Need info on Transport

[erobitaille]

Hello All,

Pat and I have taken the 1st steps towards retirement and placed a contract on a house on the Wye river on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay . I have 8' a MLW at our dock and we love our Ericson so much we want to move her to the East coast some time next year. Has anyone on th board had a boat shiped coast to coast? What was the cost etc.?

 

[Randy Rutledge]

move east

I just talked to the owner of the free Ericson that is on the "for sale" section of the site. I checked with a friend who ownes a trucking company and it would be about $2.00 per mile plus permits to move the 35. That is if you build the cradle and have it moved on a lowboy. I don't believe boat size is the issue as they can only move one at a time and boats are light loads for a lowboy rig.

 

[NateHanson]

A friend of mine just had his Hallberg-Rassy 41 trucked from Camden to Seattle following a three-year family voyage in the opposite direction. I was amazed that he got a shipping quote of $8000, which he accepted. It was half some of the other quotes. After all the de-rigging, loading, unloading, preparation, and associated expenses on both ends, he probably spend almost double that when all was said and done, but he frankly loves the boat, and couldn't stand to leave it behind.

Nate

 

[Guy Stevens]

It isn't the size of the load in most cases.

I had Aiki Trucked from Virginia to San Francisco for $9,500.00. The trick to getting cheaper shipping is to tell the trucking company that they can do it whenever they want to. Get the boat ready, have it ready, and then they can pick it up on a return trip and save you money as they have to come back anyway.

I would call the guys at Anderson Trucking in Canada. They were the best priced that I have found and did a great job! Including documenting that the yard in Virginia was trying to rip me off... Something that was above and beyond what they had to do, convinced me of their ethically business model though. I did let them do it on THEIR schedule, which changed about 5 times before the boat got here, but in the end I was a completely satisified customer and they beat everyones prices. When I asked about insurance they asked if the boat were valued at over a million dollars. When I said no, they said that their standard insurance was for a million, and that I didn't need to pay anything extra for it. They also said that unlike other truckers their insurance was PRIMARY insurance, and paid first, not after you tried to fight it out with your insurance company. ( I have a horror story about a Lord Nelson tug that hit a low over pass and secondary trucking insurance.)

I have also worked with Dudley which does a great job if you can get them to call you back..... Having to hound someone that you want to drop that kind of cash with seems strange to me.

And Joule trucking did a good job with my dads boat on the east coast.

Note that there are a lot of peope out there that offer yacht transport, but don't actually have any trucks. They also don't have insurance or a transport liscense. They give you a low ball quote and then try and find someone to transport it on the way back for the low price that they quote. The issues are that should something happen to your boat on the way, no one has any insurance that is responsable for it.

Guy

 

[Don Taugher]

Transporting to Maryland

Ed and Pat:
A year ago we purchased our 38-200 in Seattle and had it trucked by Dudley to Long Beach. Transport cost was $ 3000, de-commissioning was about
$ 500 (although we did everything we could to prepare the boat) and re-commissioning was more due to work we had done before launching. We went through lots of bubble wrap and shink wrap for protection. It is amazing how much can be stored under the V berths. Do not spare any cost when it comes to protecting the spar, I would advise to let an experienced yard do this work. The only casualty was the radar, it worked in the Northwest but not in Long Beach. We left the display mounted to the bulkhead, this may have resulted in too much shaking along Interstate 5! I was happy with Dudley, although they contracted with another carrier to actually move the boat. They maintained the schedule they said they would.

Have you given any thought on selling here and re-buying in the east. It seems most of the boats have shallow drafts there. It would be interesting to here comments from our fellow sailors how they feel about deep vs. shallow draft for cruising in their waters.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

Don Taugher
Running Free 38-200
Long Beach CA

 

[Lawdog]

shipping coast to coast

I purchased my E38 in Oxnard a year ago, outfitted her, then did the Newport to Ensenada Race (2004), and sailed her back up to Newport, then had Gambol Shipyard (www.gambolindustries.com) in Long Beach prep her for transport. My problem was that the 38 with 6'6" draft and freeboard and lifelines, exceeded the maximum height, so I had to take off the stanchions, lifelines, bow and stern pulpits, binnacle, and cabin-top main traveler, to get her to fit. I contracted with A-1 Boat shipping out of Texas
(www.a-1boattransport.com) and got a great deal for only $5600! to Newport, RI. Of course, prepping the boat and unpackageing was more expensive because of the extra items that needed to be done, but it allowed me to upgrade many items and areas of the boat at the same time.
Gambol took digital pictures of the entire boat when they got it, and bubble wrapped everything, so if there was any damage from shipping, etc., I could easily make a claim. I got a cd of the pics which I can email you if you would like. They were extremely professional and clean. I had no dmage whasoever. I highly recommend both Gambol and A-1.
Neal
E38 Enterprise

 

[Don Taugher]

E38 Transport

I noted that Lawdog removed stantions etc for the move. We removed the dodger only for the move from Seattle to California with about 8" to spare. The trailer used had a cut-out for the keel, I would guess that the keel was
6" or less from the pavement. Certainly different states have different height restrictions, I would suggest some reasearch into a carrier that could get your boat east without the additional work involved in removing deck hardware. When I first contacted Dudley he said the 38' wasn't a problem, they travel very well, not like a few other brands he mentioned.

Best of Luck,
Don Taugher
Running Free 38-200 # 263

 

[escapade]

more transport stuff

Another transporter to check out is Harbor & Lake Boat Transport (boattoater@aol.com 1-843-670-3144) in Goose Creek, S.C. Leroy moved our E34 w/o a scratch, was ahead of schedule, and VERY finicky on how the boat sat on HIS truck. Has a custom built trailer just for hauling boats not just a flatbed. Would recomend him w/o reservation. Best priceing would be catching him when he has a load to the West Coast. Good Luck!
Have fun & sail fast
Bud E34 "Escapade"

 

[NateHanson]

I don't think the 13' 6" height limit varies state to state. I think you need to keep it under that for any shipment. My friend with the HR41 also had to remove his windshield and binnacle, and of course the stanchions and pulpit/pushpit.

 

[Tom Metzger]

You guys are missing the point of the height clearance. It's not the laws of the many states, it's the laws of physics. It's the same as when sailing. The boat has to stay below the level of the overpasses, bridges, power and telephone cables, etc. The trucking company's trip router has to find a route that the truck can take where all of the clearances can be met. The lower the load the easier it is to find a route. Also, there are costs involved because of mileage and escort vehicles, if required.

A couple of years ago a Hunter 46 tried to move a bridge between Chicago and LK Champlain. The bridge won. It took off the sea hood and some other stuff. Not nice.

 

[Art Mullinax]

I know there are probably many reasons not to, but seems like sailing her to MD. would be a trip and adventure of a lifetime. Also would be a great way to start retirement life??
Merry Christmas to all,
Art M,

 

[NateHanson]

AMEN!

Sign me up.

 

[erobitaille]

Thanks all for the great info. I have started to contact alll the different transport companies you guys provided. I would love to sail her to the East coast but as I said this is the 1st step to retirement and at the cost of water front property on the Chesapeake we will be working for awhile yet.