Finally a Grady White owner and finally got her back home safely...

[family affair]

Last I looked into that it was for commercial accounts only. Even if I had the account, it would have been cheaper to pay someone to haul it after you add the one way charge. Is it different now?

 

[Mustang65fbk]

If you ever do this again, Enterprise Car Rental rents F250 Pickups, and in Diesel if you can get one booked. Not sure what the Uhaul Rental was, but you can be sure a F250 would have been alot more comfortable for that long of a trip.

Of course there is the one way charge, but the additional comfort probably would have been worth it. May could have cut a day off the drive.

I did check with all of the local Enterprise Truck rental locations and none of them would do a one way rental for a pickup truck. It sounded like they didn't have enough trucks or inventory to make it work out. And with one of the previous boats that I'd purchased on the east coast, I did exactly that. I flew out, bought the boat, rented a Ford F250 from Enterprise and then drove it back out here to the west coast. Unfortunately they're not still doing that, at least for the time being, as yes it would've been much more comfortable than using the U-Haul truck.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Last I looked into that it was for commercial accounts only. Even if I had the account, it would have been cheaper to pay someone to haul it after you add the one way charge. Is it different now?

I bought a 21' Arima out in Maryland as well back in 2018 and for that road trip I flew out, bought the boat and then rented an F250 from Enterprise and then I drove back with it. I figured the total cost for that trip, including airfare out to Maryland, was right around $2,500 for the truck rental, mileage, gas, food and hotel rooms. The previous trip I did before that I drove out with my parents truck, bought the boat and then trailered it back home. That trip cost less, right around $1800-2000 as I didn't have to pay for the truck rental and the one way fee for the truck rental. I really don't want to go through this whole thing again of buying a boat and then driving it back over 3k and so this will probably be the last time I do it. If someone else is considering doing it, I'd highly consider having a shipping company do it for you, even if it costs a little bit more money. The first two days of the trip were decent but the second 2.5 days of the trip were just grueling and I was over it already. A one way truck rental from Enterprise is and would've been a great option to do, if you're considering doing your own trip. That being said, they weren't offering one way pickup truck rentals when I called all of the local branches last week before driving back. I think a big part of the shipping costs are determined on the season as I'm sure they have way more customers needing boats or cars transported during the summer as opposed to the winter. And I'm sure they charge you accordingly. I'd bet during the winter, when there are less clients needing transportation that their costs probably come down quite a bit as opposed to peak season during the summer. I also, as stated before, am not sure what would happen if there was an issue or discrepancy between yourself, the dealer or seller and the shipping company if the boat did arrive damaged or whatnot. I figure that I was able to keep eyes on the boat almost the entire time, except for at night when I was sleeping in a hotel room. I'm not sure if the same can be said about having a shipping company doing the drive for you, if they leave the boat unsupervised or if they just spend the night at rest/truck stops or so on.

 

[wrxhoon]

Mustang65fbk,
You can easily find out if they changed the motor or repaired it. All you have to do is ask Chris the engine number and compare the two.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Awesome trip report! Thanks for taking the time to post. I've had 2 boats shipped east to west but always wondered how it would be and how much it would cost to drive it myself. I paid $3500 for my 228 Seafarer in Nov. 2019 to go from Richmond Virgina to Seattle, WA. Let me tell you it was nerve wracking, praying it all worked out. Took 8 days. It did work but I have stories of southern boys in snowstorms etc. I justified it because a week of vacation is worth alot too so I paid for shipping.
Coordinating Was tough so makes sense to drive yourself.

But if my dad was able to I'd drive across with him just for the adventure.

See you out on the water.

 

[vocz]

Am in Seattle too. Getting ready to sale my 1988 228 after 21 years of ownership so I am sure your Seafarer will serve you well for many more years. Brought a 2003 265 Express from CT. and paid close to $6k to get her home last Oct. It took 4 days due to bad weather and the driver told me it was the most stressful drive with a 9.7 beam and 10k lbs boat. He thanked me for the brand new triple axles and Electric/Hydraulic brakes. Hope to see you on water soon. Enjoy!

