Question on Sailboat Delivery - Norfolk VA to New Bern NC

[Peeew]

Maybe hire an instructorcaptain and get some more training along the way?

[RedneckRedcoat]

Deliver it yourself ! You can motor most of the way. We just sailed Southport to oriental and cam up the ICW from Beaufort and Adams creek. Oriental has some decent service facilities (we are currently on the hard at sailcraft). We know a number of captains that could help you but they would charge between 300-500 per day.

Personally I wouldn’t sail/motor the ICW at night there is a lot of traffic and it can get pretty shallow in some areas.

Congrats on the 101 but we found the 103 far better and the 104 is more just a review of the 101 and 103.

[Paul Annapolis]

{DISCLOSURE--I am a professional mariner who has made this trips many times in both directions under power and sail...inside and outside--even before GPS and the internet and before bow thrusters were commonplace. My opinions expressed here will be accepted by some and disdained by others. I would be happy to consult directly with the OP-no obligation and freely give him or her or any prospective client an allotment of my time and experience so he or she can then make his or her own choice...please read on}

As you can see, there are a variety of opinions here--go at night! Don't go at night! Hire a training captain! Don't hire a training captain--do it yourself. It will cost this much. It will cost that much. It will take this long. It will take that long. It's an easy trip! It's not an easy trip! Go outside. Don't go outside.

This variety of opinions is quite typical of any kind of online forum, but especially so with boating and it must be difficult to sort through and make sense. I refer you to consider the wise words of Von Bismarck who said "Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others." Then there was Oscar Wilde who uttered "Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward."

First--I have to say that it is NOT a "piece of cake" as one commenter wrote.

One can go at night—but why? Is it worth the hazard? What's the hurry? I get up early, run until late in the afternoon with a specified stop in mind and secure a few hours before sunset. IT is NOT an easy trip. It requires constant piloting and navigation skills. These skills are not necessarily difficult to attain, but they can be difficult to maintain on a long and often boring trip--consider the narrow and very long Alligator Pungo canal. The open ocean is much easier and much safer. The ICW has a wide variety of idiosyncracies and is replete with hazards all day long—shoals, tide, underwater obstructions, bridges, docks, thousands of buoys and of course—thousands of boaters, many of who think it's easy and eschew training and instruction. It can be fraught with delays as well—and oh, what about Albemarle Sound, often cited by many boaters as one of the worst stretches on inland water along the East Coast?

Sure you can do it with limited experience, but...see above e.g. Wilde and Von Bismarck. A boat owner has a lot at stake, so why not spend a proportionately small amount of money—probably less than a mechanic or electrician in fact, and work with and learn from someone who has operated boats for many more days and many more miles than the average boatowner will ever do? We all know how expensive it is to own and maintain a boat, and most will never gain that back monetarily at time of sale. The only real investment one can ever make in a boat with a real return is in training and learning how to safely operate and enjoy the boat—which will also make it less likely to have to do a major repair from a hard grounding or collision.

So, sure you could go at night and you could do it without assistance—but why? You have everything to lose and a lot to gain by hiring a professional who also knows how to teach and communicate. My goal is to save my client's time, money, hassle...and more—and I have done so for many years. It's been a good investment for them, but a real professional will not come cheap and I don't see how someone is willing to risk his neck for a 24-hour work day for just a few hundred dollars. Attention boatowners—cheap usually means really expensive and in the final analysis you get what you pay for. The OP is looking at buying a 38' sailboat. I bought a 38' sailboat in 2015 and have been restoring and operating it ever since. I think that sharing what I have learned from that experience alone is VERY valuable to a prospective or current owner and I would never trust my boat to a “professional” who only thinks he is worth a few hundred dollars a day.

Thanks for reading.

[captstu]

Real mariner professionals sometimes come very cheap and yearly free.

I am a retired US Coast Guard licensed master and a former ASA sailing instructor. I’ve sold my boat traveling around on a travel trailer and enjoy an occasional few days on the water.

If you pay my expenses to and from the boat, I will assist and advise you to ensure a safe trip on the I CW Sailing from early in the day until very late in the afternoon. I’ll help with the cooking, I’ll stand watches, and provide whatever mechanical assistance you may need.

I will perform at all the pre-departure inspection as I normally have done for deliveries and give you a written copy of the inspection report. Should you choose to proceed with repairs that you can do, I’ll assist as I can.

