imports

[jackeen]

A chap i know is looking to import a boat from the good old US of A.

Oviously this will not be CE marked. Is there any issue on not having a CE stamp from an insurance point of view and for re-selling it when he realises how much fuel it will drink.


paul

[danny]

Well. i'm very curious what you Uk guys will say about this.
It doesn't make any difference here in Holland.

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by danny

Well. i'm very curious what you Uk guys will say about this.
It doesn't make any difference here in Holland.

It should do - EU law and all that - or are the dutch too sensible to implement these stupid laws???

[Mollers]

This import lark is becomming quite popular. I seriously looked into buying a 30ft Searay hard boat from the states a couple of years ago when the £/$ exchange was good. By the time I'd added shipping, vat,import duty and getting it from Southampton to Cornwall, It was hardly worth it. That was without a trip out there to see what I was buying.I ended up buying one in Port Solent, ran it for two years and sold it for 2K more than I paid. Apparently the bargains are in Germany or Sweden at the moment.

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by jackeen

Oviously this will not be CE marked. Is there any issue on not having a CE stamp from an insurance point of view

Yes, not only will the lack of RCD/CE approval affect insurance, it will be illegal to use the boat in the EU.

See Trading Standards the penalities are quite heavy

'Failure to comply with any of the requirements could lead to a criminal prosecution with a maximum fine of £5,000 and/or 3 months in prison. The enforcement authorities in all EU member states also have powers to remove non-compliant craft from the market and apply for their destruction.'

[hard1]

A lot of products in the US carry their equivalent UL (?) mark, and many for export carry a CE mark also. I don't know whether their US equivs are acceptable here though - it's been a long time since I imported anything more technical than software.

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by hard1

A lot of products in the US carry their equivalent UL (?) mark,

UL (Underwriters Laboratory) is not much more than a fire certificate, a product can be UL approved & all it means is that it will not burst into flames after it has electrocuted you or sunk. Been there, done it & wasted weeks at UL in Chicago.

All consumer products used in the EU must be CE approved, but depending upon the type of product it will have been approved to the relevant specification.

For boats this means that it has met the requirements of the Recreational Craft Directive

and many for export carry a CE mark also.

They have to, or the importer has to obtain the approval.

I don't know whether their US equivs are acceptable here though

There are not any direct equivalents to RCD, but even if there were, they would carry no weight in the EU.

[Stuart M]

Originally Posted by Nick Thompson

Yes, not only will the lack of RCD/CE approval affect insurance, it will be illegal to use the boat in the EU.

See Trading Standards the penalities are quite heavy

'Failure to comply with any of the requirements could lead to a criminal prosecution with a maximum fine of £5,000 and/or 3 months in prison. The enforcement authorities in all EU member states also have powers to remove non-compliant craft from the market and apply for their destruction.'

So you can't use a boat that's ok for the yanks in the EU, but can go to sea without flares, a radio, lifejackets or any experience - hummm good old EU

[Rogue Wave]

there is a guy on the hamble that brings secondhand boats in from Miami and sells em here, he sells about 5 a year, I'll dig his number out and you can ask him.

I think he is called Solent Marine, and he has a shop on the Pontoons Warsash near the Harbourmasters office ish

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by Stuart M

So you can't use a boat that's ok for the yanks in the EU, but can go to sea without flares, a radio, lifejackets or any experience - hummm good old EU

Yep, most, if not all approval systems are in fact trade barriers, with UL being about the worst.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

...... there is a guy on the hamble that brings secondhand boats in from Miami and sells em here, I think he is called Solent Marine, .......

Oops, I hope he's legit or you're not going to be his favourite...

[jellis]

I imported my boat from Canada, but got Zodiac to get it certified before it left after I discovered the problems of not doing so.

My understanding is that there is nothing to stop you importing the boat for your own use and selling it on in the same way. What you (and any subsequent purchaser) will not be abole to do is use it for any commercial use or take any payng passangers.

I think you will also find it much more difficult to get insurance and also much more difficult to sell unless you find a dumb purchaser or sell it at a serious discount.

Good luck

Jon

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by jellis

My understanding is that there is nothing to stop you importing the boat for your own use and selling it on in the same way.

Sorry, you are wrong, see my earlier message.

[Rodan]

It isn't that difficult. RCD does not need to cost you £££ to sort out - there are a couple of people who do this more reasonably. I see plenty of these come in and there are some real bargains - if you know what you are looking for. As always in the USA (if that is where you are buying) be careful with what you are buying as there seems to be no such thing as after sales...

[jackeen]

thank you guys for the imput so far


so legally your not suposed to use it or sell it with out CE mark regardless of private or business use.

So all boats have to be approved is that correct.

what bugs me is how can it be imported without it. Are the import documents "subject to CE approval" or something like that ???

He has only been asked to pay vat and duty and noone has mentioned CE

is there a cut off date i.e the boat built before XXX. I would think that old UK boats would not have it either

ta

Paul

[jackeen]

Originally Posted by Rodan

RCD does not need to cost you £££ to sort out

Rodan

would you have any suggestions for me

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by jackeen

so legally your not suposed to use it or sell it with out CE mark regardless of private or business use.

Yes

So all boats have to be approved is that correct.

Yes

what bugs me is how can it be imported without it. Are the import documents "subject to CE approval" or something like that ???

No, after it's imported it's up to the user to get it approved before use.

He has only been asked to pay vat and duty and noone has mentioned CE

They wouldn't would they VAT & Duty are payable to Customs upon importation, it's Trading Standards who enforce the RCD

is there a cut off date i.e the boat built before XXX. I would think that old UK boats would not have it either

The boat has to have been in USE in the EU before 16 June 1998 to be exempt

[jackeen]

Nick,

much appreciate your time .

clear now

ta very very much

paul (giver of bad news to mate)

[Nick Thompson]

Originally Posted by jackeen

much appreciate your time .

clear now

You're welcome, there has been nothing on the TV this evening

I spent probably the most frustrating 5 years of my life getting approvals on electrical systems so knew where to go when I was looking to import a new boat a couple of years ago.

I worked out that, assuming there was no work involved in meeting the RCD, I would have saved less than £2,000 on a £30,000 boat, which considering the loss of warranty just wasn't worth it.

One other thing to consider is that most American trailers are not road legal in Europe.