I've never done this before, so I feel pretty clewless (clueless for
lubbers).

Has anybody had to move a fairly big boat overland?

I need to move a Hunter 38 - in Washington state,
down to Houston (texas).


I've googled up some boat movers - but -

what to look for?
what to watch out for?

What extra expenses to plan on?

Is there a better way?

On Feb 8, 1:40*am, cavalamb himself wrote:
I've never done this before, so I feel pretty clewless (clueless for
lubbers).

Has anybody had to move a fairly big boat overland?

I need to move a Hunter 38 - in Washington state,
down to Houston (texas).

I've googled up some boat movers - but -

what to look for?
Maximum height and width - varies by trailer configuration .... if
oversize (as it sits on a trailer) may cost double If an escort
vehicle (with 'pole') has to be used ... sometimes you have to remove
bow pulpits, etc. to be less than the 'on the trailer' required
clearances. The clearances arent usually a problem when on Interstate
Highways .... its all the damn small roads at the origin and the
destination that have the most clearance restrictions, etc.

what to watch out for?
Reputation of the carrier, that the 'carrier' doesnt 'sub-let' to
other carriers, insurance - yours and theirs.

What extra expenses to plan on?
hauling, mast removal and prep. including 'complete winterizing' ..
especially if the route is going 'high' through the mountains. Prep
includes mast mounting/bubble-wrapping to the trailer (yard charges)
so the transport doesnt rub the anodizing off the mast, sealing the
boat from road grime (at windspeeds of 70+mph for days on end), etc.
etc.

Is there a better way? Sail it around if you have the time. Or sail it to So. Cal and truck from there ... less *total* $$$ per mile charges.

RichH wrote:
On Feb 8, 1:40 am, cavalamb himself wrote:

I've never done this before, so I feel pretty clewless (clueless for
lubbers).

Has anybody had to move a fairly big boat overland?

I need to move a Hunter 38 - in Washington state,
down to Houston (texas).

I've googled up some boat movers - but -

what to look for?

Maximum height and width - varies by trailer configuration .... if
oversize (as it sits on a trailer) may cost double If an escort
vehicle (with 'pole') has to be used ... sometimes you have to remove
bow pulpits, etc. to be less than the 'on the trailer' required
clearances. The clearances arent usually a problem when on Interstate
Highways .... its all the damn small roads at the origin and the
destination that have the most clearance restrictions, etc.



Beam is easy - 12'11"

18,000 pounds displacement.

The mast is probably about 50 feet long!?!

Height - I'd have to guesstimate - 5' draft + 6'6 headroom + ?
probably 15 or 16 feet from bottom of keel to the top of the arch.
Add 3 or 4 feet for the trailer and we are looking at nearly 20 feet height!

Well, Hunter shipped the thing up here (from Florida!) some how!



what to watch out for?

Reputation of the carrier, that the 'carrier' doesnt 'sub-let' to
other carriers, insurance - yours and theirs.

Didn't know about the sub-let question.
Thanks, Rich.


What extra expenses to plan on?

hauling, mast removal and prep. including 'complete winterizing' ..
especially if the route is going 'high' through the mountains. Prep
includes mast mounting/bubble-wrapping to the trailer (yard charges)
so the transport doesnt rub the anodizing off the mast, sealing the
boat from road grime (at windspeeds of 70+mph for days on end), etc.
etc.



Is there a better way?


Sail it around if you have the time.

Or sail it to So. Cal and truck from there ... less *total* $$$ per mile
charges.
That looks like about 1500 miles straight across verses 2300 from
Washington. But all the other fixed expenses would still apply.


As for the Sail-It option:

I was told by the people at the marina up there that the Columbia River
is navigable (via locks) all the way to the Pacific (Astoria, Oregon).
But I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
I haven't got the charts yet.
I was hoping someone here on the list might know?


I have the time to sail it around.
But not that much blue water experience.
I've been out in the Gulf a few times is all.
This would be - by far - my longest voyage so far.

But then - that was the idea after all - go cruise for a while...

Well, we'll know more in just a few weeks.

On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:32:24 -0800, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I have the time to sail it around.
But not that much blue water experience.
I've been out in the Gulf a few times is all.

Trucking has a lot to recommend it, even for the experienced. For the
inexperienced it is no choice at all.

The Columbia is navigable. Don't know where your boat is but tri
cities down is fine. Might have to reef in the gorge tho.!
The Pacific coast can be tough. Not many good hideyholes. Most
harbors have bars to cross. Best to go 150 miles out and head south.
As for trucking, check with a freight forwarding company. Neighbor
saver a bundle that way on a used life raft.
Also, craigslist has ads occasionally.
G

As for the Sail-It option:

I was told by the people at the marina up there that the Columbia River
is navigable (via locks) all the way to the Pacific (Astoria, Oregon).
But I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
I haven't got the charts yet.
I was hoping someone here on the list might know?