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Awesome trip report! Thanks for taking the time to post. I've had 2 boats shipped east to west but always wondered how it would be and how much it would cost. I paid $3500 for my 228 in Nov. 2019 to go from Richmond Virgina to Seattle, WA. Let me tell you it was nerve wracking, praying it all worked out. It did but I have stories of southern boys in snowstorms etc. I justified it because a week of vacation is worth alot too!

But if my dad was able to I'd drive across with him just for the adventure.

See you out on the water.

That was kind of my thought process about the whole thing... the "what if something happens?" aspect of it all and I'm not there to deal with it in person and am a couple thousand miles away? I know the shipping companies have insurance and I'm sure they're very good at what they do. Certain things are unavoidable though and I'd rather be upset with myself over an issue where the boat got damaged because it was my fault as opposed to the shipping company damaging the boat themselves. The other part I wasn't sure about was how they do the transportation... do they just use the trailer on your boat or put everything on a flatbed or...? I'm sure it's different for every company and likely dependent on how much you spend? I'd feel much more comfortable having the boat/trailer shipped back here on a flatbed trailer that would at least offer some more protection if someone sideswiped it and/or have less issues with trailer brakes/bearings/tires and so on. If they just use your boat trailer, do they inspect it first and make sure it's up to the journey or do they just chance it and have you be liable for whatever happens? All of those questions were going through my mind and helped me decide on doing it myself. I did do the second cross country boat trip with my old man back in 2018, it was very fun to do that with him and it's something neither of us will ever forget. As stated before though, the third time doing this will very likely be the last time that I do it, or at least hopefully I won't have to do it again for another 10-15+ years. I see you're in the Seattle area as well, hope to also see you out on the water!

 

[family affair]

I also did both of my trips with my Dad. Come to think of it, we actually did 3! The 2nd was a bust. 900 mile round trip to Virginia and back. Stressful at times but great memories no less!
We are done chasing boats, but I need to come up with another good reason for another road trip or 2 with him while he still can hack it. Good times.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I also did both of my trips with my Dad. Come to think of it, we actually did 3! The 2nd was a bust. 900 mile round trip to Virginia and back. Stressful at times but great memories no less!
We are done chasing boats, but I need to come up with another good reason for another road trip or 2 with him while he still can hack it. Good times.

Definitely too stressful when towing a boat, especially the nicest boat I've owned before haha. It would be completely different driving a passenger car across country and seeing the sights. Being on somewhat of a deadline and driving 12+ hour days as well as almost 1k miles a day though while towing a boat is a bit of a different story

 

[JJMag]

First of all congratulations mustang65fb on your purchase of your 2004 228 . And I know you’ve been looking for a long long time!
And then the adventure of renting a U-Haul and coming across country!
I brought my 2003 228 across last year in August. I was driving a 2006 Duramax diesel round-trip fuel prices was in expensive Covid prices, Round-trip cost me $874 in fuel
The boat looks very clean through the pictures I’ve seen and yes it definitely upgrade from your last boat, you’ll definitely enjoy it and be a lot more comfortable out there with this boat
Glad you had a safe trip !
Now you have your next adventure making it your boat, the community of greatgrady.com wealth of knowledge and have helped me personally on my 228!
Great to have another Grady white 2228 on the West Coast .

 

[Mustang65fbk]

First of all congratulations mustang65fb on your purchase of your 2004 228 . And I know you’ve been looking for a long long time!
And then the adventure of renting a U-Haul and coming across country!
I brought my 2003 228 across last year in August. I was driving a 2006 Duramax diesel round-trip fuel prices was in expensive Covid prices, Round-trip cost me $874 in fuel
The boat looks very clean through the pictures I’ve seen and yes it definitely upgrade from your last boat, you’ll definitely enjoy it and be a lot more comfortable out there with this boat
Glad you had a safe trip !
Now you have your next adventure making it your boat, the community of greatgrady.com wealth of knowledge and have helped me personally on my 228!
Great to have another Grady white 2228 on the West Coast .

Thanks! What state did you buy your boat in? I love just about everything about the 228's and is probably my favorite boat under 25' ish feet.

