Captain & Crew reqd to relocate boat in US

Hi, Have recently purchased a Navigator 53 motor yacht and may need to get it motored from Boston, Massachusetts to Palm Beach, Florida during April, to meet a ship for subsequent transport to Australia. Apparently a 7 to 10 day trip. Does anybody know of any person that would be interested in talking to me to undertake this task, professional or otherwise.
Thanks,
Phil
phil@paringapetfoods.com.au

Hello Phil- I sent you an email and am very interested in making the delivery.
Congratulations on the new boat.
Look forward to hearing from you.

Chip Estabrooks

>Boston, Massachusetts to Palm Beach, Florida during April, to meet a ship for subsequent transport to Australia. Apparently a 7 to 10 day trip.<

While the miles might suggest it would be a 10 day trip , reality is different.

Running outside there is the Gulf Stream which is running in the wrong direction , and Cape Hatteras that is usually done inside , daylight hours in the waterway.

Plan on 20 days to not be bothered by bridges that dont open for hours etc..

10 days could be done , but only i the weather Gods were smiling, and you had enough crew for 24/7 day/night operation.

1300 miles at the shortest. Actual route taken would be longer. Running day only 100 nm per day would seem to be a good pace, requiring 14 days. Weather delays could extend that. Plus I would expect a captain to want to check it out well before starting. Add in time to and from marinas, 20 days would be a good safety number. Do you know what the cruising speed of this boat is?

The time is only an issue as part of your planning and making sure it's in Palm Beach in time to make the ship. I would suggest moving as early as possible since it's going to be sitting either in Boston longer or Palm Beach earlier, so seems better to get it on down.

I would think finding a delivery team would not be difficult. I assume you're trying to hit the April 25 departure. A miss means two months so I would get someone moving it as soon as possible. There are various issues that can crop up such as problems with bridges on the Virginia Cut.

Out of curiosity I looked at some weather today. Cape Charles to NC border has Gale Warnings. Atlantic City has Gale Warnings. Most of Georgia has 4 to 5 foot seas. Now April is generally better than March but still I would provide a safety factor in my schedule. It doesn't hurt to be early. Does hurt to be late.

Quick search showed one with twins and a 16 knot cruise so with a pro crew 200 mile days are possible as is running offshore and ducking in and out because of weather/fuel.

So depending which model (did see a single)....there are many "ifs"....

New England's Leading Powerboat Dealer! Sea Ray, Boston Whaler Boats, Bayliner, Meridian Yachts - I would call up these guys, and/or Boston Yacht Sales and ask for their recommendations for Professional Delivery guys. Both operations move a lot of boats from down south up there to Boston so should have a Rolodex of Captains and crews available to do it. My guys here run 24/7 and go outside. I would wager the ship isn't going to arrive when they say it will. "Hurry up and wait" is the order of the day. The good news is that the shipping company has Captains who will take care of your boat while waiting, and load it on the ship for you. "no worries mate".
That's a nice Navigator you bought! Good for you. See folks-yet ANOTHER yacht leaving American that you will never see again. My avatar is of two I sent down there sitting behind their owners homes in Sydney. "where are all the good boats?" I'm asked...in Australia or New Zealand! lol

I've crewed as "engineer/mechanic" on east coast deliveries. The most efficient ones were a crew of three (minimum) running 24/7 outside. Hull speed at night, power up in day. There's a good arguement to run hull speed day also, depending on fuel burn rate, fuel price and crew costs. Ducking in and out to load fuel can eat near as much time as staying out there at hull speed. Easier on machinery, too.

Second that about sending boats to Kiwi and Oz. Several of our local boats have made that trip...

I too think that I would run 24/7 at hull speed offshore and only go in to fuel up. It would take about 3 stops. The one question is to go around Hatteras or take the ICW inside.

I went around Hatteras in a very capable Island Packet 485 in late May but I don't think I would do so in early April. But the ICW could be done fast in two daylight only days from Norfolk to Morehead City.

So it might be done in 10 days but I would like to have 15 to be safe.

Who wants to go with me ;-).

David

Each trip we went inside Morehead to Norfolk. Part of the reason was cheap fuel and good eats in Coinjock!!

Initially he asked "person" and assuming the singular would run day only. I do agree a crew of three running 24/7 is a more efficient delivery. We run outside most of the time but it's always dependent on conditions. If they were running much of that area today, they'd be running inside. And Hatteras right now is 9-12' seas.

I've made that run (outside) several times both directions. Most often, offshore was not a place for a power boat in April, but the weather will determine that. I'm sure there is a capable captain here that is more than qualified to make that delivery. I would guess 2 or 3 crew would also be advantageous if your considering going outside. I wish I could volunteer as it has always been a great trip.

Thanks Everybody,
I have been swamped with offers, really wonderful to see so many enthusiastic boaters willing and able to help.

No more please, more than enough competent people to choose from already.
To all of you that have responded, allow me some time to wade through everybody, I will be back in touch as soon as possible.

Thanks to all from sunny Sydney, Australia.
Phil

Wallaby Phil said:

Thanks Everybody,
I have been swamped with offers, really wonderful to see so many enthusiastic boaters willing and able to help.

No more please, more than enough competent people to choose from already.
To all of you that have responded, allow me some time to wade through everybody, I will be back in touch as soon as possible.

Thanks to all from sunny Sydney, Australia.
Phil

Click to expand...

I am currently in North Palm Beach and our weather has been pretty snotty for the past week with winds of 25 to 30 today.

Just beaware of signing with a Delivery Captain prior to knowing all the pros cons and fine print of the delivery contract.

As a licensed Captain I know many that have not received the level of service as promised, lastly you know a schedule is the worse thing that you can have especially in the spring time which is what it is here now.

Good luck

A license isn't required for delivery of a vessel unless required by your insurance company.

In fact...for many the license is hardly a qualification as we know in all operations, judgement is the most useful tool of all. Once you settle on the right person. not qualification, they will be the proper judge of what you want. The owner should determine whether it's speed, economy, etc as the priority and the captain will pick the crew, route, timetable, etc....

Lot's of people I had go through my courses were ultimately certified by the USCG that I would never recommend for a delivery.

The piece of paper was big enough for the license, not their ego.

psneeld said:

... The piece of paper was big enough for the license, not their ego.

Click to expand...

Dave

Hi Phil
When we were shipping our boat Q7 considered Baltimore, Savannah & Florida because our boat was in Hilton Head. Turned out cheaper to use Savannah because of relocation costs but we had to wait 2 months for the big boat.
If you want a holiday in the US and a deckhand I'm up for a trip from Boston to Baltimore.
Cheers
John

Hi All,
Once again, I have had many wonderful responses and now have plenty of well qualified applicants.
No more responses please.
Many thanks to all,
Phil