I have the time to sail it around.
But not that much blue water experience.
I've been out in the Gulf a few times is all.
This would be - by far - my longest voyage so far.

But then - that was the idea after all - go cruise for a while...

Well, we'll know more in just a few weeks.

On Feb 8, 8:30*am, Gordon wrote:
* *The Columbia is navigable. Don't know where your boat is but tri
cities down is fine.

There is a sailing club near Tri-Cities AKA Kennewick-Pasco-Richland.
Ive talked to few and they are good people. SOme are ex curisers. Most
likley you wont get a google hit if you use TriCities. Search each
city by name.

Ive "sailed" the Columbia River from Astoria to RM 320 just below
Pasco, WA. i think 4-5 RTs. The river is fun depending where the wind
is. Blowing 30 mph gusting to 40mps on the nose is no fun. I think I
avaraged 0.3 to 0.5K over the ground one 8 hour leg.

The big problem are the LOCKS and when I say L O C K S I mean
terrifying at times. if you have a keel your boat will SLAM into the
concrete wall and your toe rail will lodge in a crack as you go up.
email me for all full deatils. NOt at all like the cute little three
fold broucure the Corps puts out. Then there are lock schedules a few
times each day. It changes seasonally so get the latest info. It wont
be in the printed COast Pilot No 8.

SO why bother sailing an unkown boat with limmited skills along one of
the most dangerous streaches of the pacific? THey dont call it the
Grave Yard of the Pacific for nutin.

* *The Pacific coast can be tough. Not many good hideyholes. Most
harbors have bars to cross. Best to go 150 miles out and head south.

This is excellent advice! ! ! there aitn nuthing from Neha Bay, WA
untill Grays Harbor. Its a long 18 hour motor south in good weather
20-30K NW seas 12'-18' . You'll get there in the dark. ANd pray you
dont run over the 1000s of dungeness crab pot lines/bouys. That would
ruin your motor/sail down


* *As for trucking, check with a freight forwarding company. Neighbor
saver a bundle that way on a used life raft.

MOre EXCELLENT advice above.......

Bob

cavalamb himself wrote:
RichH wrote:
On Feb 8, 1:40 am, cavalamb himself wrote:

I've never done this before, so I feel pretty clewless (clueless for
lubbers).

Has anybody had to move a fairly big boat overland?

I need to move a Hunter 38 - in Washington state,
down to Houston (texas).

I've googled up some boat movers - but -

what to look for?

Maximum height and width - varies by trailer configuration .... if
oversize (as it sits on a trailer) may cost double If an escort
vehicle (with 'pole') has to be used ... sometimes you have to
remove bow pulpits, etc. to be less than the 'on the trailer'
required clearances. The clearances arent usually a problem when on
Interstate Highways .... its all the damn small roads at the origin
and the destination that have the most clearance restrictions, etc.



Beam is easy - 12'11"

18,000 pounds displacement.

The mast is probably about 50 feet long!?!

Height - I'd have to guesstimate - 5' draft + 6'6 headroom + ?
probably 15 or 16 feet from bottom of keel to the top of the arch.
Add 3 or 4 feet for the trailer and we are looking at nearly 20 feet
height!

Well, Hunter shipped the thing up here (from Florida!) some how!



what to watch out for?

Reputation of the carrier, that the 'carrier' doesnt 'sub-let' to
other carriers, insurance - yours and theirs.

Didn't know about the sub-let question.
Thanks, Rich.


What extra expenses to plan on?

hauling, mast removal and prep. including 'complete winterizing' ..
especially if the route is going 'high' through the mountains. Prep
includes mast mounting/bubble-wrapping to the trailer (yard charges)
so the transport doesnt rub the anodizing off the mast, sealing the
boat from road grime (at windspeeds of 70+mph for days on end), etc.
etc.



Is there a better way?


Sail it around if you have the time.

Or sail it to So. Cal and truck from there ... less *total* $$$ per
mile charges.
That looks like about 1500 miles straight across verses 2300 from
Washington. But all the other fixed expenses would still apply.


As for the Sail-It option:

I was told by the people at the marina up there that the Columbia
River
is navigable (via locks) all the way to the Pacific (Astoria, Oregon).
But I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
I haven't got the charts yet.
I was hoping someone here on the list might know?


I have the time to sail it around.
But not that much blue water experience.
I've been out in the Gulf a few times is all.
This would be - by far - my longest voyage so far.

But then - that was the idea after all - go cruise for a while...

Well, we'll know more in just a few weeks.

Faced with a similar problem when we bought a 50-foot yacht in Croatia (we
live in Scotland) a few years ago, we looked at the distance (about the same
as UK-US) and the problems of crewing right round Italy and Spain,
air-fares, lack of available insurance in the winter months, cost of fuel,
difficulty of crew arrangements etc., etc., and decided to move the boat
overland through Europe and across the Channel

As Croatia was still classed as a "war zone", and no haulage firm would go
there, we had to sail her through the Adriatic a short distance to Slovenia,
where a German trucking company picked her up and delivered her to Scotland
in 3 days, arriving Christmas Eve!

