Prepairing your yacht or boat for transport overland or international shipping

Proper preparation of your boat for transport requires careful planning and attention to detail on both the part of the owner and the boat transport service companies involved. Proper preparation of the boat for transport is the responsibility of the owner.

Boat Transport companies do not typically prepare boats for transport. Marinas and boat yards personnel prepare boats and yachts for transport and typically will only allow their employees to prepare boats while on their property.

Communicate with your Boat Transportation Company. These boat transporting companies are grateful for…

Having the boat ready to load when the truck arrives at its scheduled time. Besides having to pay the driver for unnecessary delay, this also causes the boat transporting company to get behind on the other boats they have scheduled for transport. Transport companies do their best to deliver the boat at the estimated time. However, this is an approximation only due to the many factors beyond their control such as weather, traffic, permitted re-routes, and availability of marina operations for loading and offloading schedules.

Your consideration that if your boat is being moved at 60 miles per hour into a 14 mile per hour head wind, it is experiencing hurricane force conditions, as well as any inclement weather that may be encountered en-route. Please expect normal road dirt on the boat

Properly Measure Your Boat for Transport

When requesting a quote to transport your boat, the dimensions are extremely important. Please follow these guidelines for measuring your boat accurately. In order to transport your boat for the lowest possible price, boat transporters try to carry more than one small boat going in the same general direction at the same time. That is why it is important for the boat transporter to know the full overall length of your vessel in order to know what boats will fit on the trailers.

OVERALL LENGTH: Include bow pulpits, swim platforms, outboard motor brackets, outboard motors themselves (the length of the motors or out drives in the raised position). If on a trailer, include from the tip of the tongue to the end of the motor.

OVERALL HEIGHT: The maximum height of many overpasses is 13 feet 6 inches. Many oversized yachts require wide-belly low-boy trailers in order for the keel to set down low. Using these type trailers for tall yachts can sometimes be low enough to avoid using a pole car if the boat loaded is less than the state-by-state height restraint (the New England area has many low bridges and re-routes may be dictated by the Department of Transportation. Boats with an overall height greater than 13.6′ loaded on the trailer require special handling and routing. It is critical to measure from the bottom of the keel to the highest non-removable part of the boat.

The draft (from the waterline to the bottom of the keel) + clearance (from the waterline to the highest part of the vessel) equal the total standing height. Pending on your model, if the fly or command bridge may need to be removed. It is important to measure the vessel without the bridge and also provide bridge dimensions to ensure appropriate transport space. Remember measure twice – cut once!!!

The bridge should be placed somewhere suitable on the boat and make certain it is safely secured. If it must be placed on the trailer, a frame should be prepared for it to rest upon. If your radar arch is removed, it should be secured against your boat. You might consider using carpet to protect areas where surfaces may “touch”.

Electronics such as radios, Loran Systems, etc., should be shipped separately or securely stowed in your cabin, with all cabin doors, windows, and any other access, locked.

OVERALL BEAM/WIDTH: The beam of your boat is the measured as the widest point of the boat including anything attached to the boat.

Remove and properly store the following items. WHEN IN DOUBT…PULL IT OUT!!!

This includes valuables, all exterior electronics, Anchors, Antennas, Propellers, Flagstaffs, Outriggers, any item that extends beyond the stated length, width or height of your vessel, all canvas, screens, cushions, and weatherboards, radar transmitters, hailers, and dinghies.

Check the drain plugs. There should not be any water in the bilge while it is being transported.

Drain fuel and water tanks as much as possible. Be sure the tank is no more than ¼ full. During winter months, water should be drained from water systems, pumps, and air conditioners.

The batteries should be disconnected and the cables tied off to prevent contact.

If engine hatch covers are battery operated, they should be secured to prevent their opening while in transit.

Check for any loose items or items that could become loose

Additional instructions for transporting your wood boat.

It is highly recommended that wood boats be transported on their own custom cradle. This is suggested because there may be inherent structural weaknesses that are not readily visible or detectable. A well designed cradle will spread the weight of the boat over a much wider contact area. Wooden boats can be expected to dry out. A coat of linseed oil will help. Most boat transport companies will ask you to sign a release of liability for wood boats.

Additional Instructions for Sail Boat Transporting.

Make certain that all Mast Poles are un-stepped and de-rigged. All cables and spreaders should be bound to the pole. ALL rigging, winches, wind indicators, and lights must be removed from the mast. The strongest side of the mast should be left on our trailer. Wrapping of poles is optional, but should be considered. Carpet should be provided for the mast at the points of tie down. Expect some chafing at these points. If the mast is painted, it is almost impossible to keep the paint from chafing. The carrier will not pay to repaint masts if chafing occurs. Do not secure the mast to the boat, as there is a space on the carrier’s trailer for the mast. Should the mast be secured to the boat, the carrier will not be responsible for any resulting damage to the mast or the boat.

Life lines, stanchions, bow and stern pulpits should be removed if they render the boat over height. On center board sailboats, make sure the board is secured and will stay up in transit. Keel sailboats may expect some separation where the keel joins the hull. This is not structural damage, but rather is the paint or filler cracking at the joint. Light built or racing sailboats can expect some hull indentation from the support pads. These indentations generally disappear when the boat is returned to the water.

Rudders, sticks, ladders, outboards, and anything else that can turn or flap in the wind, should be removed and/or well secured.

Now that you have an idea of how to prep your boat for transporting internationally or demoestic stop by our website at http://www.yachtexports.com and lets us take it from there.

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Justin Linder -
About the Author:

Justin Linder is part of the Yacht Export Group. Check us out at http://www.yachtexports.com

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yacht transport, transport, yacht mover, international yacht export, boat mover, boat transport

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