Is overland boat transport safe?

[Barbixy]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a '90 or newer Ericson 35 or 38 mostly turnkey, or in decent verifiable maintained condition. I've found several on the east coast. Water delivery is unrealistic. Does anyone have experience with transport companies that truck boats overland to the west coast? I'd love to find one on the west coast but I'm not getting any younger and Might wait years to find one here.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Bolo]

Without know where and to I did find this link on line. Might be a good starting point for an answer.

Boat Transport - Get Quotes and Ship Your Boat | CitizenShipper

Get instant quotes for boat transport services and book your hauling company at affordable shipping rates on CitizenShipper.

citizenshipper.com

 

[Barbixy]

Without know where and to I did find this link on line. Might be a good starting point for an answer.

Boat Transport - Get Quotes and Ship Your Boat | CitizenShipper

Get instant quotes for boat transport services and book your hauling company at affordable shipping rates on CitizenShipper.

citizenshipper.com

Thank you l, but I was asking if anyone has personal experience shipping a boat from the east coast to the west coast. I wouldn't contact the shipping companies, They're not going to tell me if they lost or damaged a boat on the way

 

[gareth harris]

I have done it more than once, but cannot recommend a current provider since it was a number of years ago.

Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972

 

[Barbixy]

I have done it more than once, but cannot recommend a current provider since it was a number of years ago.

Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972

Thank you

 

[Frank Langer]

There are a few nice but smaller boats (eg. 30 foot) for sale on the west coast that would save you the transport cost, but I don't know how flexible you are on size or price.
Frank

 

[Mark F]

Hi Barbixy, https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/boat-trucking.21726/

 

[Christian Williams]

I would find a local boat, myself. My love even of Ericsons is inversely proportional to distance.

But Bruce's report on the joys of trucking is very complete:

E32-3 - From new keys to boat-on-a-truck, in three days (part 1 of 5? looooooong)

While I worked on a fair number of just-off-the-truck boats, Way Back When, I had absolutely no experience in preparing a boat to go *onto* a truck when I started this journey. I thought I'd share what I learned, here, in case it benefits someone...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Barbixy]

Hi Barbixy, https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/boat-trucking.21726/

Thank you!

 

[Barbixy]

I would find a local boat, myself. My love even of Ericsons is inversely proportional to distance.

But Bruce's report on the joys of trucking is very complete:

E32-3 - From new keys to boat-on-a-truck, in three days (part 1 of 5? looooooong)

While I worked on a fair number of just-off-the-truck boats, Way Back When, I had absolutely no experience in preparing a boat to go *onto* a truck when I started this journey. I thought I'd share what I learned, here, in case it benefits someone...

ericsonyachts.org

I hear you, so much can happen on a truck for 3000 miles. The part where he listed the truck company's requirement to remove the spreaders and standing rigging stopped me right there. That would be a deal breaker for me. thank you for the link, it was interesting and informative. I'm used to packing expensive bikes for shipping but this is that on steroids.

 

[Barbixy]

There are a few nice but smaller boats (eg. 30 foot) for sale on the west coast that would save you the transport cost, but I don't know how flexible you are on size or price.
Frank

Thank you. I owned a Catalina 30 for three years. It was fun (I unofficially called it the sea snail) but it felt pretty small inside, so this time around I'd really like something bigger to be able to spend more time at nice destinations and learn to handle a larger boat.

 

[Jim Picerno]

I used this company to transport my previous boat from Annapolis to the Northern California back in 2020. They did a good job but not cheap. This move, at the time, was largely precipitated by issues related to the Covid Pandemic. I think you'll find that the cost of the transcontinental transport relative to the cost of the boat might make this option cost prohibitive. https://deepwatertransport.com/

 

[Loren Beach]

It's been several years/decades since we moved our new-to-us boat from Almeda up to Portland. The dollars are only relevant for comparison to time and how timing can impact the mover's bottom line. (And in turn, my bottom line.)

I was quoted about (IIRC) $2500. for a truck, solely at my schedule. Then, about $1900. for a truck that would pick up the boat within a few days of my choice, and thereby let the trucking better plant their schedule.
Back in 1994, this was 'real money' on a boat just purchased for 43K. I agreed to the lower amount and let the yard know.

Then I got a call from the boat hauler asking if the boat could be ready to move several days sooner because the trucking company had an "empty backhaul" to get a truck up from the Bay area to the Tacoma area to pick up another boat.

The yard said yes, that they could speed up their *prep work, and so the boat was delivered to Portland for $1300. Flexibility did indeed change the price a lot. I doubt that the economics of trucking will have changed too much; they really hate to dispatch that class 8 cab and trailer w/o a cargo.

*I had already prepped the boat interior and lashed down/taped everything inside for the trip, and taken the boom, pole, and radar post home via a borrowed pickup, along with a ton of gear from inside the boat. And, given them permission to buy carpet and wrap the spar, which they did. Of course this was less than 700 miles, which is way less than crossing the continent.

 

[Barbixy]

Thank you,
So am I to understand (excuse me if this is a dumb question) the mast has to be removed? What if the boat has a keel stepped mast? I'm learning a lot here but based on prior replies, I've already pretty much ruled out any kind of overland transport.

 

[Loren Beach]

Yes, the mast is removed and spreaders and rigging removed and padded and stored for travel.
Have a look at the photos in our blog entry for re-launch after it left the shop where it was painted.