Although expensive, we reckoned we saved around £3000 and 4-5 weeks time.

Go for it! A 38-footer is small fry compared to our yacht, and she presented
no problems to the right contractor with the right equipent.

Dennis.

On Feb 8, 7:32*am, cavalamb himself wrote:
RichH wrote:
On Feb 8, 1:40 am, cavalamb himself wrote:

I've never done this before, so I feel pretty clewless (clueless for
lubbers).

Has anybody had to move a fairly big boat overland?

I need to move a Hunter 38 - in Washington state,
down to Houston (texas).

I've googled up some boat movers - but -

what to look for?

Maximum height and width - varies by trailer configuration .... if
oversize (as it sits on a trailer) may cost double If an escort
vehicle (with 'pole') has to be used ... *sometimes you have to remove
bow pulpits, etc. to be less than the 'on the trailer' required
clearances. *The clearances arent usually a problem when on Interstate
Highways .... its all the damn small roads at the origin and the
destination that have the most clearance restrictions, etc.

Beam is easy - 12'11"

18,000 pounds displacement.

The mast is probably about 50 feet long!?!

Height - I'd have to guesstimate - 5' draft + 6'6 headroom + ?
probably 15 or 16 feet from bottom of keel to the top of the arch.
Add 3 or 4 feet for the trailer and we are looking at nearly 20 feet height!

Well, Hunter shipped the thing up here (from Florida!) some how!



what to watch out for?

Reputation of the carrier, *that the 'carrier' doesnt 'sub-let' to
other carriers, insurance - yours and theirs.

Didn't know about the sub-let question.
Thanks, Rich.

What extra expenses to plan on?

hauling, mast removal and prep. including 'complete winterizing' ..
especially if the route is going 'high' through the mountains. * Prep
includes mast mounting/bubble-wrapping to the trailer (yard charges)
so the transport doesnt rub the anodizing off the mast, sealing the
boat from road grime (at windspeeds of 70+mph for days on end), etc.
etc.
Is there a better way? *

Sail it around if you have the time.

Or sail it to So. Cal and truck from there ... less *total* $$$ per mile
charges.
That looks like about 1500 miles straight across verses 2300 from
Washington. *But all the other fixed expenses would still apply.

As for the Sail-It option:

I was told by the people at the marina up there that the Columbia River
is navigable (via locks) all the way to the Pacific (Astoria, Oregon).
But I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
I haven't got the charts yet.
I was hoping someone here on the list might know?

I have the time to sail it around.
But not that much blue water experience.
I've been out in the Gulf a few times is all.
This would be - by far - my longest voyage so far.

But then - that was the idea after all - go cruise for a while...

Well, we'll know more in just a few weeks.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If you love to sail and have time to cruise. I would just do it.
Hiring a captain to take you would be alot less than all of the
charges for over the road. I do not have Pacific Ocean expirence, so
it is just a thought. If you love sailing like I do just do it.

On 2008-02-08 03:02:13 -0500, RichH said:

Is there a better way?

Sail it around if you have the time. Or sail it to So. Cal and truck
from there ... less *total* $$$ per mile charges.

I'm all for sailing a sailboat, but I gotta say that some movements are
more suited to overland than mucking about on the water.

The original poster strikes both of us as a newbie, NOT someone I would
comfortably recommend sailing from WA to anywhere, as that coast isn't
friendly. And it doesn't get much better for a newbie anywhere along
the path to TX.

Thus, I'd say the proper path in this case is trucking it overland.

For full disclosure, I've been considering the possibility of
"trucking" our boat to the BVI on a freighter or "float-on
transporter", then drifting downwind as we discovered the eastern
Caribbean. The cost of getting to the BVI upwind on her own keel is
likely considerably greater, and a possible relationship-breaker. We
can do downwind without even breathing hard.

I've enjoyed the the "do it" club, but have found that the "enjoy it"
club is a lot more fun.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-02-08 03:02:13 -0500, RichH said:

Is there a better way?


Sail it around if you have the time. Or sail it to So. Cal and truck
from there ... less *total* $$$ per mile charges.


I'm all for sailing a sailboat, but I gotta say that some movements are
more suited to overland than mucking about on the water.

The original poster strikes both of us as a newbie, NOT someone I would
comfortably recommend sailing from WA to anywhere, as that coast isn't
friendly. And it doesn't get much better for a newbie anywhere along the
path to TX.

Thus, I'd say the proper path in this case is trucking it overland.

For full disclosure, I've been considering the possibility of "trucking"
our boat to the BVI on a freighter or "float-on transporter", then
drifting downwind as we discovered the eastern Caribbean. The cost of
getting to the BVI upwind on her own keel is likely considerably
greater, and a possible relationship-breaker. We can do downwind without
even breathing hard.

I've enjoyed the the "do it" club, but have found that the "enjoy it"
club is a lot more fun.


Copy all, Jere.