Shipping your boat: Long-distance sales made easy

So you've got a buyer for your boat. But the buyer is 1,000 miles away. Now what? You probably don't want to make the haul there and back yourself. And your buyer probably feels the same way about coming to get it.

What about shipping? There are firms that specialize in moving vehicles and boats, often related to cross-country changes in residence. There are also independent truckers can be contracted to either tow your boat, or load it onto a trailer and take it to your seller.

Depending on the distance, it can be more affordable than you thought to ship your boat when you consider fuel, overnight lodging, and the time commitment. And you can often agree with the buyer to split the trucking.

One online service that makes find a trucker easy is uShip.com. This site lets you post your shipment for truckers to bid on. While the bids come in, you can view each hauler's insurance, method of transport, customer feedback, and licensing information.

I used uShip for boat transport. Read about my experience.