Purchase, then Overland Shipping?

[Toothless]

We're located on the West coast of Florida and have been looking at a number of boats from Alabama, all the way down to Venice / Port Charlotte. Recently, I've expanded the search to the East coast (FL)and central regions and found many promising hits.

We're looking for a cruiser/liveaboard between 26 - 34' and have insisted on surveys of any potentials (the last two deals have fallen through due to bad structural faults), so hauling and splashing a vessel isn't new to us.

What I would like to know is: after a sea trial, survey, and the exchange is done, how crazy (and costly) would it be to have a boat shipped across the state?

We have cruised in our previous vessel, however sailing in uncharted waters, in an unfounded vessel, is not something I'm currently comfortable doing (hence our initial location restrictions).

Let me know your thoughts.

[a64pilot]

I bought on the east side of Fl and keep the boat in the Panhandle, mileage is the smallest of the costs, it's the de-rigging, re-rigging putting boat on trailer and removing it that costs.
In my case bringing the boat around even with hiring a professional skipper was much cheaper than trucking it would have been

[Toothless]

Hadn't even thought of that; did you accompany the boat for that trip? Can you recommend places (online) where one can contact a captain for a delivery, or is it all through word-of-mouth?

[oldragbaggers]

One thing I will share regarding shipping a boat overland, and I have no idea if this happens often, rarely, or only to us.

We had a Cabo Rico 38 shipped from San Diego to Baltimore. We came ahead of the boat and it arrived a week or so later. When it got here we were shocked to find that someone had apparently broken into the boat somewhere enroute and had literally been living inside for at least a portion, if not all, of the trip.

My husband's good clothes were gone (this boat was our home) and disgusting filthy clothes had been left in their place. All the food we had onboard had been eaten and empty packages and wrappers had been thrown everywhere. Our bed was obviously being slept in and the head was plugged up. We had just spent 2 years working on this boat, the upholstery was all new and it was a mess. I was devastated. And the trucking company took no responsibility whatsoever, basically telling us we couldn't prove it.

I threw away our bed linens and disinfected everything else, but I was creeped out by it for awhile. We vowed that if we ever had to have a boat shipped like that again that we would follow the truck in our own vehicle so we could keep an eye on it. Like I said, I don't know how often something like that happens, but we sure wouldn't take the chance on it ever happening to us again.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

One thing I will share regarding shipping a boat overland, and I have no idea if this happens often, rarely, or only to us.

We had a Cabo Rico 38 shipped from San Diego to Baltimore. We came ahead of the boat and it arrived a week or so later. When it got here we were shocked to find that someone had apparently broken into the boat somewhere enroute and had literally been living inside for at least a portion, if not all, of the trip.

My husband's good clothes were gone (this boat was our home) and disgusting filthy clothes had been left in their place. All the food we had onboard had been eaten and empty packages and wrappers had been thrown everywhere. Our bed was obviously being slept in and the head was plugged up. We had just spent 2 years working on this boat, the upholstery was all new and it was a mess. I was devastated. And the trucking company took no responsibility whatsoever, basically telling us we couldn't prove it.

I threw away our bed linens and disinfected everything else, but I was creeped out by it for awhile. We vowed that if we ever had to have a boat shipped like that again that we would follow the truck in our own vehicle so we could keep an eye on it. Like I said, I don't know how often something like that happens, but we sure wouldn't take the chance on it ever happening to us again.

Yup...truckers are bottom feeders. I had a boat moved from NY to Ca. Instead of putting the roller furling in a cradle on the side of the trailer that they advertised, they shipped it on top of the boat to save time as they arrived late to pick it up and wanted to avoid traffic during rush hour. The roller itself was unsupported and bounced all the way to Ca. and was kinked(bent) on the foil at the roller.
My fault was not getting copies of their cargo insurance and truck insurance. They ran me around for months, basically exhausting the timeline for a claim. Even there insurance broker was in on the run around.
I have little doubt that the person sleeping in your boat was the pig farmer trucker that moved your boat.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Toothless

Hadn't even thought of that; did you accompany the boat for that trip? Can you recommend places (online) where one can contact a captain for a delivery, or is it all through word-of-mouth?

We went along as crew. Idea was since this guy was a very experienced instructor, that he would teach us how to sail, as I had / have no idea. Turned out of course that out of a 9 day trip we had sailing winds for one of them.
I ended up being the mechanic / systems engineer, but that is my background so that was fine, if I had a pro mechanic on board we would have probably butted heads, too many cooks in the kitchen . Much of the trip was enjoyable, some of it stressful, but it was a learning experience. I'd do it again.
Learned a lot about the boat of course, had to fix a few things.

