: North American kayaks are exempt from duty as part of NAFTA. I think there
: are far more boats going the other direction. There are a number of
: dealers in B.C. who will deliver a boat across the border so they don't
: have to charge the taxes and the U.S. customs doesn't collect the duty on
: these obviously new boats. I believe the same would be true in the other
: direction.

: -- Evan

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Would this apply to individuals as well
as businesses, though? There is a limit to how much you can bring back with
you on any given trip, $750 or something. Are items like kayaks then excluded
from this limit? I dunno. Perhaps all you need to do is declare it, and go on your merry way. Anyways, having the proper papers for your boat would remove
all doubt with regard to both ownership and origin, so I don't see much downside
to having them.

In any case, practicalities aside, I now know it is required by law to get one of these things, and I have no objection (at least in principle) to following the law most of the time . I really don't want that single vessel label on
the outside of my boat, though.

I have never, ever seen a single vessel label on a kayak or canoe, either,
including monster woodstrip freighter canoes used by professional guides etc.
Of course, the chances of running into the Coast Guard in Alberta are pretty
slim. I have no idea who else would have the authority to issue a ticket if you
didn't have the label, assuming that anybody even cared.

I'm thinking I'll put on the HIN. It only has to be 1/4" high, so I think I can
live with that. The single vessel label might get misplaced or mistakenly
installed somewhere less obtrusive.

I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts from the professional Canadian
builders out there.

Calling Rod Tait ...