Transport companies Crack me up.

[TAB]

So I am intrested in buying a very small sailboat that is right at 2000 miles away from me.   It is 14' long 4 is wide and is a wapping 300# on the trailer.     I have been getting quotes in the 4k+ range.  Every one hears sail boat and they think it is some type of massive thing that needs to be moved on a hydraulic cradle behind a semi.   Its like no dummy, you could tow it with a Honda civic if it had a 2" ball.

[Big Frank]

I only get 13 MPG, 14 downhill. But if you're buying, I'm up for a road trip. Or not. My butt hurts after a couple of hours, but it does sound kind of fun.

[TAB]

I get just under 18 at 70 in my f350.   Its that 30 hour drive each way that kills.

[Rastus]

Sailboat? 

[TAB]

yep, I owned one several decades ago just like it.   i have enough craziness in my life,  it is nice to slow down and relax

[Sponsor]

[MikeBjerum]

$4K is steep, but unless you can find a full carrier or a hotshot with partial loads that are in the same neighborhood on both ends, you are going to be hard pressed to get below $3K for a run.

Think about it:
Fuel - $800 (10 mpg fuel + DEF)
Time - $800 (4 days at $200)
Tolls - ?
Equipment Depreciation - $200 ($0.10 per mile)
Maintenance (tires, PM service, incidental repairs) - $160 ($0.08 per mile)

$1960, bare bones minimum cost for dedicated run.

If you add to another delivery the costs can be split with other customer, but there will also be added costs of multiple pickup and deliveries. The last truck I booked to run 1600 miles with no tolls and minimal low truck speed limits was $3300.

If you are talking one of the three west coast states and/or New England, drivers will charge for the pain and nuisance of dealing with regulations and costs.

If you find anyone for less than $3K for this run, verify everything! DOT, MC, insurance, and carrier ratings.

[alfsauve]

Need to find one closer.


When I was a teen dad had a Rhodes 19’ daysailor.  Later he moved to a Cal 30.  I miss those days.  We’d sail out to the sand bar in Sarasota’s Big Pass and picnic till late evening.  Dad’s friends, like artist Bob Chase,  would join us and bring all his exotic framing scraps, so we had some of the best smelling camp fires ever.  John D McDonald came over from Siesta Key a couple of times in his dingy.  Those were the good old days.

[TAB]

Only about 800 or so built.   90% never made it across  the pond.

The funny thing is I have 49 ton excavators moved about half the distance for less.

Thats just it, everyone things it needs to be towed by itself, but it would be perfectly OK on a hot shot car transport or even a flat bed loaded out with something else.   If I was going to get it, I would be very tempted  to just put it in the bed of my truck.   It only has 10" tires.

[alfsauve]

What make and model is the boat?

[crusader rabbit]

Bunny and I lived aboard a couple of different sailboats for better than 10 years--one 36' and one 46' long.  There is certainly something to be said about the relaxation factor in sailing. 

It's been said power boaters view their boats as transportation, a means to get from one point to another--fishing, water skiing, a night at anchor near a tiki bar--while sail boaters view their boats as where they want to be and the fact that it also serves as transportation is simply an added benefit. 

That said, we did quite a lot of cruising throughout Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras and found some great beach bars along the way.  It's a good life.

Have you thought about flying out, renting a one-way pickup truck from Budget or U-Haul, and towing it back yourself?  That might just be the least expensive way to get it home.  You won't put any mileage on your own equipment and you know that it'll be done safely.

Crusader Rabbit