DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

So I moved to a new job in Boca Raton, FL, and miss my 35 on the west coast.

One solution is to sail it down to Panama and then up to Florida. The problem of course is that from Panama it's uphill motoring mostly, as far as I can tell. (and I have a job where I can only take one week vacations far apart from one another).

On the other hand, if one were to need to bring a boat to California from the Atlantic, the bash up North is even worse (consistent Northerly wind and Pacific swell on the nose).

I see that there are a couple 1200s and a 35 listed for sale on the East Coast. In the off chance that the owners might want to swap the boats (or just share the use) between my 2009 DF 35 in Long Beach and their DFs in Florida maybe we can come to some kind of a deal?

Interesting idea. I'm not interested but perhaps Richard S could put you directly in touch with the sellers?

Ivan,

Have you considered trucking the boat to FL? I think it was TC who bought his boat in the Great Lakes and brought it over to West Coast by truck (if i am not mistaken). Also, I am pretty sure Richard S. arranged a number of long distance moves of larger boats (1000, 35, 1200). He also arranged for a commercial tower to bring his own boat from NJ to FL - about 1300 miles - for a very reasonable price. Talk to him.

Yep, this is an option, although feels wrong -- sailing it over is much more in the spirit of it! Sailing it down from Seattle to LA (with our own Steve B!) was one of the weeks in my life that I still look back to fondly.

Things look pretty shallow around here and in the Bahamas -- perfect for a Dragonfly.

EarthBM wrote:I have a job where I can only take one week vacations far apart from one another.

That's your issue. If you could take 3-6 months you could make it an adventure.

Without adequate time, another option is adequate money. You could ship it (I'm guessing around $10k). Or you could hire a delivery captain (more $ and more wear on the boat) and join him wherever/whenever for a week at a time. I expect selling yours and buying another would be the most costly.

Yep, this is what the owner of another DF 35 Tri Vector did. Cost $12k Oakland - Miami.

Use tax alone on buy/sell transaction will be more than that. Hence I was just thinking shared use / swap.

Shipped Strider from Waukegan, IL to Anacortes, WA. About $7k and a couple weeks with pack up etc. Folded the boat, placed on cradle, used doubled up 4x4s across the vaka to support the front and rear of the amas. Dropped the canvass, and mounted the mast along the hull. Other than arriving a mess with road grime, went very well.

Could not have sailed it here, there is just not enough wind across the great plains and I think the roughness of the road would have ground the fiberglass to nothing!

The hardest part was finding a company willing to do cross country. Most wanted to stay on their respective coasts. Associated out of Seattle (http://www.associatedboat.com) was willing, just a matter of being flexible timing with their schedule.

An option for you would be to ship to Houston or Galveston and sail across the Gulf. Win-win. You get to do some sailing and get to avoid the trip south, the ditch and then beating to FL.