Visit our Popular Forums

Lennie · 13-12-2014, 08:03

We may be buying a boat in San Diego and want to sail her up to the San Juan's. Any recommendations for a delivery captain?

zeehag · 13-12-2014, 08:12

there are more captains in san diego than mice on cheese...
down wind marinne has a notice board inside the store--near the books
check it out an dplace ad if no one seeking... each yacht club marina on shelter island has a notice board also--check there and at cop dock for notices of cpt seeking boat ... shpoudnt be too hard, as there truly are more cpts in sd than ......

Capt Phil · 13-12-2014, 08:26

Zee is right although the analogy I recall is more Capt's than flies on sh*t! You won't have a problem finding a competent skipper but remember to check with former clients regarding reliability and care of your new boat. Tempted to come out of retirement but wifey says NO! Good luck, Phil

jackdale · 13-12-2014, 09:35

That can be a brutal trip; hard on both the crew and the vessel.

Trucking it might actually save you time and money.

**s/v Beth** · 13-12-2014, 18:58

Jack may be right- what size is the boat? If it is too big to trailer you may need a captain- but be careful. My last delivery skipper left a clogged head and a boat full of weed butts. I would insist on references and check them out.

rgscpat · 13-12-2014, 19:15

What time of year will the delivery be and how capable and tested are the boat and equipment for rough conditions?

UNCIVILIZED · 13-12-2014, 21:34

This time of year, well... let's just say that such a trip would be "unwise". As in how's the skipper's life insurance policy? And your coverage on the vessel?

Delivery by truck would be a much better option, or barring that, waiting for a perfect weather window in the Summer time. Especially from San Francisco, North.
So along those lines, one of the KEY things in choosing a skipper, is one who knows weather, like has a PhD in it. Along with the usual qualifications.

HBWT · 13-12-2014, 22:54

Having just had to work out the details on this same scenario last year here is some advice.
We bought our boat March '14 located in Alameda and looked for a qualified skipper to sail it up.

Option 1: $5-8000 range for an experienced skipper to sail in late April-May and a complete rigging inspection and engine inspection had to be certified by a marine surveyor they recommended and fully functional. The delivery captain would require us to waive any right and hold harmless if the boat was damaged in transit. I guess they call it the "black run" and no one wants to do it anytime outside of late summer or early fall.

Option 2: $2-3000 range for an experienced skipper to sail it up but would not guarantee delivery until August or September. They also wanted a full inspection of the boat. I spoke to a rigger in our area and he let me know that if the rigging is older, plan on shelling out some money for new standing gear once delivered as the stress can be substantial.

Option 3: $4000 have a semi truck pickup the boat and deliver 4 days later. The cost to unstep the mast was $400 and step once delivered was $280.

What would you pick?

For $4700 we had our boat delivered by truck 3 days later in perfect shape. It did take me 4 days of hard work to breakdown the deck boxes, stantions, sails, boom gallows and wrap up everything that might rub with old carpet. Everything has to be under the 13'6" marker to transit up I-5.

This is a 50' cutter so the rates I was given may be substantially more if you are purchasing a smaller boat. A friend of mine purchase a 36' boat in San Diego and trucked it up to Portland for $2800-ish.

My advise, save the rigging and wear and tear on the boat unless you can wait for your boat to be delivered in August. Any other time of the year, ship the boat up.

groundtackle · 13-12-2014, 23:17

Last year I bought a 46' ketch and motor sailed (with a strong emphasis on the motor part) from Mazatlan to San Diego. That part was great but from there it made way more sense to truck from SD to Anacortes. The trucking was 6,000. I recommend you inspect the boat at loading. In my case the boast yard and trucker both failed to check the hatches and left one not properly dogged down so on arrival in Anacortes the hatch was ruined and there was some minor water damage in the salon. Notwithstanding that I would still recommend the trucking method. My cost SD to Anacortes was $6,000. Taking down and putting up the rig was in the order of another $7,000.

Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

UNCIVILIZED · 13-12-2014, 23:53

Taking down, & re-stepping/tuning the rig alone was $7k. Who dare I ask, did the work, as the figure seems quite high. Even if they did an immaculate, & bullet proof job of packaging the rig for transport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nshawdvm

Last year I bought a 46' ketch and motor sailed (with a strong emphasis on the motor part) from Mazatlan to San Diego. That part was great but from there it made way more sense to truck from SD to Anacortes. The trucking was 6,000. I recommend you inspect the boat at loading. In my case the boast yard and trucker both failed to check the hatches and left one not properly dogged down so on arrival in Anacortes the hatch was ruined and there was some minor water damage in the salon. Notwithstanding that I would still recommend the trucking method. My cost SD to Anacortes was $6,000. Taking down and putting up the rig was in the order of another $7,000.

Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Lennie · 14-12-2014, 10:32

The I-5 route is looking like the way to go, maybe I can sail to San Fran then truck it? Save some trucking cost and have a little adventure?

contrail · 14-12-2014, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Taking down, & re-stepping/tuning the rig alone was $7k. Who dare I ask, did the work, as the figure seems quite high. Even if they did an immaculate, & bullet proof job of packaging the rig for transport.

That price to drop and raise the rig seems a bit high to me too. I shipped my rig from Annapolis to Ft. Lauderdale for less than half that, and my masthead is 72 feet high. On the other hand, since yours was a ketch, maybe it wasn't too bad.

scotty c-m · 14-12-2014, 11:03

Lennie, I like the adventure idea! This time of year, the adventure between Santa Barbara and San Francisco is pretty tough. You DON'T want to go North during a storm, and between storm fronts, it's a small window and lots of powering. There are some really long exposed transits with very poor bail-out options.

My ideas is that from San Diego to Santa Barbara there is a much more protected coast, with lots of interesting places to stop. I would love to sail out there at this time of the year. Pull out at Santa Barbara (or Ventura, or ...) and truck it from there.