Anyone happen to know the per mile rate to transport a 28-ft sailboat from MD to FL? Just looking for whatever the ballpark is....
Sailboat Transport Costs
- Thread starter Warren Milberg
- Start date
Hello Warren, Check with uship by putting in your needs. You will get a few offers to move the boat. Answer all the questions that are significant for your boat and the move. Often you can get a better price if the driver is returning to FL from a delivery in MD in your case. We were not fortunate enough to get a lower price like that and we went north during the summer from MD to NY. The cost was in the 4K range including prepping the boat and loading it plus unloading, launching, and putting the mast back where it belonged. So, it is more than just a per mile figure. If you need to move this winter better get busy. Best Wishes
ball park is $2 per mile for there and back (total miles to and from)...plus any tolls, overnite/hotel, fees or extras. Good drivers will work with you on loading and unloading, but may have charges for time greater than an hour, so have your yard and riggers done the day before, so you can load and go. Same with riggers/yard on the destination end. Don't pay full bill until the boat is in the water at your destination.
Using u-Ship is a real crap shoot on many fronts, IF they even show up.
You should look in to trailering it your self, as small as it is....would save $$$. ANd you know it would be done right or safe.
Using u-Ship is a real crap shoot on many fronts, IF they even show up.
You should look in to trailering it your self, as small as it is....would save $$$. ANd you know it would be done right or safe.
In my experience, it isn't necessarily based on distance. When I moved my new-to-me Ericson-32 from southern California to the PNW, I got bids from a half-dozen boat-transport companies, and by far the biggest influences on cost were my timing, and whether or not they'd be in the area at that time.
The ideal case for them is when they have a delivery near where your trip is starting, load your boat, take it to your destination, and have another job to load there.
I had originally looked at an Ericson 32-3 in Montana (on Flathead Lake). The cost to move it approximately 500 miles was upward of $6k. Subsequently moving a boat from SoCal - more than twice the distance - ended up costing roughly half as much.
There are a variety of other factors. Over-height or overweight loads can cost more. Weather delays can jack up the price. But generally, IMO, the bottom line is if the start-point and end-point are on the company's schedule, and your timing is flexible, the cost can be fairly reasonable.
One thing to note is that the boat-haulers don't generally expect to do anything to prepare your boat. They view it as a "thing", they load it on their truck at one boat-yard and have it lifted off their truck at the other end. They don't know or care what's in the boat or how it is protected - their job is to get the "thing" from one place to the other. So boat prep is important, IMO - whether you do it yourself, or hire a yard to do it ($$$$!), the better prepared the boat is before the trip, the better shape it will be in when it arrives at the other end.
More detail here, if interested: http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/entry.php?354-Boat-haulers-a-long-strange-trip
Edited to add: my experience with U-ship was ...uh... less than satisfactory. Putting it mildly. I submitted my info to get bids, and started getting flooded with sales calls, most of which had absolutely nothing to do with moving a boat. I never did get a viable bid through U-ship. ymmv.
The ideal case for them is when they have a delivery near where your trip is starting, load your boat, take it to your destination, and have another job to load there.
I had originally looked at an Ericson 32-3 in Montana (on Flathead Lake). The cost to move it approximately 500 miles was upward of $6k. Subsequently moving a boat from SoCal - more than twice the distance - ended up costing roughly half as much.
There are a variety of other factors. Over-height or overweight loads can cost more. Weather delays can jack up the price. But generally, IMO, the bottom line is if the start-point and end-point are on the company's schedule, and your timing is flexible, the cost can be fairly reasonable.
One thing to note is that the boat-haulers don't generally expect to do anything to prepare your boat. They view it as a "thing", they load it on their truck at one boat-yard and have it lifted off their truck at the other end. They don't know or care what's in the boat or how it is protected - their job is to get the "thing" from one place to the other. So boat prep is important, IMO - whether you do it yourself, or hire a yard to do it ($$$$!), the better prepared the boat is before the trip, the better shape it will be in when it arrives at the other end.
More detail here, if interested: http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/entry.php?354-Boat-haulers-a-long-strange-trip
Edited to add: my experience with U-ship was ...uh... less than satisfactory. Putting it mildly. I submitted my info to get bids, and started getting flooded with sales calls, most of which had absolutely nothing to do with moving a boat. I never did get a viable bid through U-ship. ymmv.
