Coast to Coast Trans. Cost

[Rustyf]

I am contemplating buying a 36 ft. X 11.5 ft. sailboat in Florida and transporting it to Seattle. Would appreciate any information on the cost of such a move from disassembly to reassembly in Seattle and any other things that I should be aware of relating to such a move.

Thanks.

[sailingdog]

Rusty-

It would help a lot if you said what kind of boat it is... since the cost of transport will probably be affected by how heavy it is, how tall the boat is, and such. Also, I would recommend you read the post in my signature.

There have been a dozen threads on moving a boat, and it would probably be wise if you read them before proceeding...since many of the questions you'll have are probably already answered there.

[Rustyf]

Thanks Dog for your usual good advice. I am contemplating an '85 to '87 Sabre 36.2 but this could change which is why I was not very specific. I was hoping for some general information since I do not want to deal with a boat hauling company at this time.

By the way I had hoped to have a boat by this time that I would keep in the Seattle area but unforeseen problems kept me from moving ahead. Hopefully I will be on the water by next summer.

[sailingdog]

IIRC, a rough estimate from the other threads, was about $5/mile or so. Given fuel prices, that number is probably a bit low now.

[Freesail99]

With a beam of 11.5, in some states, permits may be the killer.

[Whampoa]

I brought Whampoa from La Conner, WA to Oriental, NC in 2006. I did most of the preparations for transport.

A quick breakdown of the costs:

1.) Transport Fee (July 2006) - $5645

-I imagine these costs would be considerably higher now with current fuel prices.

2.) Yard Fees (La Conner End) - $600

- Unstep the Mast
- Haul Boat
- Pressure Wash the Bottom
- Load the boat & mast on the truck

I derigged the wooden mast, pulling all stays, shrouds and halyards off as well as the radar and stored all equipment aboard.

3.) Yard Fees (Oriental End) - $750

- Unload and block up the boat on the hard
- Sand and apply two coats of Trinidad SR
- Unload the mast
- Resplash the boat
- Restep the mast after I refinished it and rerigged it

I worked with a maritime trucking broker to take advantage of a transport that had delivered a load up in the WA area and was dead heading back to the east coast. This helped reduce the cost by about 30% over other estimates. You need to be flexible in your schedule do be able to use this approach.

Whampoa's beam is 12' and she is 40' on deck and has a draft of 4' 10". She weighs 30,000 lbs. She is a wood boat .

To avoid special permitting requirements we had to keep her height as loaded on the trailer under 13' 2". This necessitated the removal of the bow pulpit as we were at 13' 1" with it and didn't care to cut it that close.

The prep work is a lot of work but you can save yourself a ton of money by doing it yourself (if you have the time). Be sure to take lots of photos as you take things apart and make notes and drawings to help you put it all back together or show others how to.

Here's a few pics -

In La Conner






In Oriental NC





Of course you could also put your new boat on a transport ship out of Lauderdale and pick it up in Vancouver BC about a month later! That option was quoted at about $8800 back in 2006.

Good Luck.

Regards, John

[camaraderie]

What pretty lines John! She's a beauty!

[sailingdog]

I think height is more of a problem than width. Most roads have at least two lanes, and highways often three or four...so width is less of an issue IMHO.

For instance, Gui's boat would sit at least 16' high if it were put up on a trailer, since it has a draft of 10' and at least another 5' or so of cabintop and topsides above the waterline... there are a lot of places you can't get to if your air draft on a truck is greater than 13-14'.

Originally Posted by Freesail99

With a beam of 11.5, in some states, permits may be the killer.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

I think height is more of a problem than width. Most roads have at least two lanes...

That's true, so when it comes to actually being able to fit on the road, height is more of an issue than width. But some states will charge you several hundred dollars for a "wide-load" permit, depending on just how wide the load is. And you may be required to have a chase car. So in terms of cost, width can be an issue.

Of course, most truckers and trucking companies know about the permit fees, and will balance going out of their way some distance to avoid those states.

[sailingdog]

Yes, but a few hundred dollars isn't much of a problem compared to not being able to transport the boat at all. If the boat is too tall, they won't even quote you on it.

Originally Posted by denverd0n

That's true, so when it comes to actually being able to fit on the road, height is more of an issue than width. But some states will charge you several hundred dollars for a "wide-load" permit, depending on just how wide the load is. And you may be required to have a chase car. So in terms of cost, width can be an issue.

Of course, most truckers and trucking companies know about the permit fees, and will balance going out of their way some distance to avoid those states.