Nightmare Overland Albin 35 TE Shipper/Transport

[Jeremyvmd]

I'm sure I'm not the only one but I'm dying to know what happened!

[Graeme K]

Me too Jeremy. I'm over the other side of the world, but feel anxious reading the post; waiting for relief when the good guy beats the bad guys!!
Graeme K
2005 Albin 30FC

[Bajamotorsports]

From what I see on your pictures. The Good Year tires that are on the trailer are rated for 4000lbs ( 16k lbs max) telling me that if the extra axle that is tied down on the tongue of the trailer is rated @ 7K lbs. So the Tandem trailer is rated at 14,000 lbs less the trailer weight so max load would be around 11,500 lbs and your boat is 18k lbs. This should have never been done.
Also to make certain check the Trailer Vin Tag it will have the rating on it. If the company is DOT rated they can be fined for an over loaded and oversized load with no permits pulled these guys can have a major fine. Start there and if you need anything else just contact me.
Ray Trent
Baja Motorsports LLC
owner

[srqdiver]

Was this when the boat was being loaded or unloaded? Why is there a burned up 6 or 7K axle on the front of the trailer, and did anyone notice the new grease caps on the front axle? What condition is the rear axle with the old grease caps in if the front one was already bad?
Just some observations from a trailer builder.
By the way, two 6k axle + 10-15% tongue weight is 13.2k-13.8k GVW and the max load you can get out of 4 16" tires is 15.6K load with g rated tire & more likely 12.4K with E rated tires.

[DougSea]

A quick bit of Google-foo says that the biggest "receiver" hitch is a Class-V and that those are rated at 12,000lbs. So they're 'just' 6,000lbs over. Not counting the weight of the trailer.

My quick reaction is 3 words - Could be WTF, but in fact, following the theme above - "Lawyer, lawyer, lawyer".

Good luck man, she's a d@mn pretty boat!

[DKramer]

Update:

Shipping Date: Left Jacksonville FL April 18, 2017 headed for San Francisco. Recovered May 9, 2017 seventy miles outside of San Antonio TX at Canyon Lake Marina. The boat appears to be unharmed.

I will also provide "Tips for Transport" in PDF attachment.

Overland Boat Transport Recommendations
“Pirates are not just at Sea”
DKramer
True Blue, Albin 35 TE


Having been intimately involved with a boat transport gone wrong, I thought I would pass along a few lessons learned. I would also like to thank you all for the help during my difficult journey.

• Don’t go with a recommendation, do your due diligence and be personally involved, talk with drivers if possible beforehand and get a feel for who will be actually doing the transport. I took a recommendation and a quote from the selling agent. He said he had used them before without any problems so I went with it.
• If things do go south don’t be a victim. Hope is not a strategy. Arm and empower yourself with knowledge and information. Get educated and find resources that can help.
• Read the Contract, if anything goes wrong the contract is your only protection.
• Be sure to get an official arrival date in writing. As in: the boat will be delivered by….date. You can then go to authorities and show a contract violation if they don’t show up with your boat.
• Be present at loading and work with you yard crew to keep you informed. I was not present for loading, I later learned that the yard crew had serious doubts about the trailer but no one spoke up.
• Get a reputable shipper. The shipping companies that then contract it out to the lowest bidder are the ones to stay away from.
• Know the weight of your boat. Have it weighed as it goes on the trailer or use survey and manufacture data for rough approximation and then add for additional items.
• Drain water and lavatory fluids as they are extra weight and could be charged.
• Know your boat dimensions you don’t want any increased charges come shipping day when they have you over a barrel
• Seriously consider a GPS tracking device, they can broadcast up to 14 days on a single charge.
• Make sure you lock up the boat and consider whether you want to hide an entry key should it be needed.
• Possession is nine tenths of the law. If they have possession of your boat on their trailer they are totally in control. They can do whatever they want, that’s why a quality operator is so important. “I’m going to call my lawyer” means absolutely nothing to thugs.
• Tell your story. Tell your friends, neighbors, anyone that will listen. They may have valuable resources. A truck driver friend turned out to be an incredible resource for regulations and pointed out a violation of contract giving me more bargaining power.
• Check out comments and yelp review there are very good small operators out there. Talk to them, get a feel for them and make sure that they value their reputation.
• TAKE PICTURES of everything. Truck, trailer, tires, straps, boat, boat and truck, wheels, lugs, hitch, everything needs to be documented. In my case I had someone take pictures and it was the single best thing I did to document and protect myself.
• Take Pictures (again) of license plates and trailer ID
• Be sure that the trailer is sufficient for the weight. There are a lot of operators’ low bidding and using lighter rigs.
• Watch out for trailer hitches on the lighter rigs. A good dually rig will have a large hitch in the bed and supports the weight and on the truck axel as well as the trailer.
• Do everything via email, text or hard copy. If you do have phone conversations log the calls in a notepad. You want documentation.
• Are they getting permits? A good company may tell you they need a day to get permits. That is a good thing.
• Taking delivery (again) take pictures. It was amazing what turned to be the most important pictures. In the background of one picture we were able to count eight lugs on the wheels. We were then able to determine that is was two Dexter 8000lb axels and totally insufficient. And try to get a picture of the driver(s) if possible.
• Delivery inspection is exceptionally important. More pictures and you may even want to have a surveyor to look things over if you have had a difficult journey. Once it is off the transport it’s all yours and you have very little bargaining power with insurance companies. If you see something or suspect something DO NOT accept the delivery.
• In addition to fuel, water and grey water be sure to drain your wet exhaust system. Not doing this can slosh sea water into your turbocharger and engine (through the exhaust riser). This can later lead to very expensive repairs.
• If you are having a difficult or hostile transaction you can always request a sheriff or police officer to be present during a difficult transaction. It is an invaluable service if needed. It keeps people honest and is a fantastic service.
• And last DO NOT waste one second reaching out to the Albin Owners Group. It was an invaluable resource that helped immensely