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our last move was a 33' eep keel boat 10 years ago from CT to Erie. the yard prepared the boat for transport , they recommended lockport marine out of NY. lockport was great: told us that due to the 5' 3" keel we'd need a 'low belly' trailer not the standard one. got us a driver who showed up when he said he would and called us to advise when he'd be at the receiving yard so we could take delivery and sign off. the boat was shrink wrapped so no road dirt got on it. A recent experience shipping a 22 ft RV using USHIP pretty dreadful. as they are just a posting board, you do get flooded with low bidders. insist on all communications from bidders by email. narrow it down to one or 2. then google the shippers you think you might want to deal with, using 'ripoff report' or 'yelp.' in our case we got a great low bid from a shipper , but when we checked them out we found some unsavory things . (Like -- never showing up, not bothering to cancel, jacking up the price...) we did eventually get a good shipper via Uship but the delivery was a month later than we wanted . if your yard is billing you for storage while the boat waits for the shipper to show, negotiate a contract from the beginning that the shipper will actually show up when s/he says s/he will. put a penalty into the shipper contract that they pay the yard bill at x $ a day if they don't show as planned. this is especially important if you have to take time off work to be at the receiving yard to receive the delivery. they'll want you to sign off on checking your boat for damage.
Warren,
Contact Bert Jabins in Annapolis and ask them for the names of boat haulers. Also call Tidewater Marine in Have De Grace and talk with either Bill or the Sales Manager for their advice. Even John at Sail Annapolis who is a Catalina dealer is also a good choice for information. They know the boat haulers who are good and reliable. There are too many haulers out there to include Deep Creek and Triton's Yachts who regurarly travel the east coast. Tritions has both style trailers, fixed or hydraulic.
As for U Ship, when I hear anyone suggesting those questionable rascals as they do not have the experience nor the proper equipment, I shake my head not to mention the horror stories I have heard.
Crazy Dave Condon (retired) American Marine & Sail Supply
Contact Bert Jabins in Annapolis and ask them for the names of boat haulers. Also call Tidewater Marine in Have De Grace and talk with either Bill or the Sales Manager for their advice. Even John at Sail Annapolis who is a Catalina dealer is also a good choice for information. They know the boat haulers who are good and reliable. There are too many haulers out there to include Deep Creek and Triton's Yachts who regurarly travel the east coast. Tritions has both style trailers, fixed or hydraulic.
As for U Ship, when I hear anyone suggesting those questionable rascals as they do not have the experience nor the proper equipment, I shake my head not to mention the horror stories I have heard.
Crazy Dave Condon (retired) American Marine & Sail Supply
Apologies to you, Crazy Dave Condon, if you were offended by my suggestion of uship. The original question was for a "ballpark" figure for the move from MD to FL, so I thought several estimates from uship would give that type of information. I did not recommend that group for a haul. I am sure there are The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in any group of haulers. 
31seahorse, no need for apology nor was affended. My dealership was equipped to haul up to 33-36 foot sailboats depending on the width and tonnage. I understood that you suggested getting quotes but felt to go with other real professionals vs. uship.
I saw so much in my time as a dealer and remembered once a customer who arranged to have a boat placed onto a trailer by a Uship hauler with a supposed boat trailer. The boat to be transported would not fit the small trailer built, did not have the appropriate gear to support the hull plus I refused to load that boat as the weight of the boat was a lot more than the gross weight noted on that trailer. That shipper was rude and even threatening. Police at my request removed him and told never to return.
I saw so much in my time as a dealer and remembered once a customer who arranged to have a boat placed onto a trailer by a Uship hauler with a supposed boat trailer. The boat to be transported would not fit the small trailer built, did not have the appropriate gear to support the hull plus I refused to load that boat as the weight of the boat was a lot more than the gross weight noted on that trailer. That shipper was rude and even threatening. Police at my request removed him and told never to return.
We used Sailor moving Sailors, Derek leslie as did a friend to move his boat, We moved from KY Lake to Lake Erie and our friend used him from I believe SC to Lake Erie. He was very professional and on time, no headaches and his rig is such he does it all. Call him for a quote he is on the internet.