Boat transport cost is usually the first number an owner looks up when a boat has to move a long way. That's a fair place to start, because a truck can move almost any boat to almost any address. But if your boat runs and there's water between where it sits and where it's going, a delivery captain can run it there on its own bottom, and the two options price out in very different ways.
I'm a 100 Ton USCG Near Coastal Master and I run coastal deliveries out of Ocean City, Maryland, so I have a side in this. That's why every trucking number below comes from a transporter or marketplace page I can link to, with the date that page gives. The delivery numbers are my own posted rates.
What boat transport cost looks like in published rates
Haulers price by the mile, and that per-mile rate moves with distance and with the boat's dimensions, width above all. The published ranges are wide. uShip's boat shipping guide puts boat transport at $1.25 to $15.00 per mile, and says its averages reflect market conditions from March 2022 to March 2023. We Will Transport It, a boat hauler, publishes an approximate range of $1.50 to $18.00 per mile on its boat transport page (read November 2026).
The tighter numbers belong to boats that fit on the road without a permit. Rapid Auto Shipping's boat shipping cost page, updated September 2026, lists $1.50 to $2.25 per mile for legal-width boats on long hauls and $2.25 to $3.50 per mile on regional runs under 500 miles.
Why short hauls cost more per mile
Loading, securing, dispatch and paperwork cost about the same whether the truck drives 80 miles or 800. On a short run those fixed costs get split across fewer miles. uShip's table shows it clearly for a 24 to 30 foot boat: $8.00 per mile under 100 miles, $2.50 from 100 to 500 miles, $1.85 from 500 to 1,000 miles and $1.75 past 1,000 miles (again, 2022 to 2023 data).
Published job examples
We Will Transport It lists price ranges for sample jobs on the same page, which is more useful than a per-mile figure because it shows what permits do to the total:
- 22 foot bowrider on the owner's trailer, 250 miles: $600 to $900
- 27 foot center console on a trailer, 900 miles: $1,900 to $3,000
- 34 foot express cruiser with a 12 foot beam, 600 miles with permits: $4,500 to $6,200
- 55 foot sportfish with a 14 foot 6 inch beam, 800 miles: $12,000 to $18,000, plus permits and escorts
What else goes into the cost to ship a boat
The per-mile rate is only part of the bill.
Beam, permits and escorts
The legal width for a load on the highway is 8 feet 6 inches, or 102 inches. A boat wider than that on the trailer is an oversize load and needs a permit for every state on the route. Rapid Auto Shipping lists state permits at $20 to $200 or more per state, and escort vehicles at $1.50 to $2.00 per mile, per escort, for loads over 12 feet wide. We Will Transport It says the same thing in plain terms: over 8 feet 6 inches triggers a permit in most states, and over 12 feet typically means escort vehicles.
Width changes the base rate too. On Rapid's table, a boat with an 11 foot 1 inch to 12 foot beam runs $3.75 to $5.00 per mile on a long haul, against $1.50 to $2.25 for a legal-width boat.
Height and prep
Height matters as much as width. Rapid notes that a boat taller than 13 feet 6 inches sitting on the trailer becomes an over-height load, which brings route planning around bridges and height-pole escorts. To stay under that, owners often take down the T-top or tower, pull the outriggers, remove canvas frames and lower antennas before pickup. All of it goes back on at the other end.
Shrink wrap is optional on most hauls. We Will Transport It recommends it for winter moves or when road debris is a risk, and Rapid's sample estimate prices it at $12 per foot. A boat that rides on its own road-legal trailer is the cheapest to move. One without a trailer needs a hydraulic trailer or a cradle, and that costs more.
Haul-out and launch
A boat in the water has to come out at a yard with a lift and go back in at another one. We Will Transport It puts a marina travel lift at typically $300 to $700, and crane lifts at $1,000 to $2,000 or more. Rapid's sample estimate uses $8 per foot for each end. You pay it at both ends, on two yards' schedules.
Pro tip: Before you call a hauler, measure length overall, beam, height on the trailer and weight. We Will Transport It warns that a re-dispatch because the dimensions were wrong costs time and money. It also notes that a flexible pickup window of 5 to 7 days usually prices better than a same-week deadline.
What running it with a delivery captain costs
There's no per-mile rate on the water. You pay the captain by the day plus the boat's running costs. Here are my posted rates from the boat delivery page. For how they compare with other published day rates, see my guide to boat captain cost.
- $750 per daylight running day
- $450 for a half day, up to 4 hours
- $375 for travel days and weather days, which is half the day rate
- Owner pays fuel, dockage, my travel and my meals on multi-day runs, at cost
- 50% deposit on trips over two days
The day count comes from a simple formula. Take the route distance in nautical miles and divide it by 85% of your boat's cruising speed. The 85% allows for sea state. That gives hours underway. I plan on about 8 running hours per daylight day, and the boat ties up at a marina each night.
Example 1: 150 nm at a 20 knot cruise. 20 knots times 0.85 is 17 knots. 150 divided by 17 is about 9 hours underway, which is 2 running days ($1,500) plus 1 travel day ($375). Captain cost: $1,875, or $2,250 if weather holds the boat for a day. Fuel and dockage come on top.
Example 2 (my own illustration, not a quote): 350 nm at a 20 knot cruise. 20 times 0.85 is 17 knots. 350 divided by 17 is about 20.6 hours underway. At 8 hours a day that rounds up to 3 running days ($2,250), plus 1 travel day ($375). Captain cost: $2,625, or $3,000 with one weather day. If that boat burns 30 gallons an hour at cruise, budget roughly 620 gallons of fuel, priced at whatever the fuel docks along the route charge.
