Preparing your yacht to be shipped by road is very important to ensure that no damages occur to the boat or any of its components. Boat owners should take extra time to prepare the boat for transport before trucker arrives. No matter what kind of boat you need to ship, be it a powerboat, a sailboat, personal watercraft, yacht, or commercial fishing boat it is important that it is completely prepared for its exact form of transport. One of the first things to do is to locate the right trucker for your job with correct licenses, equipment and experience
When considering a transport company to hire, please, be assured that all truckers registered with boattrucking are reputable with at least 10 years of experience and have seen all possible scenarios in boat moving across state lines. Even then, if still in doubt, you may want to ask for references and if your chosen trucker had moved a similar boat before along same route and what to expect as well as any issues or concerns. Our truckers will gladly share their stories as they take pride being industry professionals with years of experience. Knowing your potential route is critical as height, weight and width limitations can help you avoid delays, unforeseen cost overruns, and even loss of insurance coverage due to your transporters knowledge conforming to State DOT regulations.
Our truckers are required and expected to know all of the cost and detours for your route prior to bidding on your project. They will be able to obtain all of the necessary State Permits, oversize permits where required and also help schedule pick up and drop off with marinas at both ends for timely loading and unloading of your boat. Our truckers will always provide you with prove of insurance coverage up to the total value of your boat
All loose exterior items such as antennas, radar, speakers, hailers, etc. need to be securely fastened and may need to be removed for height clearance. We will help you determine what needs to be removed. Equipment such as radios, depth sounders, knot meters and such should be removed from their brackets on deck and stowed inside the cabin.
All electronics, radar, hailers, horns, antennas, propellers, flag masts, lights, anchor lights, etc., must be removed, packed securely and securely stored below.
We will help you document the move with photos of before and after via text or email. Drivers may also provide you with location updates while en-route. Make sure you also take detailed pictures of your boat before loading on a truck with close up from all angles and a few of each side just far away enough to include everything.
It is a good practice and requirement to remove and secure all of your personal items from the boat. Weapons, flammable liquids such as gasoline containers and prohibited items by law should not be left inside the boat. Any valuable items that you have aboard, such as cash, jewelry, watches, paintings or other valuables should be removed. Ordinary loose shipboard items like life preservers, binoculars, and water sports items should be stored below the decks and ideally in a locked compartment. Galley equipment, lamps, and other small furnishings should be packed in boxes, set on the floor and braced to prevent sliding.
Once things are safely and securely stowed, always lock your cabin for security purposes. Our truckers assume that you have secured all of your items in the cabin and below deck prior to loading your boat on a trailer and we do not have any reason to access your cabin. Responsibe trucker / driver will never leave your boat unattended except for meals. We park trucks in designated areas with security cameras, busy truck stops, well illuminated at night.
You are responsible for arranging loading and off loading of your boat with marina and travel lift on each end. Our truckers have a general rule to follow up 3 days, 2 days and 1 day before pickup and delivery with marina to give them enough notice and to make sure lifts are set and schedules kept. Our lowboy trailers are not submersible in water and will require marinas that have travel lifts to load and offload your boat. Our other equipment / bunk trailers are submersible and can work for boats up to 40’ in LOA which can be launched in / out of boat ramps. Make sure to ask your trucker which type of equipment will be used if in doubt.
Ask our carriers for using shrink wrap and using tough twelve mil thickness film which will insure that the plastic protection will remain intact during each boat transport. In addition, each driver has a dedicated escort vehicle and onboard security cameras for your boat’s protection. We make your boat’s safety our top priority!