Recommended Boat Transport Company

[G-DOG]

Does anyone have a boat transportation company they would recommend and trust? Moving back to California in late spring and not sure if I want to tow my boat over 2k miles. When I moved to AR I towed myself but I guess I'm getting lazy....then again I may have a hard time trusting someone to tow for me. Any recommendations would be appreciated. -Thanks

[Malibudude]

Checkout Osborn Transport. You can use UShip to put out the bid and Osborn more than likely will come in very competitive. I never ended up using them but they were very professional answered all my tedious questions. Word to the wise make sure who preps the boat and ships the boat both are insured and can cover any damage. Make sure you know who is responsible for what, dealing w/ it after will have everyone pointing fingers. IMHO I'd have a dealer or qualified person to prep the boat for transport and inspect both that and how my boat was strapped to the semi trailer. Recently some shipper ran a strap over the top of the boat = damage. Welcome back to the land of fruits and nuts....where ya headed to in CA?

[martinarcher]

I used uship.com and found this guy (Wayne) and shipped my Sunsetter from CA to PA for $2k (approx 2500 miles). It also rode on a giant flatbed trailer which meant no wheel bearing/tire risk on the boat trailer. The biggest reason I liked the boat on a flatbed is there would be no stone chips from the long tow. He is fully insured and has all is paperwork in order - no fly by night guy towing boats.

He would send me an email each evening and let me know how far he made it across country. Super nice guy. He travels with his wife, he drives and she does the paperwork, picture taking, documentation. They do a great job.

[jkendallmsce]

Does anyone have a boat transportation company they would recommend and trust? Moving back to California in late spring and not sure if I want to tow my boat over 2k miles. When I moved to AR I towed myself but I guess I'm getting lazy....then again I may have a hard time trusting someone to tow for me. Any recommendations would be appreciated. -Thanks

NOt sure how long ya been gone, but the state is going down the crapper. Stockton is in a race with Oakland to see just who'll have the most murders!! Jerry Moonbeam and the bunch want to increase our already higher than hell taxes (no wait, we'll call them fees, and no one will know!!), the folks pulling the cart are leaving in mass, pretty soon all that will be left in the Golden state are those riding in the cart with their hands out wanting, no demanding, more. Collectively, the state, counties and cities are over 100B in the red!!!

Waste Connections and a some auto recyling outfit, just moved their corporate offices to TX, as they got tired of dealing with CA's burdonesome and draconian regulations and excessive fees. Mean while the state's response was, hey there are LOTS of companies/businesses wanting to move to the CA!! ya right!!

Edited January 28, 2012 by jkendallmsce

[G-DOG]

Checkout Osborn Transport. You can use UShip to put out the bid and Osborn more than likely will come in very competitive. I never ended up using them but they were very professional answered all my tedious questions. Word to the wise make sure who preps the boat and ships the boat both are insured and can cover any damage. Make sure you know who is responsible for what, dealing w/ it after will have everyone pointing fingers. IMHO I'd have a dealer or qualified person to prep the boat for transport and inspect both that and how my boat was strapped to the semi trailer. Recently some shipper ran a strap over the top of the boat = damage. Welcome back to the land of fruits and nuts....where ya headed to in CA?

Thanks for the information. I'll look Osborn up online.

I'll be working out of my home so location is not set in stone. We are thinking Tracy, Livermore area. I have never had a mortgage payment over $1300. So, the rental prices are going to "kill" me....

It will be nice to be back on the Delta.

[G-DOG]

I used uship.com and found this guy (Wayne) and shipped my Sunsetter from CA to PA for $2k (approx 2500 miles). It also rode on a giant flatbed trailer which meant no wheel bearing/tire risk on the boat trailer. The biggest reason I liked the boat on a flatbed is there would be no stone chips from the long tow. He is fully insured and has all is paperwork in order - no fly by night guy towing boats.

He would send me an email each evening and let me know how far he made it across country. Super nice guy. He travels with his wife, he drives and she does the paperwork, picture taking, documentation. They do a great job.

Sounds like a good guy. I agree with you on the flat bed. Just need to figure out if the price is worth it. When we towed the boat from Ca. to Ar. wasn't that big of a deal. It was sort of funny, we felt like gypsies. We slept in the truck so I wouldn't have to leave the boat unattended. 2 big dogs me and my finance, hanging towels in the window when we slept so the sun wouldn't wake us up. People had to be scratching their heads. Good memories though.....