Has anyone tried shipping a kayak?

Question

I've just moved to Texas....there isn't really any whitewater down here, of course. I'd like to bring my boat and not have to rent one when I travel to other places. I have a rec boat(Dagger RPM Max). Has anyone shipped a kayak through the major airlines? What is the cost and incovinience?

Answer 1

From www.boatertalk.com FAQs:

BoaterTalk FAQ: Shipping your Kayak

There are several shipping options available for shipping your kayak.

Sports Express is a great company with door/door service that uses Fed Ex to actually do the shipping for them. They act as the agent to facilitate the shipping. Their customer service is great! They used to charge between $45-$85 to ship a boat. They have since started charging by dimensional weight instead of actual weight and their pricing has increased pretty substantially to about $125-165/boat.

Forward Air and Pilot Air are common carriers that run from terminal to terminal, but who may provide door/door service. There charges are typically $50-80, but you may have to take the boat to their terminal and have it picked up at their terminal. Forward Air also has to be paid by money order.

DHL will provide door/door service and is very reasonable, usually about $55-85. DHL has become the best bet along with Forward Air and Pilot Air for getting a kayak across the country efficiently. They have had consistently good reviews and experiences on BT.

See below the ad for SportsExpress for packaging information.

I am going to leave up the previously posted information from Sports Express which follows:

Looking for a kayak shipping solution? Why lug your Kayak on a trip? Why wait in long airport check-in and oversized baggage claims lines and have to pay for the hassle? Sports Express, the premier sports equipment & luggage delivery service worldwide, will have your kayak, luggage or other items picked up at your home, office or other location and delivered to your destination. It's convenient, guaranteed and worry-free.

What they�re saying�

�I have told numerous kayakers about your eagerness to obtain their business. It is very refreshing to work with a company that likes to ship kayaks and is so concerned about customer satisfaction and feedback. Great job!! Thanks.� � M. DeAgazio, Burke, VA

�As you might expect shipping kayaks has been historically difficult and time consuming. It was hard to buy a used kayak anywhere but in your home state because nobody was willing to go through the hassle of shipping a boat. Your company has facilitated the buying/selling of kayaks for me and with my level of satisfaction I suspect many more kayakers in the future. Between your professional attitude, ease of use, internet/telephone accessibility, fair costs, and reliability it has been a pleasure to recommend your company to other kayakers. Thanks.� � G. Alexander, State College, PA

About Sports Express

Premier sports equipment and luggage delivery service, allowing travelers to have their Kayaks, luggage or other types of sports equipment picked up at their home or office and delivered directly to their destination.

Markets served include USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Switzerland and the Caribbean.

Quotes, reservations and booking luggage and sports equipment delivery can be obtained online 24/7 at www.SportsExpress.com or by speaking directly to a Travel Concierge� toll-free 7 days a week at 800-357-4174.

Each delivery is proactively monitored by our Travel Concierge� staff from the time it's picked up to the final destination.

Guests are kept informed of their luggage and sports equipment delivery every step of the way with personalized email or fax notifications.

We look forward to serving you!

PACKAGING YOUR KAYAK FOR SHIPMENT:

There are many different ways to package a boat for shipment. Everything from sticking a shipping label on the side of an unwrapped boat to a fully crated box made of cardboard or thin wood!

Here is what has worked for myself and many others:

Option 1- Wrap the whole boat with a plastic drop cloth (used for painting, available at any paint or hardware store including Lowes and Home Depot) or bubble wrap and use a ton of packing tape to seal the whole boat. You can cut slits in the plastic and pull the grab loops thru (this makes it easier for the loading guys to handle it.

Option 2- Wrap the cockpit area of the boat (same materials as above) and leave the ends of the boat unwrapped. It uses much less plastic and is still very easy for the loading guys to handle while keeping the cockpit area safe from dings. This is the method that I use and what I recommend.

With either option you can take a piece of cardboard or similar and lay over the cockpit opening if that makes you feel more secure, but it is probably not necessary.

Always get insurance on the shipping to cover damage to the boat.

Good day!

Terrell Anderson

Answer 2

i would call the airline you are planning to use.  as for the inconvenience, you might have to go pick it up, etc at the airport.