shipping a 26X

[jasper]

I am moving all the way accross the continent!!!! My schedule will be tight and I am not sure if I can tow the Mac all the way from Newfoundland to Alberta.
what I am thinking of doing is to tow the Mac to Nova Scotia then have it transported from there.
I have contacted CNRail who tell me they want an arm, a leg and my first born (and that's just the down payment).
Has any one done a move of similar distance in Canada? What was the ball-park figure? Can you recommend a good transporter who may do it for an affordable price?
When the Macs are transported to Canada (east coast) does MacGregor ever bring boats back west on the return trip?

[Phillip]

I realise I am in Australia, but I have moved a couple of Macs within USA.
Go to a logistics company with your length (include draw-bar and o/b leg), height and width, and weight.
Macs fit into trucks with boxes (we call them Pans...8'6" wide) or taught-liners.
They also fit on tray-back trucks; they fork them on and off.
It is an easy load.
Ask for quotes, and try a few different Companies.
For long haul, there are some tricks in packing.
1. make a square frame from 4"x2" timber, so you can place it on the seat (padding under) and it is high enough to support the mast...I know there is the mast support there already, but this helps a lot on a long haul truck.
Make another block to fit into the mast step and tall enough to support mast ...takes the twang out of the centre.
Undo the furler and move it back so it dosn't overhang at the front.
Cheers
Phillip

[Craig LaForce]

You might try this link.

Not sure where I bookmarked it from and no personal experience with the company.


http://www.uship.com/

[Mistral]

I agree with Philip.
When my boat arrived it had blocks of 4 x 2 to hold the mast. The mast was sitting on top of the cabin.
The problem with mine was that the furler was not disconnected and strapped to the mast, thus it was sticking out in the front by about 1 meter and curled up on top of the deck.
When I unfurled I found that the extrusion had snapped and needed to be replaced.

[tangentair]

I would try a moving company if time is short, they move personal cars all the time. Otherwise, get the name of a freight broker, check around the lounge of a local truck stop or ask a long haul trucker. You might be able to get piggy backed on to a short load.

[March]

I agree with the comments above: having a trans company ship the boat for you is awfully risky. First, chances are, you will need to be there for packaging (if anything goes wrong during shipping due to improper packaging, they will make YOU responsible for the damages, no matter what. Happened to a friend of mine. Trying to disprove them and sue them is a lengthy, time consuming business and they count on that) That will also take time--plus, I don't doubt that the transportation fees will be exorbitant. Then you will also have to be at the receiving end.

Better take a couple of days off and do it yourself. It sounds like a daunting project, but it shouldn't take more than four days at the most.

[Alex]

Jasper, rent UHAUL, tow boat to Alberta, back to NF by plane.
Trust me, it will be much cheaper..... All moving company have hidden and unexpected extra payments.. Good Luck

[40Toes]

If you do decide to tow, you might want to consider putting another axle on the trailer. PO already had it on mine and I can't compare to single axle but I towed if from Vermont and it was solid. Good Luck.

[jasper]

I am a bit time restricted for the transportation. However, I may consider the extra axle option and tow. My concern was having to tow it for 3,500 miles. I would need to add a couple extra days to compensate for the reduced speed.Perhaps I need to rethink this.

[Phillip]

unless you are real keen Jasper....3.5k miles is a long way to town anything. I would consider trucking and see what it costs.
Cheers
Phillip

[jasper]

unless you are real keen Jasper....3.5k miles is a long way to town anything. I would consider trucking and see what it costs
I am not so much concerned with the distance, just the time factor. When I bought the boat, I had to tow it 2300km to my home including a 6 hour ferry trip.
I did the ferry trip in the day-time and slept during the crossing. With the ferry arriving late in the evening, I drove the last 900km overnight and early morning.
Stopping and napping every 200km for half an hour, the trip was easy with very little traffic around. My only concern was our furry friends, the moose, wandering on to the road.
This trip would be almost 3 times as long.
I am waiting to hear back from a couple moving companies on Monday. Hopefully, their prices will be more reasonable than what the railway people.