 3 times the duration quoted which is why I ask how long it took yours?

Hi Mustang
I will have to check back on this one for you, however I think from memory when we first quoted you it was for a boat out of the east coast and then your west coast boat came along.
Between picking up the next ship and the longer shipping times from the west coast I would suggest this was your reason for the extra delay.

Anyone looking to ship a boat quickly should focus there search on the east coast as shipping will generally be 30 days on water.

Apart from the delay in your boat getting here, I hope we provided you a great service.

Justin Harris
Portsea Marine

[Ausgradi]

Hey Mustang. Our ship went the long way. I think it was 9 weeks from memory. Only a week longer. But Im more than happy with that.
It left from Jacksonville on the east coast.
Justin even had the boat transported from the inland lakes to Jacksonville for us.
His service was incredible. He took the worry out of it all.

how long did yours take? Did you get a trailer with it? a legal one?

Cheers

[mustang5]

Justin, happy with the service don't get me wrong, I was simply trying to justify the same point you made, it's chalk and cheese in shipping times and cost from west coast compared to east.

Ausgradi, the boat I found actually had everything legal with regards to trailer other than lighting.

I think shipping time was around the 11 week mark however this included a lot of interstate and transfers similar to yourself.

My last boat which was purchased from the east coast was cheaper shipping and took 5 weeks. So you have to weigh up location.

[Ausgradi]

Yeah location was def something we considered, and we just happened to stumble upon the perfect boat that was near enough east coast.We had the same luck with trailers. It was on a legal alloy bunk trailer, had to change the lights and add a break system , which Justin supplied.

Hows the boat going?

[mustang5]

Boats going great mate, put 200 hours on it since December. Hasn't given me one bit of grief touch wood.

Did however rip the bowsprit out with a stuck anchor. More operator error and wrong anchor selection issue by the captain than the boat itself lol!

Running only the 225 can be tough at times but does the job. Get about 37knts flat chat and cruise a good 24-26kts. About a litre per km economy. Changes the motor height which made a world of difference.

What power you running and what figures are you getting?