Boat ownership?

No personal license is needed - only need a USCG license if you are carrying paying passengers but for pure recreation no problem.
A boating safety course is a great plan for any new boater - check with USCG Auxiliary.
Wait until you are here a while - plenty of boats available.
The type of boat you want is one that fits your needs -- a vessel that will take you to exploring the BVI is way different than one that lets you go to nearby beaches - start small and don't exceed your limits until you need more boat!
Dry storage or a trailer is the best if it is occasional use and a dock or mooring if you are using it very often.
It is great to have a boat available if you have time to use it - but you can always rent one until you decide if you want to have one to use, maintain and worry about.
The boat itself is licensed by DPNR yearly.

Have you owned a boat before?

There's a lot of upkeep that can take more time and expense than you actually spend "boating".

There's an old adage that goes something like this: The 2 best days in a boat owner's life are the day he/she gets the boat and the day he/she sells the boat.

Exit Zero's advice to rent one until you know if you really want to own one makes a good deal of sense.

In my experience I used my boat fairly often in the first few years but then usage tailed off. The reality for me was I got a bit bored "boating around the same waters and to the same destinations" every time I went out. After a while the novelty of it wore off, especially when I was spending more time getting the boat ready and then washing it down and "battening up the hatches" at the end of the trip and always making some type of repair vs actually being out on the water.

Like the example mentioned above, I has a very happy day when I sold it. Now, I just rent a boat whenever I get the urge to be out on the water. I just show up, go boating, bring it back to the dock and walk away. It costs me far less money and saves a great deal of my time to do that.

Also, you will need to check around St John, as they don't have as many options for boat moorings, etc. as St Thomas has.

It can be expensive to own a boat, especially if you know nothing about boats or boating. You have to register it, find a safe place to keep it, whether at a dock or storage rack, maintain it, etc.
If you have no boating skills, definitely take a safety class offered by USCG Auxiliary. If you're not using it all the time, it's less expensive in the long run to rent one as mentioned above. Good luck with whatever you decide.
There are certainly many for sale.

Another way to go is to make friends with someone who owns a boat. Be very helpful with the maintenance on your friend's boat and express an interest in learning more about boating. If you get lucky you can learn about boating as well as obtain local knowledge.

Courses offered by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary or the US Power Squadron are a great way to learn. If you haven't moved down yet, many community colleges also offer boating and sailing classes.

BOAT

B - Break

O - Out

A - Another

T - Thousand

CD

LOL, thanks for all of the help! We are just moving down there for a year, so we would buy a small boat to putt around in, and then sell it when we leave. Not sure where we would moor it. Still have to look into that. We are both "on the water" people from the Puget Sound (though we have never owned one), so I doubt we would get bored! Thanks for all the advice! T-minus 10 days to the big move!

Moorings are difficult to come by.
Contact DPNR Phone: (340) 774-3320
They can give you info on registering a boat, costs, and moorings.
In St. John, because it has a large National Park presence, many bays have limited days which you can anchor or moor in. There are no boat storage businesses and extremely limited docks and launch ramps.
Good luck.

I came across this:

St. John Registration Questions:
(340) 776-6262
St. Croix Registration Questions:
(340)713-4268
St. Thomas Registration Questions:
(340) 774-4268

Ok buying a boat when you arrive should be fairly easy as many boats are for sale at ay given time. It may take a little bit of effort to find one that fits your needs and budget but you could be able to find one you like.

Selling it when you leave is another matter. There are usually more boats for sale then there are buyer which is one of the main reasons I pointed out you shouldn't have too much trouble buying one (see paragraph 1 above).

So the big question is: What are you going to do if no one buys your boat when you are ready to leave the island????

You already heard the pitfalls - it's your decision.

I agree with all the cautions posted and my advice is to give it very careful thought once you settle in on St John and get to know the lay of the land. In my opinion, buying a boat when you're only planning on staying for one year just isn't sensible. You may be able to find someone who'd be up to sharing their boat - or you may find that renting even a dinghy for tootling around when you feel like it is a much better option.

Where can you rent a boat on STX?

I can't give you any specific since I don't live on STX but have you tried asking some of the "boat people" at the marinas around the island? They should be able to direct you to somebody who might rent you a boat.

Try these links:

http://www.visitusvi.com/stcroix/water_activities

http://www.gotostcroix.com/sailing-snorkeling/

Bryan's Marine rents boats on STX. Thats what the sign says on the gate.

They say two of the best days of your life are when you buy a boat and when you sell the boat. My step dad had a 22 foot trojan that we puttered around to the various Islands and loved every minute of it, especially since it wasn't mine and I had no responsibility except for keeping it clean. He listened to a friend and pulled it from the docks at Red Hook and anchored it out from Havensite and then one day a storm came a blowin and even though we had four anchors attached to the boat, it was blown into the rocks and busted to bits. So no boat no more, fortunately he had insurance on it and got most of his money back. This was back in the early 70's.

BUt if you can afford it, go for it. We had a blast.

mike

Bryan's Marine rents boats on STX. Thats what the sign says on the gate.

Thx.