O34 - Launch Day

After a delay due to a record-setting February ice storm, and another lost week in April when the trucking company changed their schedule, we were ready to move out and launch on April 14. It was a Sunny day, literally and figuratively. :) The...

ericsonyachts.org

and, going to the shop:

O34 - More Pix of the haulout

Adding some pix of the arrival and blocking. The mast is stored outside and is slated for a cleaning and waxing. Also a new combo deck/steaming light. The anchor light fixture is an early LED device and the UV has affected the lens, so it may get...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Prairie Schooner]

@Barbixy
In addition to Bruce's excellent posts, Loren's, and along with others, Dave @dhill made a nice video.

Trucking a boat

We discovered a serious issue and truck the boat to a new boatyard who can make the repair so we can use the boat this summer. The following blog provided great advice, even though my trip was much shorter. I only did a fraction of the things mentioned in the blog, but my trip was only 50...

ericsonyachts.org

Even with the mast down, trucking companies need to plan their routes very carefully to fit under bridges, etc. That said, removing the mast, standing rigging, and spreaders isn't a big deal in that some folks take their rig down every year for winter storage. Mark @mjsouleman had his taken down to transit the canals from upstate NY to NYC. It's routine, tho not for amateurs.

 

[Pete the Cat]

I have shipped boats transcontinental a couple times. Here are some warnings:
1. Find a boat hauler by recommendation (boat yard managers sometimes are good sources) that does just that and call them directly to get a quote. DO NOT go on line and enter Boat hauler in a search engine--what you will get are trucking brokers who move vehicles and they will never leave you alone --endless emails or texts--and you will not be able to talk directly to the guys picking up and delivering the boat.
2. If you have not done it before, you need to have an experienced yard remove the mast, spreaders and prepare the boat for transport.
3. As mentioned before, if you are flexible and you have a good boat yard working with you (most of the time they need to set the boat on the truck with a Travel lift) the professional boat haulers can generally do a good price. If you are going over the Rockies or Sierra range there will be a time in the winter when they will not be able to haul so you need to be patient.
4. I am not sure of the costs now, but for a 38' boat my guess is that you are looking at $15 coast to coast and some expense on each end to unrig, rerig and unload the boat. The truckers want it put on promptly when they arrive (that is why it might be good to call the yard first for the recommendation) and taken off promptly so they can move more boats.
I never had any damage at all from two moves by competent boat movers.

 

[Barbixy]

Thank you everyone!

 

[driftless]

Great Lakes Marine has trucked my boat twice a year for 5 years. They haven't taken mine far, but they do regularly move boats cross-country. Dropping or stepping a mast is routine for them. These guys do 100's of sailboats twice a year every year. If I wanted to get my boat to the ocean in a hurry I wouldn't hesitate to have them do it for me.

 

[JP in Sandusky]

I have shipped boats transcontinental a couple times. Here are some warnings:
1. Find a boat hauler by recommendation (boat yard managers sometimes are good sources) that does just that and call them directly to get a quote. DO NOT go on line and enter Boat hauler in a search engine--what you will get are trucking brokers who move vehicles and they will never leave you alone --endless emails or texts--and you will not be able to talk directly to the guys picking up and delivering the boat.
2. If you have not done it before, you need to have an experienced yard remove the mast, spreaders and prepare the boat for transport.
3. As mentioned before, if you are flexible and you have a good boat yard working with you (most of the time they need to set the boat on the truck with a Travel lift) the professional boat haulers can generally do a good price. If you are going over the Rockies or Sierra range there will be a time in the winter when they will not be able to haul so you need to be patient.
4. I am not sure of the costs now, but for a 38' boat my guess is that you are looking at $15 coast to coast and some expense on each end to unrig, rerig and unload the boat. The truckers want it put on promptly when they arrive (that is why it might be good to call the yard first for the recommendation) and taken off promptly so they can move more boats.
I never had any damage at all from two moves by competent boat movers.

Having just shipped a boat less than 300 miles.... This is spot on advice. Ask the yard that is prepping the boat AND the yard receiving the boat for recommended carriers. If the same carrier is on both yard recommendation lists....that is your #1 choice. For that distance, I would also want to be sure the transport has a side cradle for the mast/standing rigging. I wouldn't want the rig strapped to the deck for that long. Also, CALL the yards and the carriers. Do not try to do this via internet. Pick up the phone and call. The industry is still very relationship-oriented. A friendly phone call will take 45 minutes, but it will save hours and hours of frustration.

Wide load permits are required for each state of transport. In my case, we learned the permit for Vermont was going to be nearly $800. We were able to move the boat 5 miles to the state of NY and avoid that expense....as well as work with a lower cost yard based in NY.

Cost will be driven by: Flexibility of your schedule and yard schedules on each end, miles, number of states requiring a permit, miles on side roads. Our 38', with mast down, does not exceed 13' in height....but it might if your carrier did not have a side cradle for the mast. It is still a wide load, though.

Rough guess: $2-3k for the shipping yard (mast drop, prep boat, haul boat) + $2K for receiving yard (boat in water, mast step, "slack tuning") + $2k for base trucker cost + mileage/time/permits (in your case, coast to coast, that could well be $8-12k)

Range of expense, "in water" on the east to "in water" on the west: $11-$15k. Then any expenses for tuning the rig, or gear, etc.

I hope that helps. PM me if you want any details on our experience. Honestly, I was much too nervous about all it. Good yards and a good carrier will make everything easy.