Transporting a sailboat from east coast to west coast.

[Xthewater]

April 2014 we had our Cape Dory 31 shipped from Long Beach Ca. to Portland Or at a cost of $4500. through Gig Harbor Trucking, who's a middle man. It was a near disaster as the truck/trucker from Oklahoma did a fair bit of damage to the boat requiring repaint of hull and damage to the mast from riding up on steel cradle. Other damage to wood work. The driver was ones worse nightmare. Didn't secure boat adequately so it shifted on the trailer, bracing pads were in poor shape and scrapped the hull pealing off paint as the boat shifted around. Trailer was full of junk, bits of steel and wood bouncing around. Driver also had a heart condition requiring meds which made us most concerned from the start but mostly his attitude was grating.
We had little choice but to truck the boat as the engine was inoperable.
Bottom line beware!
There are plenty of boats on the west coast from La Paz Mexico up to Canada though the seemingly more desirable appear to be on the eastern side on the U.S. If a seaworthy one is found you can hire someone to captain(deliver) and learn the boat and gain experience at the same time for less than the cost of trucking it. Could also save a lot of money not having to repair damage.
In addition to the trucking there will also be the costs of unstepping and stepping mast, wrapping and prepping and haulout which can add another $1,000+ to the price.

[Cheechako]

I've shipped a boat up the coast from CA to WA, both times there was damage. Once to the hull, once to the mast.

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've shipped a boat up the coast from CA to WA, both times there was damage. Once to the hull, once to the mast.

Not good,,,,
Start thinking search around local area.

[petrified]

If you're going the pickup route, and they are running legal, you will pay for their hotels. If they are local to the east coast, going to the west coast can be a problem, no work back. So their cost would not be cheaper, unless you're not in a hurry and can give them the to find a load back.
I would search local, it'll be cheaper.

[Capt Sam]

The smart comments are only shop on the West coast.
I agree that shipping the 30 footer is "different" so take the shipping cost and add it to your budget for a west coast boat.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by cpt_757

Plan to purchasing a sailboat(30 ft.) early next year, but every boat I found is locating east coast or east coast Canada and I live in So Cal. I checked uShip.com and some of haulers were so cheap. I am not sure these price are reliable. Cheaper is better but...
Any suggestion about cross country trucking service please.
And if a boat's located in Canada, should I use a broker to taking care of importing paper work?
Thanks for advance.

Why on earth are you considering adding cross country cost the price if you are concerned about the cost. Put the money into a local purchase.

[CarinaPDX]

In August 2009 I shipped Carina (31', 23k#) from Lake Michigan back to Portland. It cost me about $6.5k for the trip. I arranged it directly with one of the big PNW boat transporters, who happened to have a contract at that time to deliver boats to the Great Lakes so they wanted a return load (and I was flexible about scheduling). They were very professional: on time, fussy about loading, and no damage. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The prices the OP was quoted are absurdly low; from the east coast $10k would be nearer the mark. Anyone offering less than 1/2 the professional rate are not to be trusted - they might be dishonest, but more likely they just aren't as capable. The pros use special trucks with low trays for full keels and adjustable supports, and the drivers do nothing but haul boats so know their stuff.

If the only boats that fit the OP's needs are located on the east coast then $10k for the haul home seems reasonable to me - I'd do it, but only with a specialist boat moving company. And if that is the decision, then get it done quickly: for several reasons it is best to not ship transcontinental in the winter.

Greg

[Don C L]

3 Axle Sailboat Trailer

Maybe buy a trailer like this first then start looking on the west coast (or just Cal.)

I like the suggestion about hiring a delivery skipper to move the boat AND help you get to know your boat!

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Don C L

3 Axle Sailboat Trailer

Maybe buy a trailer like this first then start looking on the west coast (or just Cal.)

I like the suggestion about hiring a delivery skipper to move the boat AND help you get to know your boat!

Bringing a 30' boat through the Panama Canal and then back up the west coast is going to be more expensive than trucking it. Just for the captains day rate figure 100nm/day at $200/day, works out to a labor rate of $2/mile. And it's a lot longer to Panama and back than across. Add in food, permits, breakage, wear and tear, the budget is going to be pretty big.

