How to Ship a Kayak

kayak image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com

Owning a kayak is great, but sometimes the best water is not right outside your front door. Whether you are taking a short vacation, going on an extended journey or making a permanent move, shipping your kayak requires careful preparation and a bit of comparison shopping. When your kayak gets there safe and sound without a scratch on its hull, your work will be worth it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Kayak
Bubble wrap
Tape

Step 1

Package your kayak. Wrap several layers of bubble wrap around it and secure the wrap with several wraps of packaging tape.

Step 2

Determine your kayak's dimensional weight. Kayaks are lightweight but bulky, so shipping companies will use a formula called dimensional weight to calculate how much you should pay based on size rather than actual weight.

Step 3

Measure the length, width and height of your wrapped kayak and then plug it into the equation:
length x width x depth/194. This will give you your kayak's dimensional weight.

For example, if your packaged kayak is 100 inches long, 25 inches wide and 15 inches tall, if you plug those numbers into the equation, you get about 193 dimensional pounds.

Step 4

Investigate pricing at several different kayak shipping companies. Be sure to mention the size. Pilot Air, Forward Air and FreightQuote will all ship kayaks, but Greyhound, Federal Express and most airlines will not. Some airlines will also ship kayaks as cargo, but will not ship them as freight without you on the flight.

Step 5

Arrange a dropoff and pickup. Often, you will be able to get a better price if you drive the kayak out to the company itself and pick it up at the destination than you would get for door-to-door service. Get a shipping number so you can track your kayak.

Step 6

Prepare for airline security if you have chosen to ship your kayak by air. You will have to unwrap it for inspection, than wrap it again for safe travel.

Tips & Warnings

Insure your kayak when you ship it. A few extra dollars will guarantee that the insurer will replace your kayak if it is damaged.

If you are only going on a short trip, compare the cost of shipping to the cost of rental. It may be cheaper to rent a kayak when you get there.

Article Written By Isaiah David

Isaiah David is a freelance writer and musician living in Portland, Ore. He has over five years experience as a professional writer and has been published on various online outlets. He holds a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan.

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