Trucking of Hatteras 53 - NEED

Does anyone have knowledge of truckers that will truck a 53' Hatteras..

Height seams to be a major concern....

From Texas to San Diego

I think the height allowed is just under 14'. Not positive. But many large boats are trucked daily. They just have the flybridge and or pilot house removed.


$$$$$$$$$

I used Miami Cradle...the person you want to talk to is Charlie Delbridge. He does this for Slane's group fairly often. If you can't find their number or find them on-line, let me know and I will do some digging. Nice guy and very reliable.

It's a major undertaking and expense to take the entire flybridge off with all of the controls and wires. it's also hard to get it all back together right and working as it is now and with no leaks at the 160 screws around the flybridge superstructure that were removed.

You might consider using the "boat that sinks" where they have a very large drydock type boat that opens up, you drive your boat on in the water and they support it and then raise the big boat up like a drydock and take it through the Panama Canal. When they get to the West Coast, they sink the big boat down again and you just drive your boat off.

I'd compare this to the costs and hassle of trying to go overland with that monster.

Doug Shuman

I concur - ship it via sea. I looked into this when I was contemplating shipping our 53MY here to Mexico. Current price via sea from FL to Manzanillo, MX is 35K; it would probably be more to go further up the coast.

I didn't check with the folks Jim R mentioned but I did call several others re land shipment. I got a quote of about the same amount as by sea from one guy but as Doug mentoned, that would have required the disassembly of the FB. Frankly, that ain't happening! Two other companies said they wouldn't ship a boat that size that far via land. In any case for me there is a lot more piece of mind sending it on a ship and keeping the boat all in one piece.

A 53 Hatt on Dockwise Yacht Transport from Ft Lauderdale to Ensenada Mexico (just So. of Ca.) is $30K give or take. There are some discounts available for early booking and in advance full payment. YMMV.

Moved our 53MY on Dockwise from Ft Lauderdale in ' 02 to Vancouver BC, cost was $28K. Quote from Seabrook Tx via truck was $25k, but did not include re-installing the flybridge. Bottom line go by Dockwise to Ensunada (<$25k), pay early, and take the discount. You will be glad you did .... it was a no-brainer. The boat arrived unscathed, with only some minor bunker-oil stains.

Have you ever driven across country in a truck? Do you have any idea how much pounding your boat will get if you truck it? There is no way that I would even consider moving by truck. You will have much more to contend with than just removing and reinstalling the bridge.