Advice for prepping a boat to be shipped on a semi

jff

jff

Member
Mar 29, 2008
510
Atlanta
Boat Info
2017 Crest Pontoon
Engines
Yamaha
We are shipping our 390 DA down to Florida (from Atlanta) next week, I'm wondering what do and do nots the group would suggest? For example:

- shipper asked that I drain the water tank (presumably to minimize gas expense), any reason not to do this?

- shipper obviously prefers less fuel than more, does it matter for the boat what state the tanks are in (gas sloshing around, etc.)?

- anything in particular on a 390 DA I need to be careful about, anyone had anything come loose/break during shipping that I need to secure more than I would expect?

- yes are taking down the radar and Sat dome, anything else I should think about disassembling/removing?

- I was told to take all the Eisenglass off since I am getting it shrinkwrapped, sound correct?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

Regards,
Jason
 
jff said:
We are shipping our 390 DA down to Florida (from Atlanta) next week, I'm wondering what do and do nots the group would suggest? For example:

- shipper asked that I drain the water tank (presumably to minimize gas expense), any reason not to do this?

- shipper obviously prefers less fuel than more, does it matter for the boat what state the tanks are in (gas sloshing around, etc.)?

- anything in particular on a 390 DA I need to be careful about, anyone had anything come loose/break during shipping that I need to secure more than I would expect?

- yes are taking down the radar and Sat dome, anything else I should think about disassembling/removing?

- I was told to take all the Eisenglass off since I am getting it shrinkwrapped, sound correct?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

Regards,
Jason
Click to expand...

Insurance maybe, in case it's damaged during the haul?

When we were looking at a FLA boat earlier this year. We were told to make sure the haulers have seen the boat prior to loading. Lot's of "Oh nos" can come up once they arrive sight unseen.

Good post, one I will follow as our next boat purchase may require a land haul.
 
I have been through this three times over the years. Some haulers are sticklers about fuel tank levels requiring that they be as empty as possible. In the end I have always been able to work out an agreement to just leave the tanks as they are. Draining the water tank is a fair request and not hard to do, just turn on all the taps and monitor the level until the water is gone. What I have always done is get a few rolls of shrink wrap tape, it sticks like iron to smooth surfaces yet generally removes with out leaving any residue. I use lenghts of the tape to tape down all of the interior and exterior doors, cabinets and drawers as these things have a tendancy to open up and swing around especially when subjected to the 70 MPH travel that they never see when on the water. All the canvas must come down along with anything else that can easily be removed from the exterior as most of this stuff is not designed for the wind force. To move my 370 on a drop deck marine trailer the props have to come off along with everything on the radar arch to get under a 13'6" height. Since your boat is higher than mine I would imagine the props will need to be removed too. As far as shrink wrap, the job has to be done very well and tight... much better then just for winterization as it to is subject to major forces. Most of the haulers I have worked with cautioned me against shrink wrap as it has a tendancy to be a PITA for them on the road it it starts to fail. Just make sure you have upfront understaing of all the permits the hauler will need. The DOT in FL is well known for enforcing their oversize regs on boats since they have so much volume. One trucker I hired told me that they have a copy of the Powerboat Guide in the weigh stations at the entrances to FL and that they often will look up the beam of the boat in the book instead of just taking what is on the permit as gospel. Call your insurance company and tell them you are doing this. Mine gave me a special rider for about $150 that covered the boat for any damage from either the haul out or the haul incase the companies performing these services are under insured.
 
The water tank and fuel thing also have ramification for the boat as well. These boats are designed to support their structure while resting on their own bottom in water, not on a trailer or blocks and stands. The lighter you can make the boat, the better it is for the boat.

Place all cockpit cushions and canvas in the cabin in a well secured spot and remove anything loose in the exterior of the boat. It isn't accustomerd to 70 mph and some stuff that is happy at 20 kts, may get dislodged at 65 kts. Otherwise, I cannot add much to Jon's excellent answer.
 
I just had my boat brought up from FLA 3 week ago and to John's point, if you have it shrink wrapped make sure it is tight. Have the guy run tape at the bottom of the wrap to secure it to the hull as well as the normal method. Have them load it stern first and this will also help with the issue of the wind catching the shrink wrap. Make sure you either take the TV out or secure it in place with a strap or something. Props will have to be removed. My transporter carries shrink wrap tape with him but they did tell me if it started to flap... they would cut it off and you do not want wind at 70 plus MPH removing your windshield for you so again the tighter the shrink wrap....the happier and beeter it will transport.
Good luck
 
Fuel and water sloshing around............how? The tanks have baffles in them to prevent sloshing. Think how unstable a boat carrying 350 gal of fuel and 100 gal of water could in sloppy sea conditions without baffles.
 
fwebster said:
Fuel and water sloshing around............how? The tanks have baffles in them to prevent sloshing. Think how unstable a boat carrying 350 gal of fuel and 100 gal of water could in sloppy sea conditions without baffles.
Click to expand...