Same trip, both ways
We Will Transport It's sample job puts a 27 foot center console on a trailer over 900 miles at $1,900 to $3,000. Here's that boat by water. 900 statute miles is about 782 nautical miles. At a 25 knot cruise, 25 times 0.85 is 21.25 knots, and 782 divided by 21.25 is about 36.8 hours underway. That's 5 running days ($3,750) plus 1 travel day ($375), so $4,125 in captain cost before fuel and dockage. For a trailerable 27 footer going that far, the truck usually wins on cost. The water run makes sense when the boat is too big to truck cheaply, or when you want it to arrive ready to use.
A few other things belong in the comparison. Weather is the big unknown. I won't push a boat into a bad forecast to save a day, so a lay day is always possible, and it's billed at the $375 half rate. The run also puts hours on your engines. Example 1 adds about 9 hours to the meters, so factor that into your service interval. And your insurer usually needs to approve a hired captain before the trip, so call your agent first.
On a standard trip I do a pre-departure check with dated photos and send updates during the run. When the boat ties up, you get an arrival photo report. Because I'm also a full-time detailer and a Starke Yacht Care certified installer, the boat can arrive washed or detailed if you want it ready to use.
I've been a licensed captain since 2018. I ran 48 to 78 foot crewboats for two years and ran Sea Quenched Private Charters in Ocean City for three seasons. In October 2026 I was one of two captains, with a mate, on a Hunt Ocean 56 from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale for the boat show. I'm a member of CAPCA. For what the license covers, see my guide to what a USCG licensed captain is.
Boat transport vs delivery captain, side by side
| Truck it | Run it by water | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's priced | Per mile, plus line items | Captain day rate, plus fuel and dockage |
| Boat has to run? | No | Yes |
| Beam over 8'6" | State permits, possibly escorts | No permits needed |
| Prep | Lower tower or T-top, outriggers, antennas; optional shrink wrap | Pre-departure check; boat stays rigged |
| Lifts | Haul-out and launch at a yard on each end | None; leaves from one slip, arrives at another |
| Weather | Less affected on the road | Can add lay days |
| Engine hours | None added | Hours underway added |
| Best fit | Trailerable, inland, long overland, boat that can't run | Running boat, coastal route, wide or tall boat |
When trucking makes more sense
Trucking usually wins when:
- The boat can't run. A boat with an engine problem or a project boat goes on a trailer, full stop.
- It's trailerable and legal width. A 22 foot boat on its own trailer is cheap to haul.
- The destination is inland or there's no reasonable water route.
- The distance is long and the timeline is tight. A truck isn't waiting on a sea state window.
- It's winter. A boat that's already hauled and wrapped for the season is set up for a truck, and cold-weather runs up the coast are hard to schedule by water.
When running it makes more sense
Running it by water tends to pay off when:
- The boat runs and the route is coastal. The Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware Bay, the Delmarva coast and the ICW all connect ports that a truck has to reach by road and two lifts.
- The boat is wide or tall. Once beam passes 8 feet 6 inches or the tower pushes height past 13 feet 6 inches, permits, escorts, tower removal and re-rigging start stacking up on the trucking side. None of that applies on the water.
- You want it ready at the dock. The boat leaves one slip and ties up in the next, with the T-top still on and no launch to schedule.
- The run is short to medium. Short hauls carry the highest per-mile trucking rates, and you still pay for two lifts.
How to compare boat shipping cost against a delivery for your boat
Get a written hauler quote that lists permits, escorts, both lifts, shrink wrap and any tower work, or says those are billed separately. Then run the same route through the boat delivery estimator, add fuel and dockage, and compare totals for the same dates. For a sea trial or a captain for the day instead, see captain services.
Price your run by water
Pick two ports, enter your cruising speed and get a day count and captain cost in a few seconds. Every trip gets a written quote from me before anything is booked.
Boat transport and delivery FAQ
How much does boat transport cost per mile?
Published ranges run from $1.25 to $15.00 per mile on uShip (2022 to 2023 data) and roughly $1.50 to $18.00 per mile at We Will Transport It. Rapid Auto Shipping, updated September 2026, lists $1.50 to $2.25 per mile for legal-width boats on long hauls and $2.25 to $3.50 on regional runs under 500 miles.
Is it cheaper to truck a boat or have a captain run it?
It depends on the boat and the route. Trucking usually wins for trailerable, legal-width boats and for inland or very long moves. Running the boat by water often makes more sense for wide or tall boats on a coastal route, because a water delivery skips oversize permits, escort vehicles, tower removal and two lifts. The fair comparison is a written hauler quote with every line item next to a delivery estimate for the same route and dates.
Does a boat need a permit to be trucked?
If the boat on the trailer is wider than 8 feet 6 inches (102 inches), it's an oversize load and needs a permit in each state on the route. Rapid Auto Shipping lists state permits at $20 to $200 or more per state, and escort vehicles at $1.50 to $2.00 per mile per escort for loads over 12 feet wide. The hauler normally pulls the permits, so ask whether they're in the quote or billed on top.
What does a delivery captain cost for a 150 nautical mile run?
With me, a 150 nautical mile run at a 20 knot cruise works out to about 9 hours underway. That's two daylight running days at $750 plus one travel day at $375, for a captain cost of $1,875. If weather holds the boat for a day, add $375, for $2,250. The owner also pays fuel, dockage, my travel and my meals on multi-day runs.
Does my insurance need to approve a delivery captain?
Usually, yes. Many yacht policies want a hired captain approved before the trip, and insurers look for a USCG license first. Call your agent before you book, ask whether the captain needs to be approved or named on the policy, and get the answer in writing.