Boat Transport for Penned & Moored Boats
And we'll locate your next boat
If you're looking for a serious boat and you know what you want, trying to find the right boat can be a time consuming and frustrating exercise.
One of the reasons Boatlocator is the smart place to buy your next boat is your choices aren't limited to your own backyard. But while any website can show you boats from all over Australia, only Boatlocator is staffed by people who sell boats for a living with the experience you need to put an interstate deal together. So if you find the perfect boat on our website, but it's interstate, part of the service is organising transport quotes and negotiating with truckies on your behalf.
If it's too late... And you've bought elsewhere and are stuck with organising your own boat transport:
To get a cost on trucking a boat you will need to know the overall length, beam, weight and height from the bottom of the keel to the uppermost point of the coach house or flybridge (whichever is the highest).
You may require 0, 1 or 2 escorts, depending on the size of your boat and where it's going. Unfortunately, states in Australia have differing rules and regulations regarding escorts so it is not that easy to give exact advice here. An escort may not be required for one state but could be mandatory for the next state that you pass through. There can also be daylight only restrictions, overhead cables may need lifting and tonnage restrictions in certain areas can add to the cost and get you fined for having a large and loaded truck in a "no-go" area.
De-rigging is almost always required and must be given due care and attention. Most flybridge cruisers will need the bimini taken down, or if they have a hard top you might need the services of a boiler maker or shipwright to do the job. There will be wiring for lights, masts and antennae that will need careful handling and the parts removed will need wrapping and storing somewhere on the vessel.
You need to allow for and coordinate lifting the boat on and off the truck at a boat lifter or occasionally with a crane. Depending on the boat and the truck you may need a jinker or cradle at this point. If you do have to supply a cradle, it is important to speak with the freight company to find out requirements before building to avoid having to alter things later on.
