Boat Transport

So after aborting my trip and turning back home, I'm beginning to wonder if I have the patience for this long trip to FL. Maybe it's just sour grapes and because I'm in a crappy mood, but I'm finding it hard to schedule such a long trip because of family stuff, and doing it solo is pretty damn boring I remember now. [emoji16]

So today I got a quote for trucking the boat to Stuart Fl from Rockport Tx, and it was $6800.
That didn't seem too unreasonable. The quote was from Joule Yacht Transportation out of Clearwater.

Problem is, I don't know what's involved with shipping. I will have to take down the little radar mast and do something with the wires. Does the shipper normally handle the loading it on the trailer in conjunction with the travel lift operator? I guess what I'm saying is I don't want to have to make important decisions on loading the boat, routes, proper support, whatever, because I don't know anything. Need a turn key solution.

I will get more quotes and investigate more, but just wondering if this is a stupid idea. Not really the money, I realize that will seem stupid to many, but just the idea of shipping a boat. My boat height is 13'. 12' 9" beam.

Also need more ideas for shippers eventually.


Edit:
For those who don't know, I did this trip in reverse, from Lauderdale to Rockport about three years ago, most of it solo. It was a good trip, but tiring, because in my typical frantic style I did it in 10 hour days because of, again, scheduling.

cardude01 said:

So after aborting my trip and turning back home, I'm beginning to wonder if I have the patience for this long trip to FL. Maybe it's just sour grapes and because I'm in a crappy mood, but I'm finding it hard to schedule such a long trip because of family stuff, and doing it solo is pretty damn boring I remember now. [emoji16]

So today I got a quote for trucking the boat to Stuart Fl from Rockport Tx, and it was $6800.
That didn't seem too unreasonable. The quote was from Joule Yacht Transportation out of Clearwater.

Problem is, I don't know what's involved with shipping. I will have to take down the little radar mast and do something with the wires. Does the shipper normally handle the loading it on the trailer in conjunction with the travel lift operator? I guess what I'm saying is I don't want to have to make important decisions on loading the boat, routes, proper support, whatever, because I don't know anything. Need a turn key solution.

I will get more quotes and investigate more, but just wondering if this is a stupid idea. Not really the money, I realize that will seem stupid to many, but just the idea of shipping a boat. My boat height is 13'. 12' 9" beam.

Also need more ideas for shippers eventually.

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I just had a 30 ft trawler shipped from Bellingham washington, 40 mi. from the Canadian border to Biloxi, Ms. I also got a quote from Joule shipping and it was pretty high. I used Winston Trucking out of Sealy, Texas. They were absolutely great, low price, quality service. Delivered within 30 min. of the estimated arrival, communicated daily, with pictures if you want. As far as packaging her for shipping the boat yard.where she was hauled out did it all, lowering the mast and securing, stowing the lines away, securing the anchor. The trucker communicated with the yard regarding timing of loading. Give them a call and see what they can do for you. No deposit, cashier's check on delivery.

That's about a quarter of the cost to ship the Coot from Asia to the west coast of the U.S.

First step:

Turner said:

I just had a 30 ft trawler shipped from Bellingham washington, 40 mi. from the Canadian border to Biloxi, Ms. I also got a quote from Joule shipping and it was pretty high. I used Winston Trucking out of Sealy, Texas. They were absolutely great, low price, quality service. Delivered within 30 min. of the estimated arrival, communicated daily, with pictures if you want. As far as packaging her for shipping the boat yard.where she was hauled out did it all, lowering the mast and securing, stowing the lines away, securing the anchor. The trucker communicated with the yard regarding timing of loading. Give them a call and see what they can do for you. No deposit, cashier's check on delivery.

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Thanks. I will call them. Sealy is pretty close to me.

So a good boatyard that is well versed on shipping a boat seems to be very important. The last boatyard I used was pretty much a DIY yard. Very disorganized. Would not be comfortable with them.

cardude01 said:

Thanks. I will call them. Sealy is pretty close to me.

So a good boatyard that is well versed on shipping a boat seems to be very important. The last boatyard I used was pretty much a DIY yard. Very disorganized. Would not be comfortable with them.

