Truck or Delivery Captain? Maine to NY

[mermaid782000]

Hi all!

We have a 30' sailboat on the hard in Portland Maine and we're debating whether to truck it, hire a delivery captain, or take a few weekends and move the boat ourselves. We've got a 3month old, and limited time and are wondering which option would be best (cheapest and most efficient). Would love your input as well as delivery company / delivery crew suggestions. Has anyone done this? What should we expect to pay?
Any and all information/leads appreciated.

Thanks so much!
Dorothy

[capn_billl]

I assume you are going from Maine to New York? With a Tartan 30? It's a little out of my range, but there must be a delivery captain near you. With that size of boat renting a trailer, and if you don't have a large pickup, renting a truck, isn't out of line to truck it yourself.

This time of year, you are looking at 1 day to truck it, or 3-4 days to sail it. The weather some time the next few weeks should be reasonable either way.

[tartansail]

I can't help with the captain option. Brownell does a lot of boat transport in New England. I haven't used them so can't comment from personal experience. We used Simms Bros. in Marshfield, MA to do all our local transport when we had a Tartan 34. They are extremely capable. I know they do transport around New England since I've seen their trucks out and about. No idea if they can take you to New York.

I'd discourage sailing yourself this time of year with a 3 month old. This is a great season for sailing in New England because the prevailing sou'westerlies are their most reliable and rambunctious. Not a good time to sail Maine to NY since there's a good chance you'd be going to windward for the entire trip with 20+ knots common for the afternoons. The alternative is to catch one of the late season nor'easters and ride it down. However, that means cold and wet. It's not an inherently difficult sail. Just likely to be a slog.

[zeehag]

with hurrycames forming this early, i think a truck would be advantageous, if you need to move it RIGHT NOW.. otherwise, let baby grow a lil and sail when no named storms are forming.

[rognvald]

Dorothy, If you have the time, it would be better to sail your boat home rather than hauling it overland. Because of time limitations, 6 years ago ,we shipped our Pearson 34-2 from Miami to Chicago. We spent a week in Miami waxing our boat, disassembling the mast, pumping our fuel and general prepping for the delivery. When it arrived in Chicago, the boat was completely covered with diesel exhaust and looked like a grimy derelict. It took us a week with engine degreaser to thoroughly clean it and another week to re-wax the boat. There is also a chance of stress cracking and delamination depending upon the age and construction of your vessel. The fact that the trailers have a hydraulic air suspension seems to only have a marginal effect when hauling overland. But, if it is your "best" option, I would strongly advise shrinkwrapping your boat before hauling. The drivers don't like it since if it rips they may have to stop and lose time, but I would insist. You will save yourself a potential headache and much wasted time. Have you ever seen a new boat transported without shrink wrap? Good luck and good sailing.

[capn_billl]

It may be "hurricane season", but having a named storm reach all the way to Maine this time of year is a pretty rare event. Plus even if it does you will have several weeks notice. Plenty of time to abort a week long trip. By the way though, I'd wait until Albert dissipates before starting.

The point about sailing into the wind is a good one though, it could be a bumpy ride

[Cheechako]

For that short trip I would hire a captain for sure. Trucking is a lot of disasembly and assembly. Often minor damage occurs also... paint rubbed off mast or boat, road fumes, oil and debris is a mess. Remounting the sails, re tensioning the rigging.. it's a big job.....MUCH easier to just have your boat arrive in your slip!

[cas206]

I had a boat trucked from AL to MD just a few months ago. I had a great experience with Leslie Transport : Prof. Full Service Sailboat Transport. I called delivery services and they couldn't come close to costing as low as trucking it. However, they would have had to go around FL first before coming North. Your situation is different. I was also mulling over the option of moving it myself via the ICW. But I would have needed to do it in multiple week long trips over several months in order to accommodate my work schedule. Add to that the fact that I would have no idea what problems the boat might have, to be discovered during the trip. It was a nice fantasy but the realities didn't allow it.

cas