Truck her East.. from LA, Calif.. Truck? Move?

[Jasper NH]

If I can get my uncles 30', 10' beam, keel sailboat from LA, Calif to
someplace east ? I can have her for free..
So far, I've come up a big loser. The prices are half what the
boat, in present condition is worth.
I am trying to get this done for $2000.
It will cost me on the west end, load, destep mast.
And on the east end ,, unload and restep mast.
I figure that will add a grand.. $1000.
Anyone have a clue on how to get her trucked? Cheap?
I'm thinking there must be a truck that does not want to
head back east empty.
I write "east" as I basically will go with the flow.. if Tampa is the
cheapest port.. she goes there. If Annapolis is the cheapest? She
goes there.. I can sail home from any east port.. Florida on up
to New England.

 

[Roger Long]

Are you sure you want her for free? If she's only worth twice the transportation costs, she's probably going to need an amount comparable to her value put into her once she's here. It doesn't sound like she's ready for a delivery trip up the coast either. You already have a larger boat. Why would you want to take on the storage and other costs of two? Selling either is going to be harder than selling a house right now.

 

[jackhartjr]

Roger hit it on the head!

Could not have been said better!
Jack

Are you sure you want her for free? If she's only worth twice the transportation costs, she's probably going to need an amount comparable to her value put into her once she's here. It doesn't sound like she's ready for a delivery trip up the coast either. You already have a larger boat. Why would you want to take on the storage and other costs of two? Selling either is going to be harder than selling a house right now.

 

[sailingdog]

If owning your uncle's boat is that important to you... why not have it shipped from LA to somewhere on the Gulf coast. Then you can sail it up from there. The cost of shipping a boat overland, from LA to say Texas, is probably a good deal less expensive than shipping it all the way east.

Also, the mast on a lot of 30' boats can be stepped and unstepped relatively inexpensively by renting a bucket lift and using that as the crane to raise/lower the mast. We use by friend's bucket truck fairly often to step masts on boats at my marina.

 

[Joseph Shirley]

I once went the other way, trucking an Irwin 30 from Swansea MA to Port Orchard WA. It was too good a deal for me to pass up. I searched around and found a commercial trailer that I could share with a 35' sailboat from Westport MA to Seattle WA. It wasn't cheap but it was a lot cheaper.

I spent a lot fixing it up even though it was in good shape when I got it. I sailed it for a couple of years, upgraded it a lot, and ended up selling it for what cash I had invested in it, (my labor not included).

I enjoyed the experience and the work and was happy I did it (for that one time only). I don't think I would do it again mostly because I'm too old for all that work and I'm a little tired.

If you want to go for it, do it. Just don't plan on making a lot of money doing it.

Good Luck

Joe S

 

[Roger Long]

Also, the mast on a lot of 30' boats can be stepped and unstepped relatively inexpensively by renting a bucket lift and using that as the crane to raise/lower the mast.

Companies that build and install commercial signs almost always have a crane capable of handling a sailboat mast. They only use them when putting signs up and down and often will be willing to do a mast on the side.

 

[sailingdog]

My friend's company does just that—installs and maintains commercial signs. He's got a crane truck, but the bucket truck is usually easier, faster and more than capable of lifting a mast for boats up to about 35' LOA.

Companies that build and install commercial signs almost always have a crane capable of handling a sailboat mast. They only use them when putting signs up and down and often will be willing to do a mast on the side.

 

[petersea]

Here is the flaw in you thinking, you are looking for this to get done "cheap" because the truck wil come back mty any way !! Wrong !! Better to come back mty and get a good paying load then lose two days messing with a "cheap" return load. And there is not nessarialy an imbalance of boats being moved west vs. east. The cost of running a big rig today is very expensive you budget will barely even pay for the fuel ! !

 

[Roger Long]

I would agree to get a bucket crane if you can. I've wished I could be up there almost every time my mast has gone up and down and I've watched the end of the crane nearly hitting my mast. If you can't find one though, it's worth a call to some sign companies. For one thing, they are used to lifting very expensive, awkward, and difficult to repair items.

 

[Ross]

I used a local sign company to lift my engine into my boat. A couple of hundred and they made it look easy. This fall I had a bucket lift on a large job, it listed a 500 pound total bucket capacity and a 45 foot lift. That was about 350 per day plus pickup and delivery.