My opinion only, but most sailors aren't seemingly very good mechanics, I doubt you'll find a cracker jack Diesel mechanic / electrician that is a good Capt. willing to take you along as crew.
The guy that we went with was actually the Captain for the boat I bought, seems it was really just too much boat for the PO and he wouldn't take it out without this guy along.
PO had the boat for two years and I think just gave up, he's buying a new 30' or so production boat, I think a larger, heavier, OLD cruising boat wasn't what he wanted anyway, from the receipts left in the boat, this guy had a professional mechanic fix anything, and of course that gets both expensive and aggravating.

[Kevin84]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Yup...truckers are bottom feeders. I had a boat moved from NY to Ca. Instead of putting the roller furling in a cradle on the side of the trailer that they advertised, they shipped it on top of the boat to save time as they arrived late to pick it up and wanted to avoid traffic during rush hour. The roller itself was unsupported and bounced all the way to Ca. and was kinked(bent) on the foil at the roller.
My fault was not getting copies of their cargo insurance and truck insurance. They ran me around for months, basically exhausting the timeline for a claim. Even there insurance broker was in on the run around.
I have little doubt that the person sleeping in your boat was the pig farmer trucker that moved your boat.

I'm a trucker, and I find your generalizations highly offensive. To be honest, its your own damn fault for not insisting your furler be handled properly and for not checking prior to letting the truck leave. I'm also guessing you didn't bother getting a condition report from the driver prior to loading to show what condition your boat was in prior to the trip. Just because you didn't follow through on your responsibilities doesn't give you the right to blame the company.

Oh, and good luck getting copies of a company's cargo insurance policy from them. The USDOT requires us to have it and we do. We also submit a copy of it to the DOT to receive our operating authority. But there is no law saying we have to provide a copy to the customer.

And for the boat that got broken into, I'm going to guess that you didn't lock up the cabin. Or take photos before shipping or get the driver to sign off on the boat's condition prior to loading. It sucks what happened to your boat, but trucking companies operate on very thin margins and will not pay any claim they can avoid. Most companies only clear 2-4 cents in profit for every dollar they take in.

Like any buisness, a transportation company is not going to pay out any claims for damage if they can avoid it. Paying even a relatively small claim can result in the company losing money on the trip. So make sure you have plenty of documentation to back it up.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by Kevin84

I'm a trucker, and I find your generalizations highly offensive. To be honest, its your own damn fault for not insisting your furler be handled properly and for not checking prior to letting the truck leave. I'm also guessing you didn't bother getting a condition report from the driver prior to loading to show what condition your boat was in prior to the trip. Just because you didn't follow through on your responsibilities doesn't give you the right to blame the company.

Oh, and good luck getting copies of a company's cargo insurance policy from them. The USDOT requires us to have it and we do. We also submit a copy of it to the DOT to receive our operating authority. But there is no law saying we have to provide a copy to the customer.

And for the boat that got broken into, I'm going to guess that you didn't lock up the cabin. Or take photos before shipping or get the driver to sign off on the boat's condition prior to loading. It sucks what happened to your boat, but trucking companies operate on very thin margins and will not pay any claim they can avoid. Most companies only clear 2-4 cents in profit for every dollar they take in.

Like any buisness, a transportation company is not going to pay out any claims for damage if they can avoid it. Paying even a relatively small claim can result in the company losing money on the trip. So make sure you have plenty of documentation to back it up.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

In fact our cabin was locked. The lock had been cut off. No, I did not take interior pictures or have the truck driver sign off on the condition of the INTERIOR of the boat, only the exterior. And I did not assume that it was the truck driver that broke into the boat. Of course we considered that as a possibility but we also considered that it was someone who saw it as a free ride away from wherever they were and broke into it at one of his rest stops. We also considered, since someone needed a tool to cut that lock off, that the truck driver possibly made a few extra bucks by assisting someone with their coast to coast ride. We imagined all kinds of possibilities, but the bottom line is that we couldn't prove any of them so we were out of luck.

At any rate, the only reason I mentioned it is so others could learn from our experience, know that this kind of thing is possible, and take better care to prevent it than we obviously did.

Oh, and by the way, my husband and I drove truck for a (very brief) while also.

[Kevin84]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

In fact our cabin was locked. The lock had been cut off. No, I did not take interior pictures or have the truck driver sign off on the condition of the INTERIOR of the boat, only the exterior. And I did not assume that it was the truck driver that broke into the boat. Of course we considered that as a possibility but we also considered that it was someone who saw it as a free ride away from wherever they were and broke into it at one of his rest stops.

