Rig Shuttling

F

Foggy

New member
Have any seasoned cruisers out there developed "General Guidelines for Rig Shuttling", or similar, to facilitate getting your boat back on its trailer when it's time to go home?

I can imagine 3 scenarios from easiest to "I hate this part":

1. CIRCULAR CRUISE WITH DEPART/PICK UP SHUTTLE DISTANCE ZERO
Ex: Annapolis, MD clockwise or counterclockwise around Chesapeake Bay back to Annapolis, MD
Annapolis to Annapolis: 0 miles

2. LOOP CRUISE WITH DEPART/PICK UP SHUTTLE DISTANCE CLOSE
Ex: St John's Marina, DeLand, FL north on St John's River to Jacksonville, FL then south on ICW to Gerry's Marina, New Smyrna Beach, FL
DeLand to New Smyrna Beach: 30 miles (cab, bus, alligator?)

3. ONE WAY CRUISE WITH DEPART/PICK UP SHUTTLE A PAIN
Ex: Bar Harbor, ME to Montauk, NY
Bar Harbor to Montauk: over 500 miles (train, bus, fly?)

Answers, tips and suggestions are all welcome.

Aye.
 
The one method you did not mention is the one we almost always use (unless there is a group, and one of the trucks is staged at the finish point, to take the other boaters back to the place where trailers and rigs were left).

That is the rental car. Usually we can do the trip to get the truck and trailer in one day--maybe a night if it is a long trip--and back the next day. We rent a car for a day, with unlimited mileage. Not that expensive--not dealing with issues of public transportation. We have also rented or borrowed a car at times when we needed to pick up parts, or meet a relative who might be coming with us for a week or so.
 
We've done the rental car bit. We use Enterprise, because they pick you up (important) and return you and on the weekends have the $10/day deal. Here's the page that describe that: Enterprise Cars.

Plan B, which we've used is public transportation, that's right a bus. Not as flexible as a rental, but has worked well for us. The bus drivers we've met have often gone out of their way to drop us off at the storage yard, etc. where we've left the trailer/truck. Finding the correct route isn't all that easy, but the internet helps.

Boris
 
Thanks, Bob and Boris.

Ah, stage the truck/trailer at the end point. OK for a group of 2 or more vehicles; otherwise, you still have the finish to start distance to deal with which is the same as not staging to begin with.

A rental car could work unless you are solo or end up in the boonies.

Public transportation I envisioned but that's down on the list a bit.

I can tell now, this takes some planning which makes me think it might be easier to do think about circular cruises only and end up with your own rig right there. Kind of like bar hopping in the old days going up one side of the street and back down the other to find your car but maybe not the keys...

Aye.
 
Judy and I were talking about some of the bus trips we took whilst cruising. This includes either getting downtown from the marina or back to the truck. A good proportion were the most interesting part of the cruise. The driver knew everybody, would gossip with them and start talking to us, sharing information and gossip. Several went out of their way to deliver us to a special restaurant or drop us off at the door. And by the way, most of the friendly drivers were black ladies, very cheerful.

One, in Berkeley, introduced us to everybody who got on or off the bus and gave running commentary. We took a bus to Pt Venus in Tahiti which was open and had mixed cargo. I can't say many people talked to us but it was interesting.

So the point of this missive is don't avoid public transportation, it can lead to an enjoyable and interesting experience. Especially in a rural area.

Boris
 
Not C-Dory specific, and of course some of it depends on what facilities are available for storage at either end, but, presuming both ends are an option, I have found one potential disadvantage with getting the rig to the end point at the beginning. What happened was I was shuttling prior to a delivery trip. I got my rig, all my extra tools and gear, etc. to the end point, and was feeling all good that everything would be tidily waiting for me at the end, with the hard work done and I could then just go on my way.

Then a bad weather window blew in. Now I was stuck at the "put in" (granted I was on someone else's boat not my own, so that was part of it), and my rig, extra supplies and tools, and (more importantly) my "wheels" were all miles and miles away and unavailable to me. I ended up waiting out a week of rainy stormy weather... ugh!

Again, not always a factor, but if I have a choice I now favor keeping my rig at the put-in and shuttling later, if this scenario may happen.
 
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, not their own facts.

Respectfully, opinions are like armpits - everybody has at least one, some just stink less than others.

Aye.
 
I tend to think Sunbeam's idea has good merit. If you don't move the tow rig until after the boat is at it destination, You haven't really lost anything, and it gives you the freedom (think cruising here) to go where and when you want, and eliminates a "Have to get to so and so" to get the rig. On a run down a river, not such a big deal, cruising in the PNW, options are nice.

Yup, ti's just an opinion.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
On our trips we have used:

Amtrak (return trips to MN and PA)
Enterprise
underemployed starving flight instructors (call local flight school)
underemployed Pizza delivery drivers
cabs
College student (phone call to Bemidji MN Chamber of commerce)
local friends
marina locals
 
Some seem to have missed out on the staging of one truck, when there is a group[)/b] That way the vehicle at the finish can ferry the other members back to the put in. --at the finish point--not in a solo circumstance--especially if one is on that dirty word: Schedule.
 
#1 Sell your boat when you get to the end of your trip. #2 Trailer your boat to key places along the way and visit areas of interest via boat and head to the next place of interest with boat on the trailer allowing you to gas up on land which is much cheaper. That way the truck allows for land based excursions should the weather turn ugly or should other needs arise. If you are doing marinas weekly slip rates are half of what over night transients slips are. We have done both loop type travels where we leave and return to the same place. We did a Chesapeake Bay trip and started on the Sassafras river in Georgetown went down the eastern shore to Rock Hall, St. Michaels' via Knapp's Narrows and anchored on the western side of St. Michaels on the San Domingo creek. There are three nice anchorages back in there and it saves going down via the Miles River and having to go back the same way to get out of there. then down to Oxford, over to Annapolis and on to Baltimore and then back across to Georgetown on the Sassafras see our nested album for pic's on the Chesapeake trip nice trip left vehicles at Duffy's Marina nice ramp and safe parking for tow rigs. In Maine we ran a loop that started in Belfast and ran a loop that went to Castine and Stonington, Vinylhaven, the Basin and Winterport up the Penobscot river and Back to Belfast. Good ramp there and safe parking good provisions available there also. See separate nested photos on the Maine trip. album.
if you care to. In the Florida Keys we have used a rental cars to get back to starting point to get tow rig. I think it depends if you can do a loop with out having to cover the same water again. If that's the case we would do one way and use a rental car instead of a loop.
D.D.
 
Consider also a $19.95/day U-Haul truck or van for 3 or fewer C-Brats. There are a lot more dealers even in small towns than rental cars, probably a short cab ride away. There's no surcharge for a one-way rental, or for traveling empty. Many have hitches....hmmmm.
John
 
gulfcoast john":1hn5i55k said:
Consider also a $19.95/day U-Haul truck or van ... There are a lot more dealers even in small towns than rental cars
Click to expand...

That's a good point. Buddy of mine needed to rent a car one-way from Page (Lake Powell) and we found there weren't any of that type. But there was a U-haul dealer and he was able to reserve a small truck (then it turned out I was able to give him a ride, so he cancelled it - but it was a good option in a town with no one-way/long-distance rental cars).
 
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