Some say this is the most fun!
The information provided here is intended to help you arrange to ship:
The cost of shipping may be higher than having your boat sailed home by a professional delivery skipper. On the other hand, shipping will save wear and tear on the boat, sails, and other equipment.
The many changes in the shipping industry have resulted in PCYC not being able to negotiate discounted shipping rates for boats from Hawaii to various ports on the west coast.
There are two shipping companies you should consider.
There are several costs to shipping your boat. The biggest one being "ocean freight".
What about other costs? Other boat shipping costs include a terminal handling charge, wharfage (cost of having your boat on the wharf), a fuel surcharge, hauling, unrigging and rigging, and trailering your boat from the marina to the or Matson wharf in Oahu.
The cost of the items you have no control over - terminal handling, wharfage and fuel surcharge - will cost from a few hundred to several hundred dollars depending on your boat.
Hauling, rigging and unrigging your boat in a marina in Oahu, costs about the same as you pay on the mainland. It will also cost another hundred dollars or so to have your boat trailered from the marina to the shipping wharf.
Frequently Asked Questions
So how much will it really cost to ship my boat home?
Costs vary year to year and even within a year there are significant deviations between similar boats shipped at different times. These differences in cost are at times easy to understand and at other times mysterious, but the shipping professionals will help you understand them.
Matson includes in their charges shipping your trailer and a spare mast to Hawaii.
PASHA Hawaii Transport Lines have trailers and cradles available for rent and their price includes pick up from either Keehi or the AlaWai boat yards.
Keep in mind, the cost to have a professional skipper sail your boat home to the West coast is over US$ 8,000 and more typically US$ 10,000. Yes, if you have three weeks free, the willingness to sail upwind for over a week, and a few friends with similar circumstances, you can save money sailing the boat home yourself. But, do not forget to account for wear and tear on the boat.
What ports can I ship from?
With Matson your trailer can be shipped, and boat and trailer returned, from Los Angeles (Port of Long Beach) and San Francisco (Port of Oakland).
PASHA’s routes provide pick up from the major Hawaii ports and San Diego.
What is timing for all this?
You must contact the shipping companies as soon as possible to confirm pricing, arrange shipping your boat, and obtain drop-off details. Both companies have interesting web sites but neither provides pricing information, see Matson at www.matson.com or PASHA at www.pashahawaii.com. Contact:
Matson ships go back and forth from Oahu all the time making several stops along the West Coast and at times a few stops in Hawaii. Typically a ship leaves the West Coast every week or so, and depending on the West Coast port, takes four to ten days to reach Oahu. They have two ships each week to Oakland, two each week to Long Beach, and one (usually) to Seattle.
Pasha takes six days enroute, sails every two weeks, and has sailings scheduled out of Hawaii on July 18, August 1, and August 15 in 2006. Pasha takes boats on trailers or cradles. Included in the charges is the shipping of the customers' trailers and a spare mast . They shipped a number of Transpac boats last year including a 92 foot maxi Genuine Risk and Pyewacket.
You should plan on dropping your trailer off at the West coast port in the week or two before the race starts, and it will be waiting for you in Honolulu when you finish the race.
We recommend you get your boat from Kaneohe to the boatyard of your choice in Honolulu by Wednesday July 19th, and schedule to have your boat hauled and trailered to the Matson wharf by Thursday July 20th. Having all this work done before the Friday Awards Banquet and before your crew has left for home, makes for a much more enjoyable party. To sail from Kaneohe Bay to Honolulu takes most of a day.
Where do I drop-off and pick-up my trailer or trailer and boat on the West Coast and in Hawaii?
It depends on which shipping company you use, contact them as soon as possible. Matson or PASHA will provide you address and timing details.
What boatyards can I use to haul my boat in Hawaii?
There are two large boatyards on Oahu, Ala Wai Marine and Keehi Marine Center.
Ala Wai Marine
Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Honolulu
1-808-946-4213
Keehi Marine Center
24 Sand Island Access Rd, Honolulu
1-808-845-6465
We strongly recommend you make arrangements for hauling your boat with one of these boatyards a few months before the race. There are only a very few marinas on Oahu and they can, at times, get very busy and run out of space.
How do I get my boat and trailer (in Hawaii) from the boatyard to the Matson wharf?