[jamhass]

FWIW:

We trucked our 40' boat from Norfolk to San Francisco in 2008 with diesel prices above 5/gal. We used a boat transporter we found on UShip. We had some rigging damage, but it was NOT the shippers fault, the rigger we used to prep the boat for shipping failed to properly secure the rod rigging. There were some annoying delays -- shipper tried to do a short haul before ours and showed up a day late for pickup, then as a result got caught in July 4 traffic restrictions and had to sit it out for 2 days ...

He was considerably less expensive than the major boat transport companies, and I checked with a number of them. A friend who is a freight forwarder/agent was not able to get me a better deal.

So, overall it was no fun, but it did get the job done.

[Mark Stillwell]

We had Jim Burt haul our B393 from Port Clinton, OH to Hannibal, MO a couple of years ago. As I recall, it's about 600 miles and the cost was about $3,700. He had a great hydraulic trailer. I think it was about $5/mile + fuel charge and launching by backing into the lake.

Great Lakes Marine Services (Port Washington, WI)

A quick Google maps shows about 2,800 miles from Annapolis to San Diego. I don't know how a trucker could do it for less than $10,000

[farm sail]

I will be the last one to tell you you're going about it wrong but without any information about the type or style of boat that you're looking for that so hard to find on the west coast it's hard to tell you how expensive or what problems you're going to run into shipping it out from the East Coast30 foot boats can range from the hobie 33 @ 4200 pounds on up and beyond the Bristol Channel cutter at fourteen thousand pounds plus empty. Not to mention dealing with the width of the boat anything over eight and a half feet legally requiring a permit in every state some states require a permit over eight feet Also if you're looking at a boat with a significant keel and any sort of cabin structure you may run into height restrictions causing more permits routing problems and possibly even the expense for temporary relocation of power lines.

I would expect somewhere around the 10,000 pound boat up to maybe 10 foot beam or so is going to be the limit for personal transportation on a boat trailer beyond that you're probably looking at needing a semi-trailer professional drivers and dedicated transport trailers The lighter boats could maybe be launched and loaded at a ramp without heavy lifting equipment the bigger boats are going to require a crane to hoist it onto a trailer stepping of the mast if its a deck stepped light weight set up you might be able to do that with a few friends If it's a big keel stepped mast there is the need of a crane again.

I have been in your shoes I was looking at 30 foot size boats all over the country ended up going with something on the west coast but I did buy a boat that came with the trailer its a moderate draft so I can if needed launch it out of ramp if the ramps deep enough at high tide with the proper technique but it is a keel stepped mast so I pretty much need a genie in a bottle or a crane to get the mast up and down. The cost of the trailer was easily compensated by what it would have cost to pay somebody to move a boat for me and I wanted to have the trailer so that I could move it around the country occasionally but not all time


If the boat I purchased had been available across the country at the same price I likely would have purchased it but I'm glad I didn't have to spend a couple extra $1,000 and a few weeks of my time to go pick it up.

Give us an idea of what you're looking for and the answers you get might be more on the money and who knows maybe somebody here knows just the boat you're looking for on the west coast

[farm sail]

Forgot to mention if you're close to San Diego you should really check out San Diego boat movers even if you don't use them they've got a lot of information on their website that might help you decide who you use and why you do it.

You don't stay in that business for 40 years unless you know what you're doing

San Diego Boat Movers - Boat Transport Service | Boat Moving

[bluewaterbill]

Check with some of the boat builders in Newprt RI (J boats) and Maine (Sabre etc) and ask who they use for transport to west coast. If you can coordinate with a west to east delivery you might be able to get a better deal so they don't have to return to the west with a load. Moving a boat isn't rocket science, but having someone who has done it before, has a proper trailer, knows that your rig isn't a telephone pole, etc. will ease your anxiety.
Good luck.

[LeeV]

We are currently shipping a 36' Corsair trimaran, folded, with 47'5" mast on top. It's costing around 9k USD, but includes ferry to Vancouver B.C., Ca., all permits to Edgewater Md., and the shipper has 1 million insurance to cover everything.

My suggestion is that you speak with the boat's broker and include finding the shipper a part of the deal. The selling broker found this shipper; it's one they often use.

Get a Customs Broker (Todd at Sanders Brokerage in Blaine Wa. was great), and let the broker recommend a documentation service that often handles deals involving over the border purchases if doing so.

All in all, a PIA, but we put the costs in the loan.

Lee