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bnork · 22-07-2020, 12:17

Howdy -- Can anyone give me a ball park cost to ship a Sailboat (on a large ship) from Ft. Lauderdale/Port Everglades through the Panama Canal to Mexico, say Manzanillo/La Paz/ Ensenada. The boat will be approximately 50' LOA,
14' Beam and 6.5' Draft.
I haven't bought the boat yet, but I'm trying to get an approximation of ownership costs, and I want to keep the boat in Mexico.
Just looking on the internet, there appears to be several shipping companies in this business, and also a number of third party "agents" who will book passage as well. Is there a savings going directly to the shipping company?
Can one get these operators to compete on price? I filled out the requested info from one of these shipping companies and was given a quote of about $30K.
Is trucking the boat a lot cheaper? I know that's harder on the boat.
Thanks!

ranger58sb · 23-07-2020, 04:15

I was considering a 50' powerboat (54' OAL) near LA... IOW, coming the other direction...

DYT estimated $45K from Ensenada to Palm Beach, Sevenstar estimated between $41-45K (same route), and Sevenseas estimated $35K from Ensenada to Port Everglades.

-Chris

valhalla360 · 23-07-2020, 05:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnork

Howdy -- Can anyone give me a ball park cost to ship a Sailboat (on a large ship) from Ft. Lauderdale/Port Everglades through the Panama Canal to Mexico, say Manzanillo/La Paz/ Ensenada. The boat will be approximately 50' LOA,
14' Beam and 6.5' Draft.
I haven't bought the boat yet, but I'm trying to get an approximation of ownership costs, and I want to keep the boat in Mexico.
Just looking on the internet, there appears to be several shipping companies in this business, and also a number of third party "agents" who will book passage as well. Is there a savings going directly to the shipping company?
Can one get these operators to compete on price? I filled out the requested info from one of these shipping companies and was given a quote of about $30K.
Is trucking the boat a lot cheaper? I know that's harder on the boat.
Thanks!

$30k sounds about right. We were looking at shipping our 34ftx14ft catamaran to Europe and were getting quotes of $10-15k.

You could look at trucking but what is the height from keel to cabin top? At that size, If it's more than 12ft, you are likely to have problems. Once on the trailer, it won't get under a lot of bridges. Also at 14ft beam, you will need chase vehicles. We had our boat trucked Minnesota to Michigan and it was around $5k. You are bigger and much longer distance, so it may be similar cost to a ship.

The last option would be a delivery crew. By the time you add in getting the boat ship shape before it leaves Florida, paying the crew including expenses and then accounting for wear and tear for a licensed and insured crew, I doubt you will save a lot.

mvweebles · 23-07-2020, 06:01

36 foot displacement trawler from Ensenada to Palm Beach on Sevenstar for $18.5k. Very recent quote for November sailing date. Includes cradle and insurance.

AiniA · 23-07-2020, 07:20

Would be a lot cheaper to take the vessel on its own bottom.

quartersplash · 23-07-2020, 09:03

Good morning,
I had my 35' by 16' beam catamaran shipped from Palm beach on 7 star 2 months ago.
I was originally quoted $35k, but I replied that I could not afford that, but the most that I could pay was $15k. They accepted that.
Sevenstar was pretty good, but lacked enough communication. But in their defense, it was during the beginning of the corona virus scare and Marinas, some ports, etc were closed.
The ship that was supposed to transport my boat was delayed in Houston. It was delayed, and delayed again, and again. I was at anchor waiting in Palm beach for a month after driving her down from Cocoa Beach. During that time, at anchor, I had a 70 knot 20 minute squall blow through and had all my anchor gear out and my engine running full RPM to be able to hold be in place. By the grace of God, I did not lose my boat...
The ship never showed, and I am pretty sure that the ship was being quarantined in Houston, but never got an answer as to why it never showed. They brought another ship from Houston. You can follow the ships progress as to where they are online.
Before I contracted with Sevenstar, I did put in some time in getting reviews from others that used them and other shippers and they got the best reviews. I did not want to trust a broker, not knowing if they had their own experienced loading crews or not. Also had heard of other companies going out of business and the clients having to pay again to another transporter...
In retrospect, I am sure that the extra wait was definitely caused by the virus problems and not Sevenstars fault. I would use them again, but the whole process can be stressful.
Good luck

waterman46 · 23-07-2020, 11:04

This doesn't answer your question, but I want to say that by simply shipping the boat you will be missing many great cruising destinations. If you are time-limited, its not a big deal to take it in small steps, fly home for work and return later for the next leg. Make it a cruise, not a single passage.
Is the boat ready for sea? If nearly so I would just DIY. Begin the cruise in November-December and use the interim time to get the boat ready for sea. Its a sailboat. Fuel cost not too high for that trip, maybe $3000. BTW Canal cost will be a lot less if you keep LOA under 50'. About $2000.

As for delivery crew, total trip to Manzanillo can be done in two weeks plus the wait at the Canal. If you hire a delivery crew they will charge for the Canal wait which will be up to a week or more. Heavily favor DIY but then not until November!

Seighlor · 23-07-2020, 13:22

Would like to add to Waterman's suggestion. Doing the canal is an interesting experience; not one that comes along everyday. If you can arrange time and a couple crew members, by all means, do it.