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Old 12-01-2015, 11:57 PM   #25
GFC
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City: Tri Cities, WA
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 4,406
Quote:
Originally Posted by smitty477 View Post
"nmuir, why was it too big? I had my 58' boat shipped from Detroit to Portland, OR."

I am curious how much it cost from Detroit to Portland and who was the trucker that handled the job? Would you recommend them?

Thank you
When I bought my boat and had it moved there were actually two moves involved. First was my new 550 from a marina on Lake St. Clair to a marina in Portland, OR. The second move was my trade (a 330 Sundancer) from Pasco, WA back to Lake St. Clair.

Total bill for both moves was $20K.

I went through a load broker in FL and would not recommend him. When I talked with him several times before hiring him he said he'd shipped 550's several times, was familiar with what they needed as far as permits, etc.

When push came to shove (AFTER we had agreed on a price and AFTER we had signed contracts for both boats to be moved) he realized a couple of things:
1. The fly bridge was too large (12'x24') to be shipped on the same trailer as the hull. This required that he buy a trailer, build a cradle for the fly bridge and have a second truck make that haul. It also required separate pilot cars for the fly bridge.
2. He based his estimate on the cost of the permits based on the dry weight of the 550. It had some fuel and a small amount of water in it but that was enough to take it from a (IIRC) Max Load to a Super Max Load. He found that out when the trucker stopped at the first weigh station before even leaving Michigan. That little mistake on his part cost him about $3,000 more for all the permits than he'd budgeted. He tried to pass that cost on to me but I reminded him that we had signed contracts.

The trucker himself "Jimmy", owner of Wave Maker Trucking did a good job. The boat sustained a minor amount of damage on the way west but his insurance covered all of it. If you Google Wave Maker Trucking LLC you'll find numerous reference to him.

If I were to ship a boat again I'd use him but I'd deal directly with him.
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1981 Boston Whaler 13'
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