Nobody cruises from San Francisco to Miami

[sailorman7225]

There is an Island Packet making a circumnavigation now that is doing that route. They left the Annapolis area, sailed down the E. Coast, through the canal, up the west coast and are now in Alaska. From Alaska they will continue their circumnavigation heading west. The boat is Sailing Trance.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

True it can be a bear but he's in a powerboat not a sailboat. Leave very very early in the morning and be at your next anchorage before the wind and the waves pick up. It's an advantage power boaters have.

Yes, timing is what the Bash is all about. The Mexico part is mainly uncomfortable because except for Mag and Turtle Bays, there is no place to anchor out of the big swell and distances too long between those good anchorages to get there in 12 hours, with even moderate wind and seas on the bow.

After you get to CA, its a no-brainer for nearly any boat and can be done in less than 15knots if you have time to wait in harbors. Avoid late Spring.

[contrail]

Or, you could simply ship it on a freighter. No idea of the cost, but it might be the cheapest way. And you could do it from, say, Miami (or Panama) to Ensenada, and do the other part(s) on her own bottom.

[mvweebles]

I was a delivery skipper out of San Francisco for about 5-years in the late 1990's/early 2000s. Full time, it's all I did to pay the bills. Basically means a lot of time headed north between Cabo and Alaska. I did almost exclusively powerboats, mostly new.

30-foot trawler is a bit small, but not for the reasons you might think. A 30-footer is slow (barely 130 nms/day), and doesn't have sufficient stowage for fuel and anything beyond really basic camping.

Cost. It's about 5000 nms from Ft Lauderdale to San Francisco. That means approx 1000 gals of diesel which is expensive in some places, so figure $3000. Canal fees plus line handlers and incidentals will be over $2000. Every time you touch land you run a chance of checking in/out so figure $250 each time. Plus meals and marinas.

There are not a lot of 30-foot trawlers in this class. Before my Willard 36, I owned a Willard 30. The guy who currently owns it took her from Ventura CA to Olympia WA last summer, a good 1000 nms. He's a relatively novice boater. It took him about 1-1/2 months with a long stop in Ft Bragg waiting for weather to clear around Cape Mendocino. It's doable, but you have to have time.

I have a very recent quote to shop my Willard 36 from Ensenada to Palm Beach FL for about $18k.

Peter

[captlloyd]

Truck it yourself, a 30 footer shouldn’t be too big a deal. Take it on its bottom to say Houston or Brownsville, truck it the rest of the way.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Truck it yourself, a 30 footer shouldn’t be too big a deal. Take it on its bottom to say Houston or Brownsville, truck it the rest of the way.

Sure, he could truck it himself.

With 11' plus beam on a 30' trawler all he would need to do is get a commercial trucking license, apply for over size load permits in four states, hire a lead and chase car and driver and cut the top off the trawler so it will fit under the bridges.

[skipmac]

Actually it might not be possible to truck a 30' trawler. Specs I found for a couple of models show bridge clearance in the 17-20' range. Add another 4' or so for draft and a couple of feet for the trailer and you are way, way beyond the max bridge clearance of 16' for interstate highway system.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Actually it might not be possible to truck a 30' trawler. Specs I found for a couple of models show bridge clearance in the 17-20' range. Add another 4' or so for draft and a couple of feet for the trailer and you are way, way beyond the max bridge clearance of 16' for interstate highway system.

Many Willard 30 trawlers have been trucked cross country. Even with a flybridge. I would think a Nordic Tug 32 or Sundowner 30 or GB32 or others could be too.

[dfelsent]

There are definitely boats with significant east coast west coast price differentials. I looked at a gulfstar 40 in Santa Cruz. On my way back East from Taiwan. Wrong style for the locale. The price was such that buying and trucking to New England was a good deal. I passed but a bit later I got a call from a fellow New Englander ( a long time yacht broker). who heard I had looked at the boat. He bought and trucked it and the boat sits a few hundred yards from where I write this.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Many Willard 30 trawlers have been trucked cross country. Even with a flybridge. I would think a Nordic Tug 32 or Sundowner 30 or GB32 or others could be too.

I looked specifically at the GB32. Vertical clearance without the mast is listed as 11'6". With a draft of 3'9" that is a total height of 14'3" The bed of the trailer is at least 2' over the roadway making the total clearance over 16'. Interstate bridges are designated 16'. Prudence would dictate allowing a a little extra clearance to make sure you didn't scrape.

Without some structural modifications that would not make it.

By the way, the 16' is just the spec for bridges in the Interstate system. Local bridges are often much lower and it seems unlikely one could move a boat from marina to highway and highway back to another marina without encountering some local bridges. Moving my boat 70 miles we had to clear a few 13' bridges.

Even if you can make the vertical clearance there is still the beam and the extra expense of the permits and escorts. Bottom line, it would not be cheap.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Sure, he could truck it himself.

With 11' plus beam on a 30' trawler all he would need to do is get a commercial trucking license, apply for over size load permits in four states, hire a lead and chase car and driver and cut the top off the trawler so it will fit under the bridges.

Why would you need a CDL ? It’s your boat and your or a borrowed/rented truck. I had a 64foot boat with a 17 foot beam moved close to 50 miles. The mind is like a parachute, it must be open to function.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Why would you need a CDL ? It’s your boat and your or a borrowed/rented truck. I had a 64foot boat with a 17 foot beam moved close to 50 miles. The mind is like a parachute, it must be open to function.