I would ask that you get either Sea Tow or Boat US.

For legal purposes I am performing as crew

I will train and advise to whatever standard you and I discuss prior to the trip but any final decisions were made and yours as it would be when you take over as the owner operator..

I do not smoke and do not board boats for carry smokers because I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke

You may contact me at

Stu@shearwater-sailing.com.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by captstu

Real mariner professionals sometimes come very cheap and yearly free.



…….




shearwater-sailing.com.

As someone who posted in this thread I take offense at your post.

First you present your self as a “retired master” yet you are offering yourself as crew. So you are not acting as a “REAL” professional mariner.

I and others are offering our services as masters. We know we are liable for anything that happens on the boat. You? You are making it clear you are acting as a deckie.

Me? I have delivered boats from New Orleans to Gibraltar and Panama/ Grenada to Boston. I just finished a delivery (that should have been a cakewalk) where I got no real sleep for the last 48 hours as I supervised the owner and his crew. Finally, when the seas are running, I can still go forward when things are pear-shaped and get things done. Not exactly the level of service you appear to be offering!

So PLEASE do not disparage me and some of the other accomplished delivery guys for charging a market rate for our skills.

[smj]

We’ve done this trip many times and can in no way see how a “professional mariner” wouldn’t consider this a basic easy trip. It would be a great learning trip as you deal with locks, opening bridges, open sounds and enclosed canals, but in no means is it a hard trip.

[mjscottinnc]

I live in New Bern and have made numerous ICW trips, but unlike many I’m not applying for the job. It’s important that you understand all the risks of handing over the boat to a delivery captain/crew. Pick the wrong person and you might lose the boat and/or start a lawsuit web where when your done the only one ahead is the attorneys. I am amazed by the response to your question… it reminds me of a friend of mine who had piranhas in a fish tank at feeding time. Congrats and good luck.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by smj

We’ve done this trip many times and can in no way see how a “professional mariner” wouldn’t consider this a basic easy trip. It would be a great learning trip as you deal with locks, opening bridges, open sounds and enclosed canals, but in no means is it a hard trip.

Yes, it should be an easy trip. But so was the one I just finished. Keep in mind you are using the passages on YOUR boat as the benchmark.

This is a boat that has a 60-min sea trial. “The real sea trial happens on the delivery.”

[captstu]

Please forgive me if I offended you, I mean no harm.

I made clear that I do not carry insurance so I cannot assume liability, and I am no longer licensed so I cannot be paid.

If the owner would like capable crew and is willing to cover my expenses, I can cook, bake bread, teach Marine nuts, band on sale, and perform an inspection

I’m 76 years old and I know longer take full responsibility for the boat, however for an experienced seller this is a relatively easy trip. I would enjoy a few days on the water and I’m willing to donate my expertise for what it may be worth to this new owner in return for covering my expenses to get to and from the vet.

I routinely do a pre-boat inspection and deliver a written report equivalent to a survey except for price evaluation which is unnecessary for delivery.

My certification with ASA is no longer Karen and I cannot issue the owner certificate, however I canon part the knowledge of 60+ years of sailing including multiple ocean crossings and multiple deliveries both in the ocean and in that section of the ICW.

If the owners desire is to have a fully licensed captain who will assume responsibility of the boat and carries the appropriate liability insurance, I am not that person, nor do I represent myself to be.

If the owners is the pick up the benefit of an ego free, non-smoking, highly experienced seller who has delivered and tight future owners and new owners for over 40 years of active sailing, I’d be glad to help.

I don’t mean to deprive you of a living, however trip this length is only about $500 or so and I’d like to do it for free for the fun.

Again I’m sorry to offend you. But please remember this is an open forum and my obligation is to be polite, honest, and as truthful as possible within the space..

[smj]

Originally Posted by Snore

Yes, it should be an easy trip. But so was the one I just finished. Keep in mind you are using the passages on YOUR boat as the benchmark.

This is a boat that has a 60-min sea trial. “The real sea trial happens on the delivery.”

To me the trip is easy, but your right, bad weather, uncooperative boat, missing markers etc. could all lead to a bad trip but all in all it’s an easy trip to make.

[smj]

I know if I was in this position I would be calling captstu.