Yacht Transport Process
I try to keep your yacht transport process as simple as possible because I’m sure you have enough to think about. It all starts with either a phone call or email. Once you’ve contacted me and provided me with the information found on my Contact page the process begins. I will reply promptly with a quote for transport. If you accept I will then need your mailing address, hull number, and approximate value of your boat in order to have my insurance agent (Adrianne) forward a Certificate of Liability Insurance (On Right) directly to you. This is done for your protection because if a certificate is made out and sent to you directly from my agent it never passes through my hand so I have no way to modify the information contained in it. The insurance companies direct contact information is found on it and you may contact them to verify the authenticity of it if you choose. This further protects you because if any of the listed coverages are cancelled, changed, or otherwise modified the insurance company is obligated to inform you.
The next thing you will receive from me is a “Contract” (Right Bottom) This is a simple contract spelling out the important details of your yacht transport such as the pick up and drop off addresses, dimensions of your boat, dates to be moved and of course the agreed upon price. Once you have received your Certificate of Insurance and Contract you can send me a 20% deposit in order to solidify your space in the schedule. Please note I book on a first come first serve basis upon receipt of a 50% deposit. I do my best to inform people of the current schedule while discussing their transport but cannot save a space in the schedule until a signed contract and deposit is received.
Shortly after I receive your deposit we will make contact with your marinas to introduce yourself, if we haven’t been there already, and make sure we are on their schedules. If you have any changes in the schedule between the time of booking and pick up we will contact both marinas to inform them of the changes if you haven’t already.
As your pick up date approaches we will again contact the pick up marina to confirm everything is all set on their end and ready to go. We typically show up for pick up the night before and spend the night at the marina. This gives us extra time to prep the trailer to accept your boat in order to make the loading process go smooth. Typical loading times are 1-1.5 hours for power boats and 3-4 hours for sail boats.
Once your boat is loaded and strapped down pictures and the Glympse tracker is texted to you and we head out. All permits and routing are done ahead of time so there is no waiting around once it’s loaded. Most boats transported are oversized loads and therefore limited to daylight hours with few exceptions. You can estimate travel distance to be 500 – 700 miles per day as we are mostly limited to daylight hours. In addition the DOT limits us to no more than 11 hours per day driving time and many states limit our speed to 55 mph.
We will contact the drop off marina once on route to confirm we are on their unloading schedule. Every attempt to stop is made if something of interest is seen that I can capture in a photo with your boat to send to you. While transporting your boat we are available 24 hours a day via cell phone and email if you have any questions or concerns.
We typically call both you and the drop off marina the day before arrival to give a time of arrival so that everyone is on the same page and the unloading can go smoothly. When we arrive at the marina final payment is due before the boat is unloaded from the trailer. We will then unstrap the boat and assist the marina with the unloading. This typically take under 1 hour to remove all the straps and bunks and stow them away to head out to the next boat.
Sample Insurance Certificate
Sample Transport Contract
Safe Harbor Haulers, LLC, 45 Mountain View terrace, Dalton, MA 01226 (Hereby referred to as “The Hauler”) agrees to transport a , hull ID# , (Hereby referred to as “The Boat”), with a total approximate value of $<00,000.00>, from to . For the transportation, (Hereby referred to as “The Shipper”) agrees to pay the sum of $<0,000.00> (Contract Price). Credit card payments will incur a 4.5% processing fee. The Contract Price is contingent on the Boat’s specifications of approximately ’ in length, no greater than ’” Beam, no greater than ’” in height, and weighing no more than lbs. Additional charges will apply at delivery if not within above stated specifications at pickup. The Boat hull must be pressure washed clean, free of any marine life and invasive species. The Contract Price does not include any prep to The Boat that may be required for transport or loading and unloading to and from The Hauler’s trailer. Due to The Hauler not providing prep, loading or unloading The Shipper agrees to hold harmless The Hauler for any and all damages that are caused by or related to these services. The Hauler agrees to furnish and be responsible for all permits, route surveys, insurance, private or police escorts, when required, any associated costs (Tolls, Fuel, etc.) as well as blocking, racking, and strapping to properly support and secure The Boat to the trailer for transport. The Hauler estimates pick up the week of 1/24/2025 and will deliver The Boat within Days to Transport barring any unforeseen circumstances or weather delays. Until delivery is complete The Hauler agrees to maintain commercial liability, automobile liability, and commercial cargo insurance coverage in the amounts indicated on the certificate of insurance naming The Shipper as additional insured, dated and delivered to The Shipper by The Haulers Insurance Agent. In the event of any loss The Shipper agrees to pay in full the total amount due The Hauler for transport services. The Hauler agrees to be liable and pay for any deductibles imposed by The Haulers insurance company due to said loss and further reserves the right to pay for any damages personally at his sole discretion. The Shipper agrees to pay a 50% deposit upon acceptance of this Contract in the amount of $Deposit Amount.00. Payment should be made in the form of a check, credit card, or bank wire transfer. Due to each transport being placed into a specific available time coinciding with the location of the truck throughout the country deposits are nonrefundable. The Shipper agrees to pay the balance of $Balance after Deposit.00 via cash, certified bank draft or credit card upon arrival of The Boat at the final destination, prior to unloading from The Hauler’s trailer. If The Hauler is required to wait in excess of 3 hours beyond the scheduled delivery time for final payment The Shipper agrees to pay additional charges of $250.00 per hour with a maximum of $2,800.00 per day.