That sucks. The lock I use on my truck is designed so it cannot be cut off. It would have to be torched off. I seriously doubt it was the driver tg at broke in. Most likely a homeless person.

The majority of my previous comment was directed at celestialsalior for his comments that all truck drivers are scum of the earth.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[skipmac]

At 26-34' you are right on the breaking point of a regular haul vs an oversized load. Oversized load will require a driver with the proper license, special permits, restrictions when and where you can go, extra charge for an escort car, etc. Cost will go up dramatically. A boat below the oversize limits you could actually move yourself.

I moved a 42' boat 80 miles it cost over $1000 just for the trucking. Hauling and prep was about another $1000.

[darylat8750]

I would talk to boatman61 if it were me.

[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by Kevin84

That sucks. The lock I use on my truck is designed so it cannot be cut off. It would have to be torched off. I seriously doubt it was the driver tg at broke in. Most likely a homeless person.

The majority of my previous comment was directed at celestialsalior for his comments that all truck drivers are scum of the earth.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Our thoughts tended more toward a homeless person as well, mainly because they took my husband's clothes and what they left behind was pretty raggedy. Oh well, water under the bridge now.

[Matt sachs]

I shipped a 50 footer from New Hampshire to Tennessee. It was $4200 including the permits, 4 years ago. Between the time I bought it, and the crane showing up to lift it, some knuckle head put a powerline over it. The hydraulic trailor was another $500 just to move it 100 feet away from the powerline.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Kevin84

I'm a trucker, and I find your generalizations highly offensive. To be honest, its your own damn fault for not insisting your furler be handled properly and for not checking prior to letting the truck leave. I'm also guessing you didn't bother getting a condition report from the driver prior to loading to show what condition your boat was in prior to the trip. Just because you didn't follow through on your responsibilities doesn't give you the right to blame the company.

Oh, and good luck getting copies of a company's cargo insurance policy from them. The USDOT requires us to have it and we do. We also submit a copy of it to the DOT to receive our operating authority. But there is no law saying we have to provide a copy to the customer.

And for the boat that got broken into, I'm going to guess that you didn't lock up the cabin. Or take photos before shipping or get the driver to sign off on the boat's condition prior to loading. It sucks what happened to your boat, but trucking companies operate on very thin margins and will not pay any claim they can avoid. Most companies only clear 2-4 cents in profit for every dollar they take in.

Like any buisness, a transportation company is not going to pay out any claims for damage if they can avoid it. Paying even a relatively small claim can result in the company losing money on the trip. So make sure you have plenty of documentation to back it up.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Oh yes...those poor truckers. You've even stated how the customer cannot have the Insurance information needed. I was run around by the trucker (self employed), his insurance agent and lastly the insurance company.
FYI, the trucker told me he had a special cradle on the side of the trailer for roller furling. He chose to let it rest on the bow pulpit and merely bounce it's way to Ca. I had pictures before and after. No one wanted to see them. I told him I wanted the furler handled like his pictures showed on his website...in the cradle. And whats this crap about condition reports? Who the hell knows about this stuff? I hired a service and expected a professional job. Is this too much to ask from you poor picked on truckers?
I'm a Machinist. Can I now send a part back to my customer an inch shorter than when he gave it to me and damaged in shipping because he didn't tell me that he wanted it shipped with correct dimensions and wrapped sufficiently as not to be damaged? So I laugh when you say "Like any buisness, a transportation company is not going to pay out any claims for damage if they can avoid it. Paying even a relatively small claim can result in the company losing money on the trip". What you're telling me is you have given yourself permission to be dishonest for the sake of money...nice!
All you've done here is confirm my generalizations.

[a64pilot]

I almost bought a H 356 in St. Augustine and considered having it moved overland first to just the closest west side of FL, but then leaned mileage was not significant. Anyway for a good, professional, bonded, insured etc. service the quote was about $5,000.
Professional Capt. to assist in delivery was about half that.
Truth is coming down the intercoastal and around FL., his services weren't really necessary, but better to have and not need, right? Coming down the intercoastal for most of a week lets you "shake the boat out" while of course you are within easy reach of assistance so by the time you round the keys to head North most issues should have been found and dealt with.
Amazing thing is how few miles a day you make on the intercoastal with stopping at night etc., but how many miles a day you can make offshore running continously, and to a Newbie, just how exhausting 24 ops can be