Importing a boat from the US into Thailand

[Ratchaburi]

I'm look to importing a boat from the US into Thailand.
Has any body any information about down side of doing this.

Here are some boats


Item specifics

Condition: Used Seller Notes: “Boat is in really good shape for its age. The generator does not produce power. It needs to be rewound.The pictures were taken last year. It definitely needs to be cleaned up again.I would guess it needs new batteries.” Year: 1989

Trailer: Not Included

Make: Sea Ray

Use: Fresh Water

Model: 300

Engine Type: Twin Inboard

Type: Cabin Cruiser

Engine Make: Mercury Engine

Length (feet): 32

Engine Model: 5.7L 350

Beam (feet): 11

Primary Fuel Type: Gas

Hull Material: Fiberglass

For Sale By: Private Seller


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Details about 1989 Sea Ray 300

1989 Sea Ray 300 Weekend





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tnewton82 (14 )

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Item Information

Item condition:
Used

“Boat is in really good shape for its age. The generator does not produce power. It needs to be ”
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Time left:
Time left: 3d 17h (Oct 05, 2014 19:56:17 PDT)


Current bid:
US $1,255.00 Approximately THB40,730.88

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[Yasojack]

Bringing Your Yacht to Thailand: the Legal Formalities - HG.org

[Ratchaburi]

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Details about 1993 Chris Craft 380 Continental

INSURANCE SALVAGE SALE - 1993 Chris Craft Continental 380





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boatdamagecom (8 )
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Item condition:
Used

“This vessel is a 1993, Chris Craft, 380 Continental located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Partially sank ”
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Time left:
Time left: 6d 07h (Oct 08, 2014 1040 PDT)


Current bid:
US $52.00 Approximately THB1,687.65

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[beerlaodrinker]

A mate of mine at work recently brought in a boat from australia to thailand , he said it was a fairly painless experience, just had to pay the taxes, he also mentioned the tax on the trailer was seperate to that of the boat, if he is onsite i can ask him any specific questions you might have or i can pm you his email

[Necron99]

^^ I think that second one is more of a submarine...

[kingwilly]

Tax on a boat used to be 270% of it's value.

not any more, thankfully.

[Ratchaburi]

^^ I think that second one is more of a submarine...

Yes but short time only, I know boats, but don't importing into Thailand.

[Ratchaburi]

[quote=kingwilly;2874289]Tax on a boat used to be 270% of it's value.

not any more, thankfully.[/quote)
Thanks KW
That bit is good to here, Im after to find freight costs freight companies who can give a idea,so can work out what you should bid on a submarine.

[Ratchaburi]

^^ I think that second one is more of a submarine...

Necron I have just started looking at ebay & a 37ft boat out off the US, went for $4,000us.
This is why I started the thread,look at the submarine $52us it 38ft

[DBell]

1993 Chris Craft Continental 380
Current bid:
US $52.00 Approximately THB1,687.65

Good to see they hold their value well.

[Yasojack]

just out of interest why you have different accounts selling boats?

[QUOTE=Ratchaburi;2874323]

Tax on a boat used to be 270% of it's value.

not any more, thankfully.[/quote)
Thanks KW
That bit is good to here, Im after to find freight costs freight companies who can give a idea,so can work out what you should bid on a submarine.

[Ratchaburi]

[quote=Yasojack;2874333]just out of interest why you have different accounts selling boats?

Tax on a boat used to be 270% of it's value.

not any more, thankfully.[/quote)
Thanks KW
That bit is good to here, Im after to find freight costs freight companies who can give a idea,so can work out what you should bid on a submarine.

Jack what are you fishing for bass.
I'm not selling, as I would like to have a boat to go fishing.

[Yasojack]

So why not just buy one in Asia?

[Ratchaburi]

Bringing Your Yacht to Thailand: the Legal Formalities - HG.org

Thanks Jack

[Yasojack]

lots of boats here no freight no tax/vat

Boats for sale Thailand, boats for sale, used boat sales, Sailing Yachts For Sale Ocean Cruiser 35 - Apollo Duck

[Ratchaburi]

So why not just buy one in Asia?

Jack I have a mould at work to build a 12 metre river boat.
But look what the OP has asked, thanks

[Ratchaburi]

lots of boats here no freight no tax/vat

Boats for sale Thailand, boats for sale, used boat sales, Sailing Yachts For Sale Ocean Cruiser 35 - Apollo Duck

Jack look at the price tag, sorry mate not what I have ask for.

[Yasojack]

just asking a simple question why bring a boat over when in the link there are many boats and other websites that sell boats.

you mentioned nothing about a mould in the OP, doesn't make sense to bring a boat in and go to all the extra expense.

[Necron99]

just asking a simple question why bring a boat over when in the link there are many boats and other websites that sell boats.

you mentioned nothing about a mould in the OP, doesn't make sense to bring a boat in and go to all the extra expense.

Because he is looking at distressed sales in the US.
Insurance jobs, pennies on the dollar.

[Ratchaburi]

just asking a simple question why bring a boat over when in the link there are many boats and other websites that sell boats.

you mentioned nothing about a mould in the OP, doesn't make sense to bring a boat in and go to all the extra expense.

Because he is looking at distressed sales in the US.
Insurance jobs, pennies on the dollar.

