Anything one should be concerned about, besides having insurance, in
hauler selection, and preparing a sailboat for long distance hauling by
truck?

Hi Sherwin,

We shipped our Express 37 from Seattle to San Diego a number of years ago.
I also prepped a boat for shipment to Singapore by ship. In general, I'd
say the biggest issues are pretty obvious: find a good trucking company
(check references!) and prep the boat as if it were going to be bounced
around continuously for days. I spent a lot of time around the docks in San
Diego, where boats are delivered by truck every day. From my experience,
most boats arrive without mishap.

When you find a good, reliable trucker, the driver can be a great asset.
Ours inspected everything like a hawk, looking for anything that might come
loose or get soiled enroute.

Boat yards run the gammut as far as being helpful. Our yard in Seattle was
great, but the yard in San Diego was lousey. I watched the S.D. yard prep a
boat for delivery to the East coast... I'm glad they didn't prep our boat!

For the outside, remove all canvas (take off that dodger!) and lines that
may get soiled or stained by diesel exhaust, rain and soot. A coat of wax
on the hull and deck wouldn't hurt (protects the gelcoat). Some shipping
companies even "shrink wrap" the boat, which is a great idea if you can do
it. Shrink wrapping the mast is also a great idea. Our boat had rod
rigging, so we packed them in PVC pipe and secured it alongside the mast.
Wire rigging is normally coiled up and secured.

You'll also need to unrig, lower or remove all antennas, radar masts, etc.
If your boat is a trawler or sport fisher, the flying bridge will need to be
removed (which can be a -big- project).

On the inside, make sure everything is secured and packed properly.
Especially heavy items that may vibrate against fiberglass or wood. We
wrapped our anchors in bubble wrap before securing them below, and other
items in old towels, etc.

Before un-stepping the mast, it helps to take pictures of wiring and
rigging. Be sure to label all wiring as thoroughly as you can.

When the boat arrives at it's destination, this is a good time to inspect
the mast and rigging thoroughly, give the boat a new bottom, replace /
repack seals, etc.

Hope this helps,

Paul

http://www.renewontime.com