I will confirm the trucking company I use in my business but I do believe that you will need a commercial license to pull an oversize load permit and haul an oversize load cross country.

Of course you could move an over sized 50 miles without any kind of permit or even a basic drivers license if you stay off main roads and avoid the local DOT but then the OP is talking about a bit farther than 50 miles.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I looked specifically at the GB32. Vertical clearance without the mast is listed as 11'6". With a draft of 3'9" that is a total height of 14'3" The bed of the trailer is at least 2' over the roadway making the total clearance over 16'. Interstate bridges are designated 16'. Prudence would dictate allowing a a little extra clearance to make sure you didn't scrape.

There are a few trucking companies who specialize in moving boats - Joule out of Clearwater FL being one. They have lowboy trailers where the keel rides just inches from the roadway, and the boat is tilted forward as the aft is normally the deepest. The venturi windscreen may need to be removed but my strong suspicion is a GB32 can be trucked without pace cars and such. The Willard 30 certainly can be.

That said, it's not cheap and I'm not sure it's worthwhile. But its an option.

As mentioned previously, my concerns around a 30 foot trawler for a trip like this is its slow and cannot carry sufficient stores and gear. The boat should carry around 150 gals of diesel and would only travel at around 125 nms/day. Water and fuel alone would approach 2000 lbs. Its not impossible, but there would be a lot of compromise in livability.

BTW - a few months back on this forum a Defever 40 trawler was advertised on this forum. The couple had just completed a 2 year cruise from California to Miami. Asking price was $50k as I recall. I personally wouldn't hesitate to make the return trip with adequate planning for favorable seasonal weather. I've often surmised the most frequent type of recreational boat <60 feet through the Panama Canal is a sport fisher, a boat style many on forums such as these would not consider seaworthy enough for these types of journeys.

There are a lot of folks out there cruising between California and Florida. Mostly sail, but there are a lot of powerboats too. I personally know of several who have done it without a lot of fanfare. As a past delivery skipper who delivered almost exclusively northbound along the Pacific Coast, it's a very manageable ride though I confess, I stopped delivering sailboats early in my delivery career, partially due to the cold/wet ride compared to a powerboat. They also do not often have sufficient power to drive into even modest seas without a severe speed-penalty so I certainly understand why the easiest route from PV to PNW is via Hawaii on a sailboat. But its different for a powerboat - they can be comfortably moved northbound with similar precautions in being a well-equipped and well-found vessel.

Peter

[Ken Z]

Yes boats are cheaper in fl. and there are many to choose from all over the state.I would strongly suggest a truck transport. The cost of fuel via water will be large. The cost and hassle of unexpected breakdowns or repairs could be a heart stopper. Contact some boat haulers to get a idea, height and width are factors that influence the price. Going by water under power is a “ adventure“ that may be over your head. Even a new boat can suffer, there are a lot of pieces and parts that need to stay in harmony for such a trip. Truck her, assume nothing.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

There are a few trucking companies who specialize in moving boats - Joule out of Clearwater FL being one. They have lowboy trailers where the keel rides just inches from the roadway, and the boat is tilted forward as the aft is normally the deepest. The venturi windscreen may need to be removed but my strong suspicion is a GB32 can be trucked without pace cars and such. The Willard 30 certainly can be.

That said, it's not cheap and I'm not sure it's worthwhile. But its an option.

As mentioned previously, my concerns around a 30 foot trawler for a trip like this is its slow and cannot carry sufficient stores and gear. The boat should carry around 150 gals of diesel and would only travel at around 125 nms/day. Water and fuel alone would approach 2000 lbs. Its not impossible, but there would be a lot of compromise in livability.

BTW - a few months back on this forum a Defever 40 trawler was advertised on this forum. The couple had just completed a 2 year cruise from California to Miami. Asking price was $50k as I recall. I personally wouldn't hesitate to make the return trip with adequate planning for favorable seasonal weather. I've often surmised the most frequent type of recreational boat <60 feet through the Panama Canal is a sport fisher, a boat style many on forums such as these would not consider seaworthy enough for these types of journeys.

There are a lot of folks out there cruising between California and Florida. Mostly sail, but there are a lot of powerboats too. I personally know of several who have done it without a lot of fanfare. As a past delivery skipper who delivered almost exclusively northbound along the Pacific Coast, it's a very manageable ride though I confess, I stopped delivering sailboats early in my delivery career, partially due to the cold/wet ride compared to a powerboat. They also do not often have sufficient power to drive into even modest seas without a severe speed-penalty so I certainly understand why the easiest route from PV to PNW is via Hawaii on a sailboat. But its different for a powerboat - they can be comfortably moved northbound with similar precautions in being a well-equipped and well-found vessel.

Peter

Very familiar with the trailers. Used them to move my boat, specifically hydraulic versions that allowed raising and lowering the clearance a good bit, at least a foot or more as I recall. When I moved my boat the trailer needed more than a few inches clearance to safely travel on the highway to allow for flex, suspension travel, potholes etc.

Regarding the escort cars, that is required due to the width of the load which varies state to state. Most states require at least one escort for loads wider than 12' so the GB would fit just inside that but again you have to check all the states you pass through.

All that being said, completely agree that the fuel capacity and range of most trawlers +/- 30' would require careful planning to make the trip under power but could be doable at least theoretically. The GB32 shows 125 gallons which should give a usable range with reserves of 400 miles more or less. However another concern is security in some of the Central American countries which you might want to bypass thus requiring a longer usable range to make it to the next safe fuel stop.