general cost of delivery

[mcdermitt]

I am planning on buying a sail boat in the near future year or less. My question is what all is involved in getting some one to sail or bring it home for me. I do not know much about sailiing so I would not want to do it alone if it was just across the street I know you get nothing for nothing so I expect to add the cost to my cost of the boat. One thought it may be dumm but is towing a option if you do not have several open water miles like along the gulf or loading on a truck for long distance. I am looking from 25 to 35 feet on short side swing keel
Thanks
Floyd McDermitt

[Capt Phil]

As a former (retired) delivery skipper, I can offer you this advice... hire a licensed skipper who will take you along so you can learn the basics of your new boat and a few of the Rules of the Road and start learning some navigation skills.
You don't mention what your start point or destination is. That would be helpful along with when you plan to make the passage.
Check with your insurance company for the qualification needed for who you hire. Depending on the size of vessel you are buying, destination, etc., will determine the tonnage and offshore qualifications your insurance company requires.
If the passage is for more than a few days, meet with the skipper, have lunch/dinner, a couple of drinks and make certain the both of you are compatible as you will be on your own with him/ her for the trip. I would lay down the stipulation that there are no drugs or booze during the passage if they don't bring it up.
Spend a day or two having him/her check out your new boat for condition, equipment and seaworthyness. This will tell you a lot about their competency and how they approach their job.
Finally, request a CV that outlines their background and experience with references with whom you can check. This is really critical rather than just taking a brokers'word that this is the guy/gal they use on all their deliveries.
I'm sure there are other issues that I haven't mentioned but these few will get you started... Good Luck with your new vessel, Phil

[mcdermitt]

thank you for your reply. Do you have any idea what or how delivery people charge or how they charge by the day by distance or what. I would look along the gulf coast western fla since I live in Ga. this may seem foolish but I would want keep the boat on la Eufaula since it in on a navagtable river to the gulf. the state of ga has a port dock in Columbus and ft benning

[Capt Phil]

It has been my experience that delivery skippers normally charge by the day plus expenses. The daily charge may vary from coast to coast but I used to charge around $3-400 per day depending on the vessel. If there were lay days due to weather on the west coast, the charge was $250 per day. I did not charge extra if the owner elected to accompany me except in a couple of cases when they were such turkeys, I added $100 per day in hopes that he would fly home! These are the amounts I charged back in the nineties and early 2000's on the west coast from Alaska to Panama.
I viewed my job as to get their vessel from point A to point B as quickly as possible with the minimum of damage or equipment failure. If the vessel was large enough to require crew, I added $250 per day for each crew member. Fuel and food were additional all costs borne by the owner.
All this was covered in a written contract, including days to pick up and arrive.
If the vessel needed work before leaving, I would perform it myself or hire qualified folks to deal with the issues and expense it.
I would take at least one day to inspect and give a written report to the owner prior to departure. I did not charge for inspections but did charge for work I performed arising out of inspection prior to departure.
Can't think of anything else at the moment... Phil

[mcdermitt]

Capt Phil
If you were to guess ad I know there are a lot of ifs what do you think o could figure distance per day In the gulf area Any thing I would buy would have a inboard (diesel) an running it to get distance is logical but it may not work I would think it would be more on the east coast. This to me is a important part of buying a boat on my part since I have to delivery to cost. a given boat some where may be a bargin if you do not have to pay delivery but one next door two or three times higher with no delivery may be the bargin

[travellerw]

You have gotten some great advice so far.... but

There was a post recently where a person moved a boat of similar size between Texas and Florida. It turned out to be about the same cost to truck it vs delivery skipper. It was also there in 2 days. He trucked it and was very happy.

Of course this won't help you learn though.

[gaspass3]

As a novice to sailing, I was wondering, do delivery captains WANT the owner around? Seems like too many chiefs to me. Are there fairly established ground rules for this?


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[Capt Phil]

I will first reply to gaspass3... unless things have changed in the last 10 years or so, about 40% of deliveries had an owner, family member or someone they wanted along on the trip. If the passage was such that crew were required then I would deduct the cost of crew from the quote provided the person accompanying me was experienced. Most of the time when an owner wanted to come along, it was because he was inexperienced and hoped to pick up a few pointers on the passage or at least familiarize himself with his new boat.
There were a couple of instances where the owner was such an *******, I couldn't even stand to be around him for more than an hour but this only happened twice that I recall over about 20 years in the business. Most times they were great company, eager to learn and took great care to treat their new boat with TLC.
To answer Mcdermitts question, I would average around 180-200 miles per day depending on the sea conditions, no breakdown in gear or mechanical problems, tide and current not a factor, etc. it was in my interests to finish the delivery as quickly as could safely be accomplished. Power boat deliveries were more predictable but still could be a crap shoot. An important piece of equipment is a SSB, Inmarsat or other communication means other than VHF to keep the owner informed of progress, problems, ETA, etc. many of my clients were brokers in southern CA who were anxious to get the vessel stateside into their inventory and wanted to be able to inform prospective buyers when the vessel was scheduled to arrive.
Not sure how much of what I have shared with you is applicable in the Gulf but it should give you an idea. The suggestion of trucking your boat to where you want is worth consideration but factor in pulling the mast and re rigging when you have her where you want her. Cheers, Phil

[Burky]

I just had a Beneteau 411 moved from Sandusky OH to Chicago. With lifting, demasting, stepping, tuning, launching, etc. The cost was $6000. Hope that helps.

[daniellmason]

Congrats on deciding to purchase a sailboat. You'll be both thrilled and sorry that you did at various times in your future, but the good days far outweigh the bad. Welcome to the family. When I deliver boats in the Gulf, I charge $250/ day if I'm alone or with my crew and $300/day if the new owner wants to sail with me and have me teach along the way. Of course, expenses (fuel, food, etc) are additional to the daily rate. Enjoy your new baby!

[BHI_Guy]

I just bought a boat that was > 100 miles away on the ICW in NC. I hired a captain, and I'm glad I did, because he knew the intracoastal, and without him, I absolutely would have run aground because he understood the way the channel silts in near inlets whereas I did not. With a 5.5 foot keel, you don't have a lot of margin for error in many sections of the ICW in NC. I also learned a fair amount about the boats systems from the captain.

I would endorse what Capt Phil said, and also point out that your surveyor may be a good source of information on good delivery captains in your area.

[julius222]

Hi
The most important question is "Is your purchase sea worthy?"

Don't take the sellers word, get an expert opinion before you hand over the cash. One horor story i have first hand knowledge of is of a 65 foot twin engine flybridge cruiser. The buyer saw it, liked it, paid for it and had it delivered as deck cargo by container ship. Upon arrival it turned out that it was a plywood mock up once used in a movie. Brilliant fit out inside but fell appart in the water.

Second "where do you want it delivered?". This is a big question with unlimited variables that will impact on bringing the boat home.

Simplifying: Assuing it is seaworthy and over 28 foot then I would sail it home, weather permitting.

Delivery costs by sea are around $6 per mile or $400 per day plus food and fuel (Don't skimp here, a few hundred dollars of fuel burned may make the difference between getting the boat home or getting stuck/damaged in bad weather) The $400 is $250 for skipper and $150 for crew. That is with an autopilot. Hand steering requires a minimum of 4 competent people or overnight stops.

Cheers

Julius
darwin, australia