Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Mac26

[MacNCheese]

(Don't know the forum to post this in, Moderators feel free to move)

If anyone knows someone driving from Florida to New England that wouldn't mind towing my MacGregor 26C with them (Boat is on it's own trailer ready to tow), please let me know. I'm offering $600 (but if you need more, please contact me anyway).

Total weight of boat and trailer: (no engine & no mast): 2,700 pounds.
Boat Location: (Palm Bay in East Central Florida, South of Jacksonville)
Dates: Anytime in January 2012
Condition: Trailer in good, safe working condition

I can meet you at your New England destination and tow it the rest of the way to Boston.
Contact me on this forum or at: BryantJones(at)Gmail.com or (617) 710-7368
Thanks

 

[Brad1968]

Try uship.com if you don't get any takers here. Free to post and offers come in fairly quickly.

I've had reasonably good luck with the service in the past. One bad experience, so make sure and read individual shipper's feedback before committing.

 

[MacNCheese]

Try uship.com if you don't get any takers here. Free to post and offers come in fairly quickly.

I've had reasonably good luck with the service in the past. One bad experience, so make sure and read individual shipper's feedback before committing.

Thank you for this advice, UShip Listing created: http://www.uship.com/shipment/26-Sailboat-on-its-own-Trailer-Need-it-h/421839294/

 

[Benny17441]

Re: Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Ma

Think this trough. There are two types of accidents that could happen. A car crash where damages would be covered by the vehicle's owner insurance policy if they had adequate coverage for that incidence. The second is a trailer breakdown which would not be covered other than by a towing service to transport boat and trailer to a repair facility. Wether the vehicles owner is willing to wait for a repair or will dump your trailer at the shop and continue on is something to discuss. I calculate roughly that the difference in fuel consumption for an average pickup or SUV in trailering the boat for that distance will cost around $150-$200. I you will require adequate insurance and the driver to pay for its own fuel you may have to up your offer to find any takers. I would suggest you draw up a simple written agreement about what would be the responsibilities of each party.

 

[MacNCheese]

Think this trough. l you may have to up your offer to find any takers.

Good points and I will think it through. As you suggested, I've upped my offer to $600.

Also as you suggested, I will write a simple agreement with the person towing that they will not be held at fault for any damage to boat during transport, even if it is their fault. In the case of trailer failure or car failure, the tower may leave the boat at the nearest Marina and contact me ASAP with the Marina's info and I'll make arrangements to cover the Marina storage fees.

 

[Sumner]

Re: Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Ma

A couple things. Does the trailer have brakes? Did you just buy the boat or have you towed it before?

We drove from Florida to PA last year right before Christmas with our Suburban and left our Mac in Florida waiting our return later in the spring. I don't mind towing, but I sure was glad that we weren't towing the boat on 95 from a couple hundred miles south of DC to PA. There was a lot of traffic and not very smart traffic at times. Of course this was a weekday about 4 days before Christmas so maybe Jan. is better.

Have you considered flying down and renting a small U-Haul and pulling it back? More than $600, but also more control over the outcome for you. Good luck,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Endeavour 37[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our MacGregor S Pages[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]

 

[John Sluder]

PM me I am Melbourne just north of Palm Bay

 

[CPseudonym]

My neighbor performs this kind of service for people on the west coast. I have never heard of the downside fears mentioned in the above posts in my admittedly limited exposure to these kind of services.

If you're confident that your trailer is sound and properly maintained, there should be no trouble with the haul. The trouble with towing 20' and above boats is with inexperienced first timers towing long distances for initial delivery purposes. Hiring out is a mark of wisdom IMHO, YMMV.
~Craig

 

[Benny17441]

Re: Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Ma

If you consider the worst possible ocurrences you will never be regretful or dissapointed. We trailer over 2000 miles each year and knock on wood the only problem has been a flat tire which we quickly changed. Having the proper jack with us helped and carrying two spare tires allowed us to continue without delays. I got the idea about writting a little contract from a friend of mine who transports vehicles for a living. It does no harm to keep things clear. The trailer may be in perfect shape but if the tow vehicle drops the tranny will you be asked to share in the repairs in order to get your boat back? Unfortunately this are the times we live in.

 

[MacNCheese]

Re: Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Ma

Thank you everyone for your input on this thread. I happen to find my hauler by accident when I called MacGregor asking to order a mast. I was told I'd save a lot on shipping if I go through a dealer, and he knew of Otho at Havencraft who regularly makes the trip often from Florida to New England.

You guessed it! I also asked Otho if he'd be willing to haul my boat and he could do it for just $500 from Florida to Washington DC where I can pick it up!
Otho sounds like a nice guy and I plan to get all my MacGregor supplies from him because he helped me out.

As for the mast, he said the MacGregor masts are actually built close to me in Connecticut and then shipped to MacGregor in CA. He couldn't think of the name of the place that makes them but said I could buy one directly from them, pick it up myself and save $1000 in shipping.

Does anyone know the name of this place in Connecticut that makes our MacGregor masts?
Thanks

 

[Fred Villiard]

Re: Driving From Florida to New England? Pay U to Haul My Ma

It might be Dwyer Mast www.dwyermast.com

Fred