Delivery FAQ

There are many variables when considering yacht delivery. First is whether the boat is ready for the passage and seaworthy. This is why we at GBA first ask to see a recent survey. Often people reach out to delivery captains before they own the boat or have a survey done in order to get pricing. This may also be done to consider whether to truck the boat or if the boat is even worth purchasing. The cost of delivering a boat depends on the boat, time, and crew. The next step after finding if the boat is seaworthy from the survey is to apply for an insurance rider for the passage. This is achieved by submitting the captain’s resume to the vessel’s insurance provider along with a copy of their ID and USCG master’s license. After all this is done the last remaining thing to consider is if the boat owner plans to come on the passage. With sailboat delivery, this is quite common and adds a level of difficulty and risk. Delivery captains often have crew that they have experience with underway and who they know have the prerequisite training to be helpful and safe on the water. Often delivery clients are new to sailing as well as boat ownership and this adds a level of risk on top of the challenges of delivering a strange boat sometimes in a strange place. It goes without saying that the souls onboard are the highest priority and the boat and its hardware is secondary in importance. Yacht delivery captains are often asked to move boats the “wrong way" or the “wrong time of year". For example the prevailing winds on the West Coast of Baja and North America are from the north in the summer and passage to weather is significantly harder and more uncomfortable than a southern heading that time of year. This means possible seasickness and exhaustion for the crew and those that have never been offshore and don't know how they will react to these conditions until they are in them and often by then it's too late. This means that the crew must be capable of relieving the others in the event they can’t stand watch. If not the boat may have to be diverted to safe harbor until a better window presents itself. This time adds cost in lay days and often means the crew has to leave and new crew secured. The best way then for owners that are new to the coastal or blue water sailing to get this experience without endangering the success of the passage is to be sure that the other crew are strong and experienced and or numerous. This may mean hiring a mate or seeing if the boat is eligible for a class to offset the cost of a second licensed captain.

Of course, the best option is to invest in training in the conditions you may expect to find yourself with an experienced program so you can make the passage yourself with your own crew. We at GBA specialize in this sort of training. 

The other thing to be aware of is that the vessel needs to be sea-worthy before departure. This means no mess, heavy items secure, cooking and serving utensils aboard as well as up-to-date USCG-required safety equipment aboard and a clean bottom and prop. If the owner needs help GBA can make arrangements to assist with this work and a lot of the extra time necessary to do this. If the captain and crew arrive and the boat is not ready this can seriously risk jeopardizing the success and GBA’s ability to meet the delivery dates due to lost time and closing weather windows. Maintenance and repairs are not covered in lay day costs rather repairs made to vessels found to be unseaworthy and the time of the schedule departure date are considered emergency repairs and billed at $200 and hour. If the vessel is found to not be seaworthy once underway or before the captain must use discretion as to how far the vessel can make it before weather or other scheduling restrictions prevent the safe travel. This will incur a greater expense to the owner as the crew and captain will have to find transport home from a more remote location.