Yacht Transport Question

[dwiggl]

I am considering moving my Californian 45 (Aft Cabin) from the Chesapeake to North Florida.
Time off from "the job" gives me limited personal time so I am considering trucking her down VS piloting down the ICW.

First: Having an overall height of 20' from the waterline; does that mean pulling the Arch/electronics/flybridge off the boat? That would translate to a non-starter.
Second: Given good weather, how much time should I allocate if piloting (the ICW)? Having never navigated south of the Chesapeake, I think it reasonable that 10-12 knots would be a max safe speed.

Obviously not enough thought has been put to this adventure but reaching out to all you captains is a good place to start.
Thanks, Don

 

[LovetoBoat]

This spring I went from Key West to Northern NJ in 11 Days - I averaged about 145 miles a day. I am 17 feet air draft. I think you can knock off 5 days given the distances - 3 days from KW to northern FL and 2 days from Chesapeake to NJ. I am 16 knots max and there are no wake zones in the ICW.

I cannot help you with the trucking part - but I can tell you it would have been less expensive for me to truck than to pilot - I wanted the experience.
Good Luck either way.

 

[Leatherneck]

Actually I have to disagree. There are numerous wake zones along the ICW. Not to mention courtesy slow downs for fishermen and slow passes with other vessels. Last year I traveled from Daytona Beach to Southern Maryland and it took 10 days with good weather the entire way and one day for some minor repairs. Subtract one day for the Daytona Beach to Fernandina Beach leg. Of course there are also waits at some bridges and you have to slow down while passing under the 60 or so bridges which have wake zones. When in the clear I ran at about 10 mph. Hope this helps your planning.

 

[Comodave]

They will have to remove at least the arch and anything up near it. They may, likely, have to remove the flybridge. Or else they will probably have to take a route that may double the travel distance. It will be expensive and when it is put back together pretty much count on leaks and electrical problems. Friend had his bridge removed for trucking and spent a couple of years tracking leaks and electrical problems. Run the boat on it’s bottom, you will be glad in the long run. Even if you have to split the trip into a couple of legs and go home in between.

 

[tiltrider1]

A boat that size is probably best moved on its own bottom. I would think it would be easy to find a Licensed Captain to make the move for you.

 

[DavidM]

There is no way you can move a 20' height boat by truck. You need to keep the overall height below 13'.

Ten days will work if you can go outside and fast. Figure 14 days if weather keeps you inside on the ICW.

David

 

[Comodave]

Actually most states the height is 13’6”. But he said the height above the waterline was 20’. So add in the draft of at least 3’ and now you have 23’ plus the trailer height. Not going to happen without serious disassembly. You can go overheight but it adds many miles of extra travel, but you can’t go 10’ overheight.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Up here max height is 14 feet. I had my arch cut down to my measure, the transporter measured it to 13 feet 7 inches, pfiou was happy not to have messed the measurements

Edited note: Height is one thing but don't forget beam. Mine has a almost 11 feet beam (10 feet 8 inches if I remember well), on the road beam is limited. In my case it was narrow enough to just require flashing lights on the truck but more than that would have required a car in front and one in the back to warn about oversized shipment.

L

 

[Comodave]

Over size in width is much easier to go than overheight. Over 12’ beam you usually have to have a chase vehicle and over 14’ you usually have to have a lead vehicle also. And that adds to the cost. Then time restrictions kick in which means shorter days. Then you are restricted to a designated route to avoid construction areas. And on and on. All of which adds to the cost. Run the boat on it’s bottom.

 

[kwmeyer13]

Based on what would need to be done to ready the boat for trucking plus possibly having to have a cradle built I think you would be better off in the water. Perhaps you can move a few days at a time and or hire someone to finish out the trip. My wife and I did Saint Petersburg Fla. to Freeport N.Y. In 14 days when we got our Mainship. We did about 8 hours a day. 11 days on the IWC and 3 outside. Based on that I would might take 10 via the IWC from where you are but ymmv.

 

[Rufus]

Our 440 Ocean Alexander was 15'4" on the trailer. Lead pole truck all the way from Austin, Texas to Green Bay. The pole truck is visible at the left of the last photo. Two and a half days enroute.

Removed arch, venturi, radar, upper helm, compass, seats, sunroof and repackaged as depicted below. The dink went on a cradle at the forward end of the trailer. Took me about a week to disassemble mostly by myself. A couple yard guys with a huge forklift helped with the arch and sunroof removal. Reversed the process at the other end. Pretty painless exercise. (No way on earth would I opt to have the entire flybridge removed).

 

[ranger58sb]

I am considering moving my Californian 45 (Aft Cabin) from the Chesapeake to North Florida.
Time off from "the job" gives me limited personal time so I am considering trucking her down VS piloting down the ICW.

Second: Given good weather, how much time should I allocate if piloting (the ICW)? Having never navigated south of the Chesapeake, I think it reasonable that 10-12 knots would be a max safe speed.

We just came up to Annapolis from Ft. Myers. 1124 NM, 18 days underway (plus 2 lay days for thunderstorms), 108 engine hours. "North Florida" (Jacksonville?) would be considerably shorter, and would have been at least 5 days shorter for us. (A few years ago we stayed in Ortega Landing for the winter; great place.)

There are many areas where 20+ kts are OK. Then there are also many no wake zones, speed limited zones... plus other boat traffic to consider. We averaged about 10 kts, but our actual speeds at any given time were all over the map.

Consider moving the boat in a series of hops -- from airport place to airport place, maybe 4-5 days at a time if you can manage that... and even then, maybe try to actually do some sight-seeing in some of the stop towns along the way.

Don't know where you are on the Chesapeake, but if you're near here somewhere I'd be happy to kibitz more about it if that would help.

-Chris

 

[Propnut]

You can find experienced captains like myself that would move the boat for free. You pay for fuel and dockage and my wife and I get a free cruise. Just another option.

 

[Hippocampus]

Have done the ditch and outside. Have a very strong preference for outside. Can run 24/7. Wouldn’t run in the ditch in the dark for all the tea in China. That alone more than doubles the time. Going south might use the ditch to get you to Oriental but would do the rest as long hops outside. There’s usually a counter current inside the stream you can use at times. With thoughtful navigation it can often improve your vmg significantly. Even at displacement speeds would take less time and wear and tear on you and the boat imho. Concerns would be range and comfort. What’s your range? Are you stabilized? Is running nearshore with an eye toward weather windows something you’re comfortable with ? Wouldn’t much worry about where airports are. You can always get a ride to one if necessary. But would designate bail out points along your way. Would believe 3 day forecasts. At present think there’s few errors 3 days out, 5 days is 50/50 and 7 days a crapshoot. Still, you can cover a lot to ground in 3 days and even with a rented satphone you can get weather along the way. We found you even get intermittent cellphone service as you pass coastal towns.
I have a “get her done” outlook on things. Defer to Chris as his choice is quite reasonable as well.

 

[mvweebles]

Another vote for running outside for same reasons Hippocampus suggests. My full displacement Willard 36 will only do more than 7.5 if the slings on a travel lift break. I have a few 500 nm runs in 3 days my boat, dozens on other boats when I was delivering (none east coast though). But i confess, I just love multi-day runs. There is no greater break from civilization than being offshore on your own boat.

As Hippocampus suggests, trick is having bailout options. The perfect weather window rarely happens, so you have to accept some slop in the forecast. If weather deteriorates faster than expected, you bail. Otherwise, you secure everything that can rattle or get loose and get used to the motion of the boat.

Trucking a boat that size sounds like a nightmare. Especially along the crowded traffic corridor of the east coast.

Peter.

 

[Alisske]

Just a thought. Why not “split the baby” so to speak?

Hire a captain, let the captain plan it etc….. and just go for part of the trip. Or even parts of the trip. You will get to know the boat a bit better. Maybe pick up a tip or two from the captain, and have a nice time. Maybe 2 three day weekends to “book end” the trip.

Could be the best (or worst) of both worlds, lol.

In any case, good luck.

 

[wrm95]

Have made trip before, on a 45' Californian MY. Both inside, and ICW are good, weather permitting. Outside jumps are best south of Beaufort NC. Have been both ways, always letting sea conditions make that decision. 45' Californian not great with seas greater than 3-4 ft. Recent retired glad to help. Would avoid truck transport

 

[timb7734]

I have trucked boats twice, once from Ohio to Florida and once from the Chesapeake to Florida. I wouldn’t do it again as it requires a super permit IN EACH STATE for over height and width, thus limiting the hours in a day travel is allowed, strict routing determined by the state authorities and severe fines for any cheating on the hours or routes. May very well take as long to truck as to go on the boats bottom.

I am a bit older now than when I saw a need to truck my boat, but I regretted not going slower and taking my time, stopping along the way in the Carolinas, Savannah, Charleston and the like. So much I had to go back and do it over, hahaha.


That’s what I recommend, do it yourself, stop along the way, leave the boat for a few days or a week and then resume the trip. Also take the advice to combine traveling outside when it makes sense

 

[jimfrens]

Chesapeake Bay to N Florida could be 4-5 days if good weather running outside, 10 days or more if you have to wait for storms to pass. Maybe less so for an ICW trip.

I'm a captain and will get it done for you at minimum cost. PM me or phone/text for details. Join me for all or part of the trip.

Don't even think about a truck.

Jim