Our 24Ve is on its way!!! (photos inside)

[IDBoating]

We are in Florida right now after purchasing our new (leftover) 2009 24Ve from Forte's. Tony, Dom, Kevin, and several other people went above and beyond the call of duty to make this the best vehicle purchase experience we've ever had. Despite some shipping challenges (the crane we were supposed to use was broken the morning we needed to use it), everyone pulled together and we made it happen.

Here are some photos. First up, here is the boat shrinkwrapped on its trailer:



Next we have Tony Forte decoupling the trailer from his personal truck:



Here Tony, the forklift operator, and I are checking the straps before lifting the boat. I was particularly interested in not letting the straps apply pressure to the propeller shaft:



Next we lifted the boat and trailer and waited for the transport truck and trailer to pull into position:



Once the transport trailer was in position, the boat and trailer were positioned over it and we fiddled around for a while to get it centered properly:



Finally the boat and trailer were lowered, the straps were removed, and the forklift backed away:



The driver then strapped everything down, and our boat was on its way:



We should see it late next week. More photos then!

[flyguy]

Congrats. It will be a long week for you. Curious - how much does it cost to transport from FL to WA?

[IDBoating]

Curious - how much does it cost to transport from FL to WA?

My quotes ranged from ~$2400 (towed on its own trailer) to ~$3600 (on a flatbed). I wanted the protection of the flatbed, so I chose one of those quotes which ended up being around $3400.

I did get one quote for over $7000 but presume that was a mistake of some kind.

This was for an estimated 2800 road miles.

[AdaminMN]

Congrats!

[Ewok]

That was a good idea using straps on the forklift. Congrats!

[Goodwin]

So why did you buy a boat in Florida to have it shipped to Washington? There is a dealer in WA.

[robert theisen]

i would assume it's a 2009 leftover boat that he got a good deal on. his dealer probably didn't have any 2009 product left. congrats wa boating and welcome to the TIGE family.

[yllw20]

Congrats, dom and the gang rock there.

[Ewok]

i would assume it's a 2009 leftover boat that he got a good deal on. his dealer probably didn't have any 2009 product left. congrats wa boating and welcome to the TIGE family.

Yup, there are a few threads on that process.

[Goodwin]

sorry, must have missed those threads. Congrats on the boat!

[Nobody]

My quotes ranged from ~$2400 (towed on its own trailer) to ~$3600 (on a flatbed). I wanted the protection of the flatbed, so I chose one of those quotes which ended up being around $3400.

I did get one quote for over $7000 but presume that was a mistake of some kind.

This was for an estimated 2800 road miles.

Wow! That is super cheap. Most likely the driver wanted to get back home. The going rate is $2.00 to $2.50 per mile.

[IDBoating]

Wow! That is super cheap. Most likely the driver wanted to get back home. The going rate is $2.00 to $2.50 per mile.

I received quite a few quotes in the $1.25 per mile range. That is also what Tige Corporate estimated it would cost, and what the dealer estimated, so it appears $1.25 is the going rate.

[IDBoating]

i would assume it's a 2009 leftover boat that he got a good deal on. his dealer probably didn't have any 2009 product left.

Exactly. My local dealer did have a 2009, but it had been their demo and it REALLY looked like it. The engine compartment looked like someone had dumped a bucket of mud in it, there was serious wear and tear everywhere, etc. Plus they quoted me many, many thousands higher for a demo (read: used) boat. When I called them back to see if they'd negotiate, they claimed they had sold it.

[Goodwin]

that is awesome. you must have gotten a killer deal to fly to Florida and have it trucked back. the 24VE is a great boat.

[IDBoating]

the 24VE is a great boat.

I hope to be saying that myself very soon!