 

[Long Haul]

Congrats on the safe trip! Bringing back some memories of my trip from Alabama to Seattle, towing my 232 with a uHaul. Had same challenges you did finding a one-way rental. Brought her back in December, wanted to avoid the Rocky’s, so headed west to California and then north up I-5. Never again….

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Congrats on the safe trip! Bringing back some memories of my trip from Alabama to Seattle, towing my 232 with a uHaul. Had same challenges you did finding a one-way rental. Brought her back in December, wanted to avoid the Rocky’s, so headed west to California and then north up I-5. Never again….

I was going to say you've got way bigger cajones than I do if you did it in December and drove it back through the midwest haha. That seems like it would've been dicey at best. How long did it take you to do the trek? I'm guessing that driving the safer route through California probably put you easily over 3k miles? It's always fun to hear of other people that have done the same or similar trek to mine... it makes me sound less crazy

 

[JJMag]

Thanks! What state did you buy your boat in? I love just about everything about the 228's and is probably my favorite boat under 25' ish feet.

I bought it and Georgia on the coast in Savannah and I will totally agree with you is definitely my favorite boat under 25 foot .

 

[Long Haul]

Roughly 3,800 miles. 5 days. Put in some crazy long days. Started with a freak snow storm in the south, high winds in AZ, CA, and then wildfires in CA (2017). Tire blow out in middle of nowhere in Texas that busted out one of the trailer lights. Bow strap snapped in AZ. Several stops at O’reilly’s along the way. Just kept on grinding.

Got home and my fishing buddies had named her “Long Haul”.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Roughly 3,800 miles. 5 days. Put in some crazy long days. Started with a freak snow storm in the south, high winds in AZ, CA, and then wildfires in CA (2017). Tire blow out in middle of nowhere in Texas that busted out one of the trailer lights. Bow strap snapped in AZ. Several stops at O’reilly’s along the way. Just kept on grinding.

Got home and my fishing buddies had named her “Long Haul”.

Very nice looking and clean boat you’ve got there. And a great story to tell to everyone as well. Fortunately my trailer has a spare tire/wheel/hub on in that I thankfully never had to use. But I did buy a lug wrench, bottle jack and some basic tools if I did have any issues or blowouts. The only crazy weather I got this trip was some 60+ mph wind gusts that made it difficult to drive and then it started to rain at the same time. I thought I was maybe coming up on a tornado but it was at night and couldn’t see. Had a lot of lightning strikes in the same spot as well. Besides that though, the rest of the trip was essentially smooth sailing. One of the previous trips I had similar weather conditions as listed above in the dark and my buddy told me there were 3 tornadoes that touched down in the same area I was in. That made the pucker factor go up to an 11 at that point.

 

[JJMag]

Thanks! What state did you buy your boat in? I love just about everything about the 228's and is probably my favorite boat under 25' ish feet. I posted it here on greatgrady

On the West Coast picked up a boat on the East Coast and trailered it back!

Well earlier in the year I picked up a Grady white 228 2003 with a Yamaha 225. Found an outstanding Yamaha technician to go through it and replace the exhaust and few other seals. Left the San Francisco Bay area July 22 picked up the new trailer from Owens and brothers in Florida on July 25th...

www.greatgrady.com

 

[Mustang65fbk]

On the West Coast picked up a boat on the East Coast and trailered it back!

Well earlier in the year I picked up a Grady white 228 2003 with a Yamaha 225. Found an outstanding Yamaha technician to go through it and replace the exhaust and few other seals. Left the San Francisco Bay area July 22 picked up the new trailer from Owens and brothers in Florida on July 25th...

www.greatgrady.com

Sexy looking boat. I might be slightly biased though haha

 

[vocz]

If you anchor a lot. There is a pulpit on EBay for 20” Adventure that may fit your. https://www.ebay.com/itm/274980745462

 

[vocz]

Quick tip, when trim the engine up, don’t let them travel with the services support lock on the outboard (flip down lock) while towing long distance. Invest on one or two of the outboard trim support divide. Asked me how I know!