My case seems to be a very rare. Many things went wrong but if the trailer was not so incredibly insufficient things could have worked out without a problem even though I had shady drivers.
I did years of research on my boat and then went with a yacht brokers recommendation on the transportation. Looking back I should have done more research on transporters, been there for loading and made sure the weight matched the trailer capabilities.
I was able to get my boat back but in involved Sheriffs, Texas County Constables, envelopes of cash, shady characters, and flying to Texas, rental cars and a cheap hotel….right out of the
Rockford Files. I was actually able to steal the boat back and not pay them a dime. I then called the Sheriff and he literally” ran them and their crappy little trailer back to Florida”.

In closing if you are going to have a showdown in Texas at high noon (I kid you not we planned to meet at noon) involving envelopes of cash, thugs extorting payment for your boat being “overweight” and trailer repairs my advice is this:

Show up early and steal the boat.

And that's exactly what I did. I can only imagine the surprise when they saw the boat and trailer they left overnight gone.

I had the support (and protection) of the sheriff, it was my boat and the yard unloaded it off their trailer. Done. Once my boat was off the trailer they had absolutely no claim. They showed up as the crew was finishing off load, absolutely perfect timing. If they showed up 30 minutes earlier we would not have been able to remove the boat off the trailer. Needless to say, I casually walked to my rental car and high tailed it out of town when I saw them in the parking lot. Driving away I called the sheriff and he paid them a visit. The sheriff then called me for my side of the story and ran them out of town. The boat is now in yard storage with fence, gate and security patrol. I am now in process of transporting it the remaining way out to San Francisco. But this time I am armed with knowledge and experience.

~Cheers

PS. I would like to extend my deep thanks and appreciation to all those that helped me along the way. Everyone from Albin Owners to Law Enforcement. I met and came in contact with an amazing number of friends that supported and made contributions. They provided contacts, resources and recommendations. Everyone that heard my story was supportive. Thank you all.

[jleonard]

Yikes! Good luck with the rest of the journey!

[Pitou]

D - Thanks so much for the update. The time that you spent putting that helpful lessons learned post together will be invaluable to others. As I read it I had a little Warren Zevon knocking around in my head .."Bring Lawyers, Guns Money".

I second Jay's sentiments .. all the best with the rest of your Journey!

Here's the rig I hired for winter transport to truck my 31TE from NY to MA:

12.6.2013.jpg

[DKramer]

From what I see on your pictures. The Good Year tires that are on the trailer are rated for 4000lbs ( 16k lbs max) telling me that if the extra axle that is tied down on the tongue of the trailer is rated @ 7K lbs. So the Tandem trailer is rated at 14,000 lbs less the trailer weight so max load would be around 11,500 lbs and your boat is 18k lbs. This should have never been done.
Also to make certain check the Trailer Vin Tag it will have the rating on it. If the company is DOT rated they can be fined for an over loaded and oversized load with no permits pulled these guys can have a major fine. Start there and if you need anything else just contact me.
Ray Trent
Baja Motorsports LLC
owner

Excellent info! Thanks

[Tree]

You were so very lucky this time. When I shipped my 28TE over the Atlantic, I thankfully instructed a guy who had previously shipped 2 28's and forty other various boats from the states to the UK. Much of what you have mentioned he had already instructed the shipper to what he wanted done - the best £500 I've spent just for that knowledge alone. One thing that I wasn't ever aware of in my case was parts stolen to order while on the ship transporting the boat across the Atlantic. My broker firmly insisted on having FP2 shrink wrapped as this was straight up evidence of anything being tampered with during the 18 day crossing.

I'd like to say good luck with the rest of the shipping but luck doesn't come in to it. Research and good knowledge is the key and that is something I am sure you are well clued up on now.

All the best with the rest of the trip and I'm sure myself and everyone else here can't wait to see your new pride and joy in the water .

[Pedro]

Well thank God that's over! I've been watching and wow is that stressful, we do this boating thing for fun! Good luck to you and I hope she gets to your home soon, It makes me realize how lucky it was that I found a great shipper to get my 28 from Annapolis to Ct, and it was all done by phone involving two different marinas and people I only spoke to by phone, but they were all highly regarded pros, I still feel like I had it very easy,,,,

[whwells]

Kramer: Have you located the boat and trailer. Thought I saw where you had. Maybe a misreading. Sure hope your nightmare has ended and well.
Howard

[DCatSea]

Excellent news, and the bonus is that you can dine out on the story (with good quality booze) for at least as long as you keep the boat. Congratulations, and be sure to post pix of her when she is gracing San Francisco Bay.

[Jeremyvmd]

I'm glad that everything worked out so far. Consider it a life lesson and move on! Hopefully u can get the boat launched and in the water soon. Glad to hear your still alive and all is well(ish)

[Nancy]

DK, considering the name of your boat, I have visions of you as JR liberating your mama's namesake!

It's not clear how you located the boat or how you got so incredibly lucky for it to be at a boatyard where it could be snatched, but very glad that the worst seems to be over.