Shipping an A25 across the country?

[11kolive]

As we continue our search for our Albin I am wondering if anyone has shipped an A25 across the country before. Curious about the price of course but also if it was loaded on a trailer or shipped on a cradle and any trucking company recommendations I should contact.

All of this depending on where we find our next boat.

[WillieC]

Buy DA a new trailer and he'll do it for free! Should be a wash.

[DesertAlbin736]

Ha ha, that WillieC! If you had the time & a suitable to vehicle it would probably be more cost effective to go pick a boat up & drive it back yourself. Generally speaking we get about 11 to 12 MPG towing with a Ram 2500 diesel truck. Current national average price for diesel is $3.15/gallon. That works out to average range of 26c to 29c per mile, plus food & lodging. Figure $80 to $90 per night for hotels on the road, plus meals. Half that lodging cost or less if you can camp in the boat at campgrounds and/or rest stops. On our recent road trip between Phoenix & Blaine I spent right at $1,000 on truck fuel for the 3,200 mile round trip.

Perhaps your best bet may be to look north of the border since you are so close to BC. This listing posted on the Albineers of BC site appears to be the only one that hasn't sold already:

MaryEllen01.jpg

MaryEllen02.jpg

http://www.albinbc.com/for-sale/mary-ellen

Oops! Spoke too soon! Only one small catch: It's in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, 1,500 miles across the frozen tundra from Vashon. And he's asking $22K CAD, a little over $17K US.

[Beta Don]

Since it's not an over width load, I would guess you could probably find a trucking company who would move it for you for somewhere around $1.50 per mile. If you found the 'right' boat at the 'right' price, it might be worth looking into a trucking company to move it for you

Don

[Dale West]

I shipped my Albin 25 across the US from Vashon Island to the Chesapeake Bay, last September. I put in a bid with U-Ship and got quotes from $2200 up. Anyone with a truck can bid on U-Ship, there are lots of stories of money taken and boats stripped and dumped. I accepted a bid for $4200 US from folks who were listed on the US DOT website. Just about every shipper will say that they are insured. I would check if they have a DOT license and that they are bonded.
When you do find a boat, I found that Breakwater Marina, an easy walk from the Tahlaquah ferry, was half the price for a slip than Quartermaster Harbor.
Also, if your boat is in Canada, you might want to hire a Customs broker, I worked with McClary, Swift & Co up in Blaine. The cost for their service was about 1/4 of the cost of the taxes that I would have had. You may be liable for VAT, and Washington sales tax, so be careful.
Good luck with your search. You're in a great location to enjoy the much less traveled South Sound as well as the more famous San Juans. I miss the Island and my neighbors so, so much.

Placebo Albin 25 #1206
Port Tobacco, Md

[DesertAlbin736]

While in Blaine this past summer we toyed with idea, since abandoned, of looking for a 34 to 38 ft trawler to buy & keep somewhere in NW Washington state, preferably Anacortes or points north, as a summer live aboard 2nd home to beat AZ summer heat while avoiding these 3,000 mile road trips bringing our A25 back & forth, which we've done three times already. We looked at one listed with a brokerage in Blaine that was a BC registered Canadian boat that had been imported across the border to the US & duties etc already paid on the basis of being on consignment with the broker,"The Dream Boat Co." That's the thing with keeping a boat full time in WA. Anything more than 60 days at a time you have to register it in WA even if you're not a resident, and pay sales tax on whatever you paid for the boat whether purchased in another state or not, even if it were a private cash sale that would not otherwise be taxable in your home state. I'm not quite sure how that works with a CG documented boat, some sort of "use tax" or other. The boats we looked at were in the $40K to $60K range, & if I'm not mistaken the sales tax is 8.6%. That & the whole issue of a boat being in a slip 1,500 miles away from home during the winter season when you're not there to look after it. In the end we decided it was a bridge too far.

[DesertAlbin736]

For what it's worth, it cost us about $1,000 in truck fuel to haul the 3,200 miles round trip from Phoenix to Blaine & back, plus side trips in Seattle area. That's not counting meals & lodging. We saved some by boat camping in campgrounds & RV parks, but had to stay 3 nights in hotels on the way back due to hot weather. It hit 108 in Boise, ID as we drove through in early August.

[tribologist]

You could make a littke a/c unit from a window shaker a/c that you can put over the forward hatch. 1 night payback. A light wood box over the inside part fitted over the hatch could work.

Ulf

[DesertAlbin736]

True. I have a plug adapter that can convert the 30 amp marine shore power cord on the boat to fit 30 amp RV pedestals.

[coolchange]

2 more cents: the advice about watch out for Uship and the like is spot on...there are a lot of good ones so do your homework. (I had a trailer shipped from LA with zero problems and shipped a boat to Seattle same way and it too was easy)

RE Canada..I got my 27 in Naniamo and was concerned about taxes and import...got a bunch of conflicting advice from lots of "experts" and ended up with a brief consult with a broker in Pt. Roberts..he was right and when I got to Friday Harbor customs I had no duty because it was a "built in US" boat and NAFTA kept it duty free. Also, since I am in Oregon there was no sales tax to mess with. On his suggestion I had them check for liens and any other obligations tied to the vessel before I paid off the seller.

Good luck

[DesertAlbin736]

I had no duty because it was a "built in US" boat and NAFTA kept it duty free.

That was then. Who knows what will be? Not meaning to veer off into that can of worms though. Que sera, sera I guess. Interesting to note that the A25 was the only Albin powerboat that I know of (not counting the Vega sailboats) actually built in Sweden. The 27 FC's & 28 & 31 TE's built in US, the Classic 33 & 36 trawlers built in Taiwan.

Speaking of which, if I were located reasonably close to a coastal area & didn't need to trailer something (see post above why I gave up on that idea), the classic Albin 33 trawler (not to be confused with the center cockpit 35, a scaled up version of the 27FC) would be a sweet boat to have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KyLUyZm16A

albin 33 classice.jpg

[DesertAlbin736]

RE Canada..I got my 27 in Naniamo

Nanaimo is nice, one of our favorite stops on Vancouver Island (after transiting Dodd Narrows). Just watch out for raccoons who like to try & raid boats tied up to Newcastle Island dock overnight.

20180627_164424.jpg

[Dieselram94]

I spent probably the first couple years of my life living on Vashon as a baby, my grandfather had a small construction company on the island many years ago. I remember going to the strawberry festival as a small child and looking for the coins that were salted into a few hay bales for the kids to look for. I haven’t been in Washington state since about 1994 though. Would like to go back and visit someday though...