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Sailboat
deliveries US east coast/ Caribbean via
the I.C.W. or offshore, or to anywhere else in the world.
No charge for estimate
Fractional deposit may be required for longer (3 days
and above) deliveries
Reduced charge for weather delays.
Rates reduced %20.
You cover
transportation of captain and crew to and from the sailboat.
We are happy to sail with
you or your crew or bring our own, need be.
(Crew runs $100 per day; we may be able to find
unpaid crew, but can't guarantee this)
(The background chart used on the
site is of the east end of Long Island)
What we ask
of you:
Offshore delivery
sailboats must come equipped with properly rated life raft and EPIRB. While we
can carry our
own EPIRB the boat should have one registered to it as well
We may request a
copy of the sailboat's insurance paperwork, and will ask that the captain and any
crew we require be added to the coverage if it does not now cover hired
crew. (often it does) We may request to see proof of ownership and
a copy of the boat's federal or state documentation.
We live in
a sadly litigious society, and while I have never damaged a sailboat, I must say
that I sometimes, before a delivery, wake up in dread of “something
happening” and finding myself on the wrong end of a lawyer. On the other
hand it seems silly to go to the trouble of forming a corporation or LLC to
protect myself from this possibility. I’ve been thinking of asking
customers to sign something that says “in case of an accident I promise not
to sue the captain”. Believe me when I tell you I’d never run your boat in
front of a freighter...
Not to put you off , but let
me say here, we are not responsible for damage to the boat. If I break a
coffee pot, I'll replace it - but if the mast breaks it was going to anyway.
Be sure to have the
engine in good order and clean fuel in the tanks.
Having delivered more than a few sailboats with good engines that developed
problems, I’ve made a study of this; the most common cause by far is
contaminated fuel. I hope you’re familiar with the issue; bacterial growth
in the tank or sediment from any number of sources jamming the fuel
injectors. Often a bit of stirring in a high sea adds to the problem; boats
that ran well in calm seas break down when we most need the engine. Nigel
Calder is my favorite writer on this , but a number of good books exist.
Please have a few spare filters and the manual for the engine
in case we have to bleed it. Delays caused by poor engine maintenance will
be billed at the normal daily rate !
Remember most sailors
rarely use the engine; in a delivery last week (June '09) we put more miles
on the engine in a week than, I was told, in the prior 2 years. Under these
circumstances many engines will have problems. Prepare the engine as
best you can !
If
you are wondering why we worry about the engine in a sailboat, of course
it's so we don't have to bill you for the week we spent waiting for the wind
to shift. As much as we love sailing, most days doing deliveries are spent,
sadly, motoring. If however you wish your boat moved via the wind, we are
more than happy to comply.
Tools and spare parts
(filters, engine belts, impellers and coolant) should be on board; you
have those anyway, don’t you ? And by tools we don't just mean a pliers and
a few old wrenches. You should carry a digital multi-meter and a full range
of wrenches and a ratcheting socket kit with all sizes that might be of need
on the boat. In addition you should have a tool able to tighten the stuffing
box nuts. Other items that come to mind are tape, gasket forming compound,
glues, vice grips, spare hose clamps, stainless steel wire...
We ask that you have checked the following:( All of this should be OK on any
sailboat. We will not hold you responsible or refuse to take the boat if
there are issues here, rather we would like to know the state of the craft)
Charts that cover the trip (we will bring our own , need be)( you get extra points for having paper
charts and a sextant for us to play with)
First Aid kit (again, we can bring
our own)
Electrical system and nav lights in
good order ? Is the alternator charging ? Are the batteries charged (topped
off with water in the case of open cell type ) ?
Do you carry a high intensity spot
light ? ( you know you should; it's very useful for finding moorings
at night)
VHF and/ or SSB checked and working
Cleaning material (soap, brushes,
paper towels and oil adsorbent rags ) should be on board.
Food on board (yes, you have to
cover feeding the crew. No worries, nothing fancy - no duck liver moose
(please not ! ) or caviar)
Plumbing; does the head work ? Have
you done a pump-out recently ? (the stories we could tell of this
....)
Water; are the tanks clean ? Can we
( and you !) drink out of the main water tank or do we need bottled
water ?
Are the sails in good shape ; can we sail the boat need
be ?
Life
jackets; enough for the crew ? How about an emergency tiller,
hatch boards ? Have you looked at the stanchions, lifelines ? Is there
a horseshoe or other throwable device ?
Ground tackle ; is the
windless operable; are
anchor & chain sufficient for at least 20 feet of water with a 7 to 1 ratio
? Is there a boat hook ?
Do the bilge pumps work ?
Do you have extra line ? If we have
to tie a preventer on the boom will we have an easy time finding the line ?
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At your request we would be happy
to provide you with a written report of the boat, her sailing qualities and
any recommendations we have.
We would be pleased to stay in
contact with you and provide daily reports of our position via sat phone at
an additional cost, depending on phone rental rates and coverage
areas.
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