Robert,
You can bring your boat to Belize, but you’ll need to obtain a license to captain it in Belizean waters. If you obtain the QRP retirement status before you bring your boat then you’ll won’t be charged duty on your boat. But you’d need work with the BTB/QRP manager to get that worked out ahead of time. Here are several links that are helpful. The first one provides the Belize requirements. The second is a blog written by an expat who actually went through the process. It’s very helpful. The third is a back and forth on the Belize Forum, discussing what’s involved.
http://www.firstworldrefugee.com/so-you-want-to-get-your-captains-license/
http://www.portauthority.bz/index.php?section=11
http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=246090
I was able to find all of these by Googling “bring boat to belize get license”. Fortunately we have active forums here, and bloggers. So you can usually find this type of info by entering it in a search engine.
Boats often run aground our here where we live, near the reef and the cayes. The water inside of the reef is shallow in many areas, especially during low tide. So many boat owners use a local captain when sailing or boating around the cayes, until they get to know the waters in the area well. Every year there is at least one or two cruisers or sailboats that end up grounded on the reef. There’s a fine for doing damage to the reef…Near the cayes the boats need to be shallow draft. Catamarans are very popular, as are shallow draft motor boats, out on the cayes. Placencia is where the water is deeper and there are deeper docks and larger boats.
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