Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Ways To Transport Or Ship A Boat Or Yacht

There Are Several Ways A Boat Owner Might Choose To Ship A Boat Or Yacht.

There are several ways for a boat owner to minimize risk when selecting a way to ship a boat. Don't assume that all methods of transporting your boat will be legal or that your boat will be properly insured. This will help you to minimize the risk and problems of boat moving.

Some boat owners might want to ship a boat themselves.
In some cases, this might be feasible and practical if the boat is not too large, and you have the correct truck, trailer, equipment, insurance, legal and boat transportation knowledge.
Check the regulations in each state you will be traveling through to insure you are familiar with and can meet all legal criteria required for each state.

Online Boat Transport Marketplace
There are several online sites where you can list the boat to be shipped and receive bids from several shippers for the move.
This is an auction type of system where the site, for compensation, makes arrangements for the shipper and transporter to get into contact with each other. In some cases the online site acts as a broker but does not have the same responsibilities to the shipper as a licensed and insured broker has.
In this type of system the shipper may not be a legal, insured transporter. Check the company's legal authority and insurance to know what their liability may or may not be. They may not have any legal liability to you and you may not have any reasonable repercussion against them if there is a problem transporting your boat.

Boat Transportation Broker
Some boat owners might prefer to utilize a boat transportation broker to arrange the boat transportation.
A broker arranges, for compensation, the truck transportation of the boat , utilizing for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation.
Check both the broker and the transportation company's legal authority and insurance to know what their liability may or may not be.
They may not have any legal liability to you and you may not have any reasonable repercussion against them if there is a problem transporting your boat.

Boat Transport Company
When choosing a company to ship your boat, always verify the legal and insurance status of the carrier.
In addition to making sure the company operates legally and with proper insurance, it is essential that the company is reputable, has proper equipment, professional drivers, and adequate experience transporting your type of boat or yacht.

Whether you go through an auction service, broker, or direct with a carrier, make sure the boat shipping company that is actually transporting your boat or yacht has proper operating authority and insurance.

Operating Authority-
Some boat transportation companies are not properly licensed and there are companies using pick-up trucks that are not licensed at all. You should be able to verify legal operating status through FMCSA.

Insurance
Liability Insurance protects you if the transport company is involved in an accident. The U.S. Government requires at least $750,000 liability coverage for interstate transportation. Most legal boat transport companies carry $1,000,000 liability insurance.

Cargo Insurance protects you if there is damage to the boat during shipment. A boat transportation company should always provide proof of insurance for you at your request. The minimum required should cover your boat in case of an accident.

Company
Check out the company you may be doing business with in the same manner you would check out other companies you deal with, such as Chamber Of Commerce, Dun And Bradstreet And The Better Business Bureau.
Insure the boat transportation company is a professional company that has the people, experience, credentials, equipment, support, and knowledge needed to ship your boat.
Ask your local boat dealer or marina as they will probably be knowledgeable of boat transportation companies. If they don't know the company, they can probably find out information about the company for you.
Also check on the website Stop Illegal Trucking to see if the company is being investigated by the website.
Talk with the boat transportation company and ask all the questions you need in order to get comfortable with them. A reputable company will always be glad to discuss with you any aspect of their business and the business of transporting, moving or relocating your boat or yacht.

3 comments:

  1. Informative details mentioned on Boat Transportation. thanks for sharing such useful information.

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  3. Very informative, thanks for sharing! Boat transport is a very accurate job.

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