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The folks at Winston Trucking can probably recommend a boat yard in your area. They even knew the guy driving the lift in Bellingham, Washington. That trip was 2,800 mi. Your boat being that wide will need an escort which will add to the price.

markpierce said:

That's about a quarter of the cost to ship the Coot from Asia to the west coast of the U.S.

First step:

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Sweet!

Why not a delivery captain? I've not done it but i imagine it would be way less expensive and hassle. Anyone know?

I use to do deliveries and also think you could do it for much less. No rig changes, no haul out. I'd cross the gulf in 1 shot and watch the weather. Boring trip, but in 10 days the boat would be there.

markpierce said:

That's about a quarter of the cost to ship the Coot from Asia to the west coast of the U.S.

First step:

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Is that Bangkok' Chao Praya river? Think a friend of mine lived in those condos in the background. . .

Gabe n Em said:

Why not a delivery captain? I've not done it but i imagine it would be way less expensive and hassle. Anyone know?

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To me, having someone else running my boat for 3 weeks would worry me. Seems like more to possibly go wrong (possible break downs, running aground, whatever) with that scenario than with truck transport.

You can check with others but Joule could certainly do the job well. They would tell you exactly what you need to do. On the page of the link below they have a guide and a checklist that will give you a good idea of what is involved.

Prepare your boat or yacht for moving Joule Yacht Transport.

As to shipping vs. a delivery captain, if it can be easily shipped, then the costs will be somewhat comparable by the time you add up the captain's daily charge, the captain's expenses getting to and from the boat plus meals on the trip, fuel charges and wear on the boat and engines.

A delivery capt sounds good, but what will he cost per day? Even at $500 that's $5K for a 10 day trip, plus fuel and expenses, so not a huge savings, unless I'm way off.
But try Seafarer Marine 727 595 8813, or Joule Yacht Transport (727) 573-2627, or Edward Schmidt 413-654-9727 for hauling. All have given me pretty good prices, but been awhile.

Please let us know.

I'm a delivery Captain and under most situations it's $300 a day plus expenses. I also have many owners who travel with me and use it as a vacation!

Depending on the height of your boat and the route taken, you may or may not be in for some fairly extensive work at both ends. In my case the boat, 33ft, had to be below 13'6" in height to get under a few overpasses and also needed 6 to 8" clearance on the bottom. Therefore I had to remove the flybridge helm and all controls, gauges etc., all the railings above the cabin roof, the mast etc. This was almost a full day at each end for a shipwright with me as the helper. Take this into consideration for hauling as it can easily tack on a couple boat bucks.

Seevee said:

A delivery capt sounds good, but what will he cost per day? Even at $500 that's $5K for a 10 day trip, plus fuel and expenses, so not a huge savings, unless I'm way off.
But try Seafarer Marine 727 595 8813, or Joule Yacht Transport (727) 573-2627, or Edward Schmidt 413-654-9727 for hauling. All have given me pretty good prices, but been awhile.

Please let us know.

Click to expand...

Here's a rough estimate of a delivery.

For a single captain traveling 10 hours a day, you're talking 16-17 days. Even for a captain billing rock bottom prices of $300 a day (which is less than captains I know and trust would charge), that's roughly $5,000 assuming no problems along the way. Any issues can add both repair costs and additional days. Figuring meals at $20/day plus add in cost of flight to Rockport and perhaps cost of drive home from Stuart, then add in another $800, bringing you to $5,800. Fuel would run you another $1,500 or so, depending on your burn rate. So, you're above the trucking cost before you even consider the wear on your boat and equipment. You're talking 160-170 engine hours. Just a crazy number but I'd figure the cost of those hours plus maintenance along the way to be equal to the fuel cost and for comparative purposes another $1,500. Now you're at $8,800.

Delivery captains are great but where shipping can easily be done, it is always less expensive. If I wanted to and could go along for the ride, then I'd absolutely choose water, but in your current frame of mind, I'm afraid two and a half weeks of 10 hours a day of just running would only sour you more. You need pleasant experiences on your boat.

