I am moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, and need to move 3 home built sea kayaks (CLC and other). I am not planning on driving cross country. Does anyone have advice on shipping boats (17 foot)?
When you compare costs, consider the option of hiring an otherwise unemployed 17 yr. old (trustworthy) kid, a couple of hotel stays, a one-way rental vehicle with a roof rack, and a one-way return flight on cheapo-air. Or, maybe provide minimal support and let the kid do some sightseeing and have an adventure on the return trip. I do know there are some restrictions about being 25 years old and rentals, but don't know if those only apply to the person renting or the person actually driving - so if that can't be worked around maybe you find a kid willing to drive his/her own vehicle, or the driver has to be 25 years old. The cost might be competetive with other options, especially when you're talking about 3 boats.
Or everything I said above, but solicit a retiree?
Or a single school teacher that has some spare time this summer?
K&S Transport is a firm that specializes in moving sea kayaks, canoes, and rowing shells around the country. I have used them to move a new boat from Seattle to Wisconsin. Here is their URL. https://shipyourkayak.com/
when i moved from NY to Texas many moons ago, my movers moved 4 kayaks (14 to 17 ft) along with most of the other family goods in the 'normal' long moving van. it was van lines and i did not have a seperate move (my J80 was a seperate story and used a boat mover).
same when i returned to the washington DC area.
the van was long enough and they put them on the top of all the other family goods.
all of them were wrapped/duct taped in multiple layers of thick bubble wrap and arrived unharmed.
the movers did not seem to make a big deal of it....but i did closely supervise the loading and unloading.
h
when i moved from NY to Texas many moons ago, my movers moved 4 kayaks (14 to 17 ft) along with most of the other family goods in the 'normal' long moving van. it was van lines and i did not have a seperate move (my J80 was a seperate story and used a boat mover).
same when i returned to the washington DC area.
the van was long enough and they put them on the top of all the other family goods.
all of them were wrapped/duct taped in multiple layers of thick bubble wrap and arrived unharmed.
the movers did not seem to make a big deal of it....but i did closely supervise the loading and unloading.
h
Thanks, I reached out to "shipyourkayak.com". If they are reasonable, I will ask them to take care of my boats. Otherwise I'll look for a kid or retired guy to drive across country for me. I'm hoping not to hire a full service (e.g. long truck) mover.