Delivering a Hatt from Costa Rica to Sarasota

[jmoritz]

Hi everyone,
I'm new here. I am in Sarasota and my wife and I are looking for an SF 46-53 range. One such boat we are looking at is a 50c from Costa Rica (Caribbean coast). Although I am a life long boater this would be quite a passage for someone venturing forth in unfamiliar waters on an unfamiliar boat. Moreover I would be hard pressed to dedicate the time to moving the boat myself. Therefore I am considering alternative plans such as hiring a crew to deliver the boat vs shipping it on a vessel transport ship. The distance is just shy of 1200nm as I roughly figure. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience relevant to this circumstance?

Thanks! We are really looking forward to becoming Hatt owners

 

[Boatsb]

Sounds like your set on a boat but may not understand the logistics. That's a pretty long shakedown cruise but shipping it to a us port may be a better idea. By the time you prepare the boat for the run home on its bottom you could spend $10k in travel and hotels. If it needs repairs the cost of mechanics and parts in foreign countries could be beyond high.

 

[magnawake]

Yeah ditto on the shake down cruise. That could turn very ugly. If you find a good person to help you, which is a good idea, like someone who owns a large Sportfish, they may show up and say this boat isnt in cruise condition. It took me 2 weeks to get our boat ready for a 700 mile trip. An experienced boat owner would be a great find, then you would still be taking a big risk that mechanically everything works as planned. On the other hand, the PO might have it in cruise shape already. It might be ready to go with spare parts and things you need for a long trip. I guess a good survey will tell more.

 

[Ed Tanzer]

My 2 cents;...with all the boats in Fl,why put that added expense and aggravation on your purchase?

ed MV JJFLYGIRL
1975 53 MY

 

[rsmith]

That trip is hard on the boat. Cost of fuel wear and tear. Chance of hitting debris. And there is a ton of it down there. Unless its one hell of a deal....

 

[capttonyf]

As a former delivery captain 1200mi is NOT the concern, its the condition of the boat and your stopping points from CR to FL. In a boat with a 20 knot cruise you can accomplish a run of that distance, weather permitting in 6, 10 hour days if you were running the east coast of the USA and have a nice warm in town meal every night. If it were me I would not ask a friend or another boater unless they've done that run numerous times. I would HIRE a professional and his crew, to head down there and fish/run the boat around down there "in Costa Rica" a few days and make any rapairs or preperations needed and run it back. When it arrives in FL if he's worth his wait he will have made any necessary repairs along the way and will have a nice solid punch list for you when the vessel arrives in FL. And once that list is taken care of you will be able to cruise in complete confidence with your friends and family knowing how far the boat just came. A good captain may even know of another boat or two leaving at the same time to travel back with. When heading to and from Cancun/Isla Muj. and FL. we always were able to find a few other boats to travel with. Its a good idea "safety insurance", in open water if you have another boat to travel with. If you decide to go thit route and need any help finding a crew, let me know and I can give you a few names.

 

[Spellbound]

Being the boat is located on the Caribbean side you are limited on shipping options to the port of Limon. On it's own bottom it is a rough trip and your vessel needs to be VERY seaworthy with all safety gear current. I am in Boca Grande, grew up in Sarasota, send me a PM with # and we can meet/chat and I'll give you a contact in Costa Rica that might be able to help with arrangements.

 

[saltshaker]

My 2 cents;...with all the boats in Fl,why put that added expense and aggravation on your purchase?

ed MV JJFLYGIRL
1975 53 MY

X2! Any details on the boat? Unless the boat and the deal are is truly exceptional, find something closer to home. That being said, I bouight my boat in Anna Maria and brought her to NJ, but I I'm be more comfortable with that trip than comming from Costa Rica.

 

[GJH]

I'm curious as to where a boat like that is on the CR Caribbean coast. ?

 

[jim rosenthal]

I agree completely with Jack. Unless the boat is a giveaway, you are about to embark on something very difficult indeed. Find a boat closer to where you live, or lat least in the USA so you can get surveyors, insurance, etc. Whoever said that a 1200 mile delivery over open ocean is not the same as a coastal one is absolutely right. There are plenty of these boats around. Keep shopping.