We're all different. We would love the trip, although we'd take much longer doing it. One of the keys though is I wouldn't be doing it alone. Give me a month for the trip and give me good company along the way, I'd go water all the time. But alone and trying to rush through it like a delivery, and I'm all for putting it on a trailer and letting a boat transport handle it.

Yeah the first time I did this trip it was fun. A rush. Even though I did it mostly solo and ran too many hours per day. Didn't sight see. It was an adventure for me.

Four days into this trip and it was just boring and exhausting. I must be getting old. Lol.

cardude01 said:

Yeah the first time I did this trip it was fun. A rush. Even though I did it mostly solo and ran too many hours per day. Didn't sight see. It was an adventure for me.

Four days into this trip and it was just boring and exhausting. I must be getting old. Lol.

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You're wise to admit to yourself what you enjoy and don't. I know many people with larger boats who never travel on their boats, which I find crazy, but it's what they enjoy. If they're going to the Bahamas, they have their captain run it to Nassau and they fly over. If they're going to the Virgin Islands, captain and crew takes it, they fly in to meet it there. They like being on their boat and short day cruises, but not long trips.

I shipped an Eagle 40 from Branford Connecticut to Beaufort NC 2 years ago. Boat height was 16' +/- and beam is 14.5. I removed the flybridge and seat and got it down to around 13'. The flybridge and seat took about 1.5 hours to remove and secured the steering to salon top. I won't go into details regarding the first mover (Ballisitic Logistics, Tampa) who showed up with a glorified boat trailer and convinced the marina to give him the $2,500 deposit I had left and then stated he needed to go back to Tampa to get his other trailer. Yes, I had given him pictures, measurements, etc. Anyway, I called EBT in Florida who is a broker and they found a hauler on the road near Conn. who picked it up and delivered it to NC for $6,000.

To leave Conn. they had to have a blue light escort and escorts in front and behind. They hauled it backwards and when it arrived in Beaufort I inspected the front of the boat carefully. What was I thinking? I signed off that the boat was w/o damage and paid the driver. A couple of hours later I discovered the back rail up top had a slight bend and had been scratched severely. Maybe a 1/4" too high for an underpass. I called EBT and they asked for pictures and 2 estimates and promptly sent me a check for $750.

I was very pleased with the service and the fact that they paid for damage after I had signed off on the delivery. I would use them again and would recommend them to a friend.

Don

Working on this transport deal.

For those who transport, did you unload all your diesel? I have about 150 Gallons and would like to not have to pump it out out. Transport company said it was mainly an EPA thing?

Also, did you remove your prop? Did you remove anchor?
Tape up hatches and windows?

I also have to remove the little radar mast and hope that doesn't turn into the usual CD fiasco. Not sure how to seal up that hole that will remain, what to do with the wires, etc.

What else should I be doing? I will have to coordinate the loading with the driver and will supervise, but I sure hope they both know what they are doing because I sure don't. The yard has done it many times before they said.

I did remove my anchor. Did not pump fuel out, did not tape up windows, locked the door, did not remove the prop as it is well protected. I had no issues. Best of luck.

The broker rode from NC to CT with me to sea trial and get the boat ready to transport. At this point I was pretty much a suicide buyer so short of the boat sinking or the engine freezing up I was all in. He did manage to get the seller to come off another $7,500 due to windlass and a/c issues. We removed the structure that surrounds the upper station and stored it in the cockpit, removed the mast and placed it in the salon/pilot house, and secured the steering station (pump and hydraulic lines) with straps. Removed the bimini and secured it to upper deck, anchor came off, no tape on the windows. The boat was transported stern first with the bow lower so the windows were not exposed to flying debris. Everything on the counters and tables went on the floor or front cabin. We did not secure the cabinets and even though they are magnetic none of the doors opened in transport.
Did not empty fuel or water tanks. The transporter had a rack for the dinghy on the trailer.

I would have liked to have been there but I left it in the hands of the yard and transporter. The measurements were still close so the yard removed the VHF and GPS antennas by cutting the coax, hey we won't see this guy again.

Don

Didn't think about the rudder. Should that be secured somehow? My boat is steered via a cable system so maybe the wheel should be secured to keep the rudder from flapping back and forth in the high winds?

Wait until summer break then hire on a college student looking to make a few dollars. Could be fun!