I live in Los Angeles, and my brother just bought a cabin on a lake in Minnesota. I have an old Perception Sea Lion (plastic, 16.5 feet) that I’d love to paddle up there. I don’t have the time to drive there and back, so does anybody have any advice on how to ship it up there? Specifically, which companies do you recommend and how much will it cost?
Thanks in advance.
I’d recommend selling it here
and buying a used one there. If you do ship it, DO NOT use ForwardAir.
That’s good advice. I sold in one day
on Pnet.
Shipping
I don’t think you should have problems shipping a plasitic 'yak with any of the major frieght carriers as long as you adequately wrap it (a couple of layers of heavy duty bubble wrap and plastic wrapping) and specify “top load only”. However, the problem may be taking delivery - this type of freight is usually shipped terminal to terminal, so unless you can have it shipped to a commercial address with a loading dock, you will have to get it picked up at the nearest terminal to the final destination.
Shipping kayak via Forward Air?
I was considering having a kayak shipped by Forward Air. What is the issue with them? Please explain. Thanks.
FORWARD AIR SUCKS
I too would suggest not using Forward Air, they put two holes in my brand new Kayak, and I am still trying to get it worked out. I love having a brand new holy kayak!!! Then, I ordered a second one…wanna hear this…they wouldn’t let me look at it until I signed it off as in good condition…I left. Left my second new kayak sitting on the wrong kind of dock.
And it was wrapped…
Bubble and plastic. But, a SOT doesn’t stand a chance against the forks of a forklift!!! And it was marked “NO FORKLIFTS”, and fragile and such.
I’ll second that
I had always heard “use Forward Air” for the best rates, etc.
My wife just had hers shipped from AZ to PA. The “estimate” was $175, after she committed to the sale and the guy took it to FA on his end, the real price jumped up to $270! Only missed that one by a mere hundred bucks…
Then, when we picked it up two days ago, it was dinked up pretty good on the front of the bow. It was insured for $1000 (new Perception Airalite, more like $1500 actual, but we figured $1000 should cover anything…), but it’s now a fight. We have to “prove that Forward Air did the damage”! Uh, brand new kayak, not a mark on it, except for the MAJOR gouges in the bow.
Now a “third party inspection” has to be performed, to “verify the damage”.
Boy, I wish I had read this a week ago… 
Forward Air Trashed a Kayak
Shipped a wooden double and it was ran through with a fork lift several times. Forward Air is just a forwarding agent. Their subs get upset if they ship items that need to be handled by hand (kayaks)and not fork lifts. So they damage the items to show Forward Air lessons.
I had no idea you could have these
kinds of problems shipping. Thanks for the great advice. I’m always looking for my next boat but this thread makes driving to see one a lot more important now.
K.A.S. Transport
Call Steve, a dedicated boat shipper, goes ALL over and hits L.A. for Kayakpro and Seda deliveries. K.A.S. Transport 585-313-9467
A friend bought a kayak here on P.net
A CLC Chesapeake 17LT. ForwardAir drove a forktruck fork right through the side of it. The ONLY way this could happen is if it were deliberately pinned against another object, those boats are very tough. ForwardAir wouldn’t honor a claim because it was wrapped in 3-4 layers of bubblewrap and not in a crate.
Shipping a kayak
As mentioned previously, KAS Transport is a sure bet. Steve has transported two kayaks from East Coast to West Coast for us in the past year. He’s very reasonably priced, will wrap and bag the boat, and above all damage free. You’ll appreciate his integrity.
Kayak shipping
Try Forwad Air or Wakins. Give total weight and destination they’ll give you price on the phone. Pick up at their terminal at the airport will be cheaper. You need to bubble wrap your boat heavily and then shrink wrap over. Tie some ropes for handling.
Forward Air
I see a lot of negative comments on Forward Air. Indeed, the actual price you pay is ALWAYS higher than the phone quote. I shipped a Prijon from Connecticut to Texas without a problem. If you can dig a hole in Prijon you might win a prize. Besides, I wrapped heavily and added carboard boxes over by tapping them together. It looked like a 17’ coffin.
Anything but Forward Air…
I shipped one OK and had one delivered speared by a fork lift…
Forward Air is only part of the problem
… wrapping something as large as a kayak with bubble wrap and hoping / praying it will not get damaged is irresponsible on the shippers part… BUBBLE wrap does nothing to protect against crushing loads. The overworked/ underpaid folks who work some of these places could care less about all the Fragile, Top Load only, no fork lift stickers, markings and warnings all over the boat. It’s only cargo to them and cargo should be placed in a crate.
75.00 and a few hours will net you a crate. Toss in a couple rope loops on the ends and blocks underneath it and the Forward Air Guys will kiss you for doing that for them. Your boat will get there unscathed … Even factoring in the crate, the cost is less than the kayak trucks. Not sure how to put a price on losses for a damaged or late boat. Crates are insurance.
Disgusted with the long delays, break downs, DAMAGE, high prices and weak excuses of one of the ‘private carriers’ now has us using Forward Air exclusively. Yep, it takes a little time to build the crates but it is worth it in the long run because the boats get there in a few days undamaged and we can ship them on our time rather than waiting for weeks for someone to come around and hopefully have room for our boats, then pachinko across the country without communication. Leaving us in the dark without knowledge of the boats whereabouts, condition or delivery time.