If you MUST buy a boat in CR, can't it be loaded as deck cargo and shipped to the USA?

 

[jmoritz]

Thanks for all of the comments. I will keep you guys updated on our progress obtaining the SF of our dreams whether its the one in CR or another boat.

 

[Paul Gwiz]

We live in Ft. Myers & bought a boat in Rhode Island. We spent the summer flying back & fourth. It was a very good buy , but anything saved was spent in travel & repairs to the boat. the boat is now ready to bring down as the window closes to winter.

It has been a great adventure & well worth the added expense . Florida is so hot in the summer so Rhode Island was a blessing . We are planning to get her home in mid oct. Seven star yacht shippers out of Miami can bring your boat , i'm not sure when they service that area. they will need the length , beam , height & weight of the vessel. I know they deliver to ft. Lauderdale.

It was 16,500.00 to bring our boat from Newport RI to Ft. Lauderdale. So it works out about the same & I bought the boat for an adventure , so what a better way to use the boat.

hope this helps get an idea to some of the expenses in shipping . 43DC 34,000 lbs. 14.5 beam

Good luck & welcome to Hatteras...... It's an amazing adventure.......

 

[PeterK]

Hard to believe we bought our boat a year ago! I spent about 2 weeks in RI fixing crucial items from the surveys (boat and engine) to move to Stuart at the end of October. The trip went very well except for the little delay due to Sandy. After we arrived in Florida, Sharry said to our captain Bruce Morrison: "I wasn't sure we would make all the way." Bruce's reply: "I wasn't either."

I tell this tale as we had, IMHO, one of the best captains and most knowledgeable Hatteras people on board, cruised near shore most of the way down and still had concerns. Since then, I have had numerous issues come up, any one of which would have caused big problems during our move south. I think we had some great luck of the innocent during our delivery.

My thoughts have already been posted by far smarter and more experienced members, i.e. ship it or find the best captain and crew you can if you decide to take her on her own bottom.

Congrats on your decision to buy a Hatt and welcome to the forum. We have not regretted our choice for an instant in over a year and are live aboards. (well I may have had a regret or two when invoices were presented, but it is a boat!)

 

[jmoritz]

I'm pretty stoked about this particular boat in CR. So far I have shipping quotes from three shippers ranging from 25 to 27.5 K. I appreciate all of the great points brought up, my most sincere thanks to all. Even with shipping cost this would still be an equitable choice, so far so good. I will keep you posted on my progress.

John

 

[GJH]

Where exactly is this boat? You mentioned Caribbean side, it's been a few years, but in our travels along the CR east coast, never saw a marina for large pleasure boats. Just curious. Make sure the shipping companies have experience getting a boat like that loaded on to a ship there, not going to have been a common occurrence.

 

[jmoritz]

You are correct. I misspoke. It is in Golfito, Puntarenas, CR. my bad.

John

 

[saltshaker]

What year and engines? I don't think anything other than a Cat powered or refit 50C series III would make sense unless the boat was perfect and real cheap

 

[jmoritz]

What year and engines? I don't think anything other than a Cat powered or refit 50C series III would make sense unless the boat was perfect and real cheap

DD 8-92 TIs, either 550 or 650s I believe. Recently rebuilt. Still worth it IMHO.

 

[jmoritz]

One other thing, so far I have quotes for shipping to Port Everglades and Palm Beach. Anyone aware of a transport company that frequents the Tampa Bay Area? (I'm still doing my homework)

 

[Spellbound]

Huge difference between Caribbean and Pacific, especially Golfito. Golfito is where the boats are shipped in/out, cleared in/out of Costa Rica. Sevenstar should be your carrier as Yacht Path is just emerging from Bankruptcy. Just loaded a 40' Gamefisherman (WPB) this morning for the trip to Golfito, 5,6 or 7 days should be picking up taking it to Los Suenos. Good Luck with purchase, where did the boat come from in CR and by chance are you dealing with Chris?