Shipping a Boat Across the Country

Begester

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
203
I recently purchased a new boat and will be shopping it from California to South Carolina. The boat doesn't have a trailer and I'm trying to decide if it's better for the boat to be shipped on a trailer or if it's better to buy the trailer when it arrives in South Carolina. I'd have to assume that being shipped without the trailer would be rougher on the boat, but I'm really not sure. The trailer price is about the same at either location, although I'm not sure about the cost for shipping. If you were in this scenario, would you buy the trailer in California or wait until it arrives? Or does it matter?

Really trying to figure out which way reduces the risk of shipping damage.

Any insight is greatly appreciated! Boat is a 27 foot outboard bowrider.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,621
You might want to consult a few shiiping/trucking folks on that question. Having a trailer under the boat will add a couple of feet in height, which may be a problem, depending on how 'high' the boat is to begin with.

Also, not having a trailer may open things up for boat haulers that have their own trailer. The only problem will be off-loading the boat at the destination . . . but you could have the hauler dunk the boat and you pull it out with your trailer.

Lots of permutations, you will have to see what works best in the moment when you are ready to have the boat transported.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
36,047
A shipping company would know how to support a boat.-------And new boats are incredibly strong.-----After all consider what happens when a boat hits a 2' or 3' wave at 30 miles / hour.
 

vroom ZOOM

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
369
Here is my take on this, having done this quite a few times.

first, you limit your options when you ship a boat without a trailer. Basically, you are restricted only to specialized boat transporters. If you buy the trailer and have the boat loaded onto it at the starting point, then basically any hotshotter would be able to tow it away, usually for a lower price if you shop around. Also, if you go this route, you can section your route, i.e. one guy tows it a third of the way and gives it to the other, and so on. That way you can save a lot by not having one guy go across the country. If you don't have a trailer, then good luck trying to reload the boat from one transporter to another.

What I did with my lund and tuffy, is I went the commercial route. I had a 53 foot flatbed semi truck and they just loaded the thing on, trailers and all. Without a trailer, you would need special equipment to load and unload. Check with a shipping broker, they might have an empty truck going your way on the load board.

Another thing to consider is titling a trailer bought out of state. Bascially you could end up with paperwork issues. I think CA titles their trailers, so it shouldn't be an issue, but need to double check.

Lastly, you won't be able to see the trailer to do a pre purchase inspection, but who knows, this might be a non-issue for you. And also, sometimes the trailer may need to be tweaked slightly to fit the boat, so you would need someone to do that for you.
 
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