Yes I am looking at some that are donated, insurance , maybe I have a buget to do this, but don't have the buget to build or buy a over price boat.
I built my first boat when I was 17 years old, but that not my question.

[Roobarb]

I looked at doing exactly this some years back - more idle dreaming than anything too serious as that was when the duties were 270%.

Where I came seriously unstuck was on the freight side of things. If the boat won't fit into a shipping container then it gets expensive quite fast. Assuming you keep the overall length below 40 feet then the main issue is beam (width). I think anything over 7 feet wide won't go through the container doors, so it needs to either go on a flat rack container and stick out a bit on each side, or as break bulk (on a cargo ship, not a container ship). Realistically this means that you'll struggle to get a cabin boat much over 20 feet long into a standard container. This is a pic of a 20 or so foot boat in a container:



This is a bigger boat on a 40' flat rack:



If it goes on a flat rack then you are basically charged for the lost space that the shipment takes up. If it is over-width then that will be two extra containers of lost space, one on each side. If it is also over-height (which most 25' plus motorboats will be) then it would be another three container's of space above the three that you are already taking up.

Example of the shipping line's 'lost space':



Now the thing also needs to be loaded/offloaded and the container lines don't like this too much as they schedule quick turnarounds at ports which they can do because most of their cargo is in 20 or 40 foot containers. A boat of less than 40 feet on a 40 foot flatrack shouldn't be too much of a problem to load/offload (see the second picture above) but the emphasis is on 'shouldn't'. I suspect that the shipping lines terminal handling fees will be relatively high.

The other option is break bulk, where it goes on a general cargo ship, normally as deck cargo.

Breakbulk:



You are very likely to need to provide a cradle for it to travel in if you go breakbulk - i'm not sure if you can use a trailer, which you can on a flatrack. As I understand it for boats over 40 feet break bulk is the only realistic way to go, under that and you can look at container cargo. Of the two methods going on a container ship is probably the cheapest but realistically if you find a shipping line who wants the cargo they'll respond with a rate, if it sounds like an enormous hassle then they won't bother.

About ten or so years ago I shopped around some US companies that advertised themselves as boat transporters and asked for rates for shipping a 38 foot motorboat from the US to either Singapore or Klong Toey/Laemchabang. The few prices I got back were all about the US$ 20k mark up to the port of arrival. Local port handling fees etc were not included. From what I remember Singapore was both easier and cheaper than Thailand to ship to so if you do buy something that still floats then look at getting it offloaded and serviced there before running it up to Thailand.

As mentioned the import duties were the bit that really put me off, not so much on the value of the boat (I was assuming I could blag a relatively low customs value when it arrived on the basis that it was a sort of hull only salvage job) but that duties were also charged in the cost of the freight too...

I wish I could remember where I went for the freight quotes, but it was a long time back and that truly is lost in the mists of time. There should be some US forwarders who advertise their services on the net.

I didn't know that duties on boats had been dropped in Thailand. Amazing the things we learn on TD. Keep us informed as to your progress on this Ratch, I'd be interested to know how you get on.

[Ratchaburi]

Roobarb Thank mate this have help me alot.
I will keep this going as you have given me some idea's.

[Capex]

Not too sure whether I should respond to this one as the OP has the usual newbie view of boats. Anyhow, here goes (tin hat on!)
Firstly, the boats that you are looking at are OLD. That means that they may contain problem within their structures relating to age.
Second, they are fitted with fresh water gasoline engines that will dissolve like a Disprin in seawater.
Thirdly, they will all have 12 volt - 110 volt electrics. Try getting 110 volt parts and spare in this country.
Finally (here endeth the lesson!!) once you get it here, all the parts and materials you need to repair the boat, will have to be purchased at full retail value including VAT and import duties etc. This makes it an expensive repair job.
Regarding importing the boat, there are company's such as Peters and May that have regular sailings between both east and west coast of the US to Asia. (Google is your friend).
The person to arrange Thai registration and importation (7% VAT is all thats payable.)is a lady named Ta. Email: the yachts at hotmail dot com

[Loy Toy]

My mate brought in a 52ft boat and he had it moored in Boat Lagoon in Phuket.

Every now and then he had to take the boat out of Thai Waters and apply for a new visa for it.

Don't ask me what type of visa and how often he had to do it but I remember him saying it was a pain in the arse and he ended up taking it to Langkawi.

He told me the import duty was too high and he ended up buying a 72ft boat out of Thailand called The Lady M from the M150 energy drink family.

[Capex]

My mate brought in a 52ft boat and he had it moored in Boat Lagoon in Phuket.

Every now and then he had to take the boat out of Thai Waters and apply for a new visa for it.

Don't ask me what type of visa and how often he had to do it but I remember him saying it was a pain in the arse and he ended up taking it to Langkawi.

He told me the import duty was too high and he ended up buying a 72ft boat out of Thailand called The Lady M from the M150 energy drink family.

There is no import duty. Only 7% VAT is payable (plus the other costs that Customs come up with but using an agent generally mitigates some of that).
To register a boat in Thailand that already has a registration from another jurisdiction, an application must be made to the National Communications authority, listing and describing (usually photo's) of all communications and radar equipment on board. This usually takes about a week for approval. The boat can then return to Thailand and be registered in the normal way. Takes a bit of time but thats the agents problem.
Your friend obviously wanted a 72 ft boat.