He might have been
pointy.jpg


shootin' from the hip, not knowing that.

Jason,
Is it for a trip or are you moving there?
Has anyone taped or attached foam or some protection on the bow and lower hull areas before the shrinkwrap that goes on to protect from rock chips, etc.

I think I would want to do something like that or at least a couple extra layers of something up there.

Just a thought....shooting from the hip too.
 
I suspect you are right about no baffles in the Bayliner. I'm not a brand basher, but Brunswick makes the Bayliner brand to be sold basically to freshwater boater and at a "value price". Not many land locked lakes have enough seas to worry about and a tank with no baffles in smaller boat poses very little risk and does have a lower cost.

I'd bet you guys had your hands full chasing a big Bayliner all over the road from the front seat of a truck in front of it.
 
We just moved ours again and we duck taped the windsheild down the driver said he has seen them blow out before. Right before we put her in the water we stopped and filled up with gas. Saved 1.00 gal x 200 gal = $200.00.
 
I have shipped my boat to the coast 3 times in the last 3 years and each time things went well. I did not shrink wrap my boat but it wouldn't have hurt. The boat was pretty dirty upon arrival. If you are using a good transporter then he will take care of all the details pertaining to making sure the boat is secure and safe for 70mph travel.

I would take extra care with insurance though. My carrier would not insure the boat during transportation over land. I made sure the transporter had the proper coverage by having his company provide me his declaration page on the day of the move. My insurance company gave me tips on this. Apparently there is problem with transporters claiming to have coverage but in fact they have let the policy lapse. Last year the transporter I was signed up to use at first was lying about his insurance. If they offer to show you a insurance policy or a insurance card, that is meaningless. You need to see a current declaration page that comes from his company. And that page needs to declare the expiration date so that you can be sure his policy is not up for renewal before you splash in Florida.

Going to the coast sounds like fun!!!!
 
Nehalennia said:
He might have been
pointy.jpg


shootin' from the hip, not knowing that.

Jason,
Is it for a trip or are you moving there?
Has anyone taped or attached foam or some protection on the bow and lower hull areas before the shrinkwrap that goes on to protect from rock chips, etc.

I think I would want to do something like that or at least a couple extra layers of something up there.

Just a thought....shooting from the hip too.
Click to expand...

When I transported my 330 Dancer from Wisconsin to Oregon my friend on the Wisconsin side of the transport wrapped the front of the boat 15' back with 4 carpet protection clear plastic. The tar and gravel over the 2700 mile trip was easily removed once she arrived out here. VERY EASY! I also was told not to shrink wrap the boat as you would spend big money only to have the transporter remove it 100 miles down the road when it started to flap in the wind!

Good luck with the transport!
 
Do you have a good relationship with your local dealer? I have no experience in shipping a boat, but thought about doing it so one day while at the dealership (there's been too many) I asked the service manager about how Sea Ray moves boats. I'm not sure if it's dealer specific, but he told me that they have them all wrapped up for the long haul. He said for the most part, they show in great condition... and then he said every now and then, once or twice a year, they loose the wrap somewhere around Idaho (no, I don't know why he said Idaho) and all the stones that get thrown up start taking a toll on boat and they end up with a lot of cosmetic repair work...
 
Thanks for all the tips guys - this is the big week. The boat comes out around Wednesday, gets shrinkwrapped (they offered full or partial shrink-wrap, I can't imagine how you could partially shrinkwrap just the cockpit and have it hold??), put on a semi and taken down to Destin. The radar & sat are coming off, I need to ask the hauler about the props. This is an experienced marine shipper so I expect they will be doing whatever needs to be done. And I did call my insurance company, I'm covered - they said no extra insurance needed I'm fully covered. Then, in a week, repeat the process to get it back to me here in GA - this is just for a (expensive) 1-week vacation in Florida.

Regards,
Jason
 
Jason, how many miles are they moving it and what kind of price are you paying for a round-trip move? I am seriously considering moving my 340 to Canada for 2 weeks in Aug. I have been getting prices around 4-5$ a mile round trip. Seems awfully steep. Have a great trip. SB
 
I'm paying $6600 (not including lift fees, shrink wrap or sat/radar uninstall/reinstall) for the round trip move. It's 660 miles roundtrip, so that works out to about $10 a mile. That's on a semi with two escorts by a marine shipping company. I had bids down to about $6 per mile but that was a guy with a truck and trailer. I got about five bids, nobody was $4-5 per mile so that sounds like a pretty good price to me. Just be careful, several people who have used numerous shippers told me that often you get what you pay for ...

Regards,
Jason
 
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