We suggest you use Todd Liddy (+1-808-988-5650 and +1-808-306-8788 mobile; 2918 Kolomona Place, Honolulu, HI 96822) to pull your trailer from the wharf to the boatyard as well as move your boat and trailer from the boatyard to the wharf (or haul your boat using the Kaneohe Yacht Club ramp). Many past entrants have used Todd and found his rates are reasonable. If you will be using Todd to move your boat, be sure to consign your trailer to the shipping company under his name. You may also choose to do it yourself by renting a truck with a trailer hitch, such as from U-Haul.
Can I haul my boat at Kaneohe Yacht Club?
You may use the ramp or the hoists, but no participating vessels over 3,000 pounds may use KYC hoists. KYC will make its hoist available for boats with a maximum weight limit of 3,000 lbs. Any boat using a hoist must provide its own trailer. No commercial "tractor-trailer rigs" will be allowed. Permission to hoist must be requested and approved by the KYC Port Captain and supervised by the KYC Port Captain or his representative. Boats that can be hauled out with a trailer on the ramp will be allowed to do so upon prior approval by the Port Captain and at their own risk.
I don't have a trailer. What are my options?
"Roll on roll off" shipping rates, require a trailer. A boat on a cradle requires a lot more coordination and work, including cranes, so costs might go through the roof. Where can you get a trailer? We suggest you call local boatyards and yacht brokers about borrowing/renting a trailer. Owners of boats as large as an Express 37 have found trailers to borrow. Note that PASHA has trailers and cradles available for rent.
I need to ship cruising equipment and sails from the West coast to Oahu and back. What are my options?
There are a number of companies that ship equipment back and forth to Oahu on a regular basis. We have had good luck with:
You can drive to their office just before the start of the race and drop off your equipment reasonably protected but essentially "as is". They will shrink wrap it on a pallet and deliver it to their wharf in Honolulu (where you'll need to pick it up). Their current price to ship equipment to Hawaii is US$ 6.26 per cubic foot plus a 2.25% fuel surcharge.
Note you cannot ship equipment direct to Kaneohe Yacht Club. Kaneohe Yacht Club has no storage facilities for your equipment and will not sign for any shipments.
I want to keep my boat in Hawaii a few months before shipping it home. Do you have any recommendations?
There are very few small boat marinas in Hawaii. There are three marinas on Oahu we can recommend you contact if you are planning to keep your boat on Hawaii for a week or two - Ala Wai, Keehi and Ko Olina. The Ala Wai is currently undergoing major reconstruction which is displacing a large number of Hawaiian boats and filling virtually all marinas on Oahu. This means it will take a bit of work on your part to find short term berthing for your boat - and will be difficult to impossible to obtain long term berthing. If you need long term berthing, you may need to consider having your boat hauled and kept on the hard.
Ala Wai Marine
Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Honolulu
1-808-946-4213
Keehi Marine Center
24 Sand Island Access Rd, Honolulu
1-808-845-6465
Ko Olina Marina
92-100 Waipahe Place
Ko Olina, Hawaii 96707
1-808-679-1050
Email: info@koolinamarina.com
http://www.koolinamarina.com/
GPS: Lat. 21 N. & Long. 158 W
Make berthing arrangements early. The Ala Wai and Keehi are "urban" marinas with Ko Olina being a resort/tropical. You can keep your boat at Kaneohe Yacht Club for one week - but must move on by July 24th.
I have more questions about shipping my boat. Who can I talk to?
For more information about shipping your boat home, contact the West Marine Pacific Cup Boat Shipping Chairperson, Bob Nance, at ROBERTNANCE@msn.com or at his office +1-916-446-1588. Bob has shipped his boat back several times and is a wealth of information on this subject.
Contacts
Matson Customer Support
Shelly Boswell
Conventional Cargo Dept.
Ph: 1- 888-362-8766
conventional@matson.com
Boat shipping
PASHA Hawaii Transport Lines
1-800-678-3759
www.pashahawaii.com
Boat shipping
Trailer Moving in Hawaii
Todd Liddy +1-808-988-5650
Boat and trailer moving (in Hawaii)
or +1-808-306-8788 mobile
Equipment Shipping to Hawaii
Hawaiian Express Lines
+1-510-783-6100
Ala Wai Marine
+1-808-946-4213
Boat hauling and repair
Keehi Marine Center
+1-808-845-6465