Transporting your boats from one place to another whether it can be for cruising trips with friends and family or it can be for business purposes, requires a number of important factors and variables to look after that go into the equation. It needs advance planning and measures to follow to ensure safe and worry-free transportation.
Though the process is a bit similar to shipping your vehicles, there are certain things that should be taken care of while shipping boats act the country. You need to think about hiring a perfect transportation company that assures your vessel’s simple and effective shipping by handling it carefully without any tear and wear.
If you are planning to transport your boat and looking for a handy tip, then you are in the right place. In this, we will discuss some essential things to remember while shipping it from one place to another across the country.
Let’s start:
- The very first step is to secure your boat from all possible ways. Such as locking all the interior cabinet doors, windows, and exterior doors shut. Tighten the loosen parts (if any) and secure hatches with tape to avoid possible water leakage and damage. Remember, no matter the distance is, any kind of ignorance can ruin the entire voyage.
- Make an overall accurate measurement of your boat before transferring it to another destination. Measure complete length and height as well. Also, never forget to measure the widest point of the boat that is known as a beam.
- Never forget to ask for a “voyage insurance” to your certain transportation company that ensures to protect your vessel adequately in any kind of situation.
- Empty all kinds of inflammable elements and fuels from the vessel as it may cause a sudden explosion if somehow generates excessive heat during transportation.
- Secure the interior decors like curtains, seat cushions, etc of the vessel.
- Detach the electronic and battery cables.
- Store and protect Plexiglass and plastic windshields under the deck.
- Remove the hull drain plug from the vessel.
- Eliminate all kinds of devices or extra fixtures of the vessel like radar, antennas, compasses, depth sounders, etc and keep it securely inside the vessel during shipping.
- Protect your vessel by shrink wrap from damage during transportation. Make sure to cover your boat with high-quality shrink wrap so that it won’t tear due to high winds produced by road transport.
- If you are planning to transport your vessel during winter then don’t forget to winterize the engine or any other weather-sensitive devices, toilets, water systems of the vessel.
- Protect your wooden vessel from drying up by oiling it properly to make it ready for shipment.
- All kinds of personal belongings should be removed from the boat before preparing it for shipping that includes valuable things, cash, sporting goods, clothes, and any other extra parts that are not the parts of the boat.
- Research for the shipping routes while you are shipping your boat across the country. There might be several tolls to pay for. Some states have different regulations for transporting vessels and you must fulfill those requirements to legalize your boat shipping process.
- Ask your shipper to provide you a GPS tracking application so that you can keep your eyes on your dreamboat’s movement and shipping.
- The reputation and reliability of your boat shipping company should be verified and scrutinized well.
- Make sure that your shipping company is owning recognition as a legal entity and licensed by different states’ logistics.
- Look for a bonded shipper who will be reliable to complete a hazardless transportation process and allows you to reimburse your paid amount in case it fails to accomplish the task properly.
- Take pictures of your vessel before dismantling any part of your boat to fit with the size requirement for transporting. Also, take pictures of your boat from all sides to verify if any damage has happened to it after reaching the desired destination.
- Carry necessary legal papers, registration number, tax-related papers, authenticated transportation permits, etc on the date of transportation.
It is very much essential to gather proper knowledge about different transportation processes before planning to ship your boat to another place and select one as per your convenience. There are several different ways to ship your boat. Such as:
- Overland boat shipping
- Oversea boat shipping
- By Airboat shipping
- Freight carrier shipping
- Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) boat shipping
- Lift on/Lift-off (LoLo) boat shipping
- Flat Racks boat shipping
I Hope, above information, will be helpful to you.