Boat prep for overland transport

[BigEasy1]

I am presently investigating transporting a 34 foot sailboat about 600 milesby flatbed trailer with a boat hauling firm. Can anyone who has recently shipped a boat give me an idea ($/ft) of the current cost of shipping. Also, any advice for prepping the boat for shipment would be appreciated. Finally, can you give me an idea of the mast prepartions that were required to ship.

Thanks.

[jrd22]

I had quotes for shipping a 36' (41' LOA) from NC to Seattle of 8-10K.

Prep can be a lot of time and work to do it properly, 600 miles is relatively short and this time of year you don't need to worry about snow, ice, grit, etc. so that is a plus. We wrapped everything that could move in the boat with bubble wrap and secured it well. We took all the standing rigging off the mast and secured it to a pallet and completely wrapped it with that stretchy shipping plastic (some recommend removing the running rigging too but we just secured it to the mast with shipping tape). The mast should be totally wrapped in bubble wrap and then the stretchy plastic and where it is supported on the side of the trailer you should use carpet remnants (our trucker had the carpet) to protect it. We wrapped all the winches with plastic and secured with duct tape. Anywhere that the straps they use to secure the boat to the trailer should be protected and padded. Everything came through just fine but I have heard horror stories about people that left it to the boat yard to prep their boats.

[BigEasy1]

John,
Thanks for the reply. It appears that you directly involved in prepping the boat for shipment and did not deligate the task to the yard or the truck operator. I guess that is the only way to ensure that everthing is protected adequately.
Where did you buy the bubble wrap and stretch wrap to encase the mast and rigging?
David

[sck5]

Also think of 600 miles of bugs getting squashed on the front of your boat. A plastic covering of all front facing surfaces will save you a lot of cleanup later on.

Also, now is the time to inspect the sheaves at the top of the mast. Do you need new standing rigging? anchor light? check the spreaders. Now is the time to do all of that when the mast is down.

I moved my boat 2 years ago and did everything you would want to do with the mast down since it was down anyway. Almost anything you would do by going up the mast can be done more easily when it is already down.

[bradbeamer1]

Call soem of the transport companies. Most of them have a free quote