Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson is a writer whose lifelong appreciation of nature shows up frequently in his work. Meet Jonathan Previous Answers

The problem is, first, finding one of these guys, and, second, fitting your boat into their schedule and vice versa. They make their money by keeping moving, so you need to coordinate carefully both the pