Boat Transport

[PapaGolf]

Greetings,

I'm looking at buying a boat in Mexico (Baja), and considering shipping it to Virginia.
Does anyone have any intelligence on the subject?
Thank you!

[Jammer]

Probably not worth it. Think in terms of $3 a mile, maybe more depending on the size of the boat. There is usually a certain amount of inevitable damage with overland hauls that long. You would likely want to have a delivery captain sail it to California and have it hauled from there to avoid having to use two carriers and transferring it from one trailer to another at the border -- no USA trucker can go more than around 50 or 100 miles into Mexico and no Mexican trucker can go more than around 50 or 100 miles into the USA.

[Tsuru]

I’ve never shipped a boat from Baja but looked into it. The article below is a pretty good review. I called a trucking company, who said they do it regularly.
Insurance while trucking in Mexico is questionable but I’ve never personally heard of a disaster. I do think that you can expect some type of damage (scratches and such). The article below is dated but still seems relevant.
https://www.latitude38.com/features/truckin.htm
In every case people sail and haul at the Northern end of the Sea of Cortez. $3 per foot sounds about right, but it varies with fuel costs. You also need to add in the yard costs on both sides. The stick and everything on deck needs to be removed and stored. Most of the damage stories that I’ve heard are related to items stored on or near the hull. Masts or booms rubbing, heavy gizmos shifting below. Items moved by customs so they could inspect your boat and not re-stored properly.
We also looked into shipping (over water) our boat to Victoria from La Paz. This for us is the simplest but pricey. Everything stays in place, they haul and drop it in the water at the other end. I don’t think (but don’t know) this option is available on the East coast.
Good luck,
Ray