Boat Shipping,experiences and costs

[Paul Aubrecht]

I am thinking of buying a new 356 but I know that in a couple of years,I will have to relocate.That means shipping the boat somewhere else because I am landlocked.I am looking for any input from people who have shipped boats this size or larger,what their experience was like and what kind of costs they incurred.I appreciate any info.ThanksPaul

 

[Dan Hawryschuk, S/V Floridays]

Shipping your boat

About 5 years ago I shipped my H34 from Lake Ontario to Charleston, SC. The cost of physically moving the boat was only $2400. The cost to prepare the boat for shipping would have been astronomical if the yards at boat ends had done more than unstepping and then restepping the mast. If you are going to transport long distances than you should remove all standing rigging. This is time consuming, which translates into large yard bills. On the Hunter if you have an arch that will also have be removed, and it's a real pain. If you have the time and inclination your cost of moving can be managed. I moved my 42' from Florida to the Chesapeake. She went on her own bottom, Offshore and Intracoastal. That was the most cost effective method. A professional captain is generally a good bargain. If you go along for the ride you'll also learn something. Good luck.

 

[Jay Meyer]

No real problem!

We shipped a H340 from Oriental NC to Dallas Texas a couple years ago. The total cost of decommissioning (including taking down the arch = hours) transport to Dallas and recommissioning was real close to $3,000 dollars.We considered this not to be to bad. A couple of things we did that kept the price down. First we waited for the Transport Company to have a back-haul from our area which greatly cut the cost. Secondly, we worked with a rigger that was splashing another boat on the same day at the same marina, which provided many extra hands with both owners and rigging crews to help step mast, raise arches, booms, etc.Good luck!Tip – put a good coat of wax on the bow before shipping, the bugs come off much easier!Jay & Kara MeyerS/V MyKarabbean

 

[Miles]

Pretty easy, all it takes is $$$

The boat moving companies do it all the time, it's routine to them but a little intimidating to the owner (at least the first time).We trucked our 340 from San Diego to Bellingham, WA. That's the entire length of the US West Coast basically. The actual trucking was about $2100 and about $700 or so in yard charges at either end (haul, block, launch, restep mast, etc.) That's with me doing most of the prep work and recommisioning.It was suprisingly easy, just be sure to get several bids and talk to your insurance company first.P.S. I think you'll find that even a 356 is a "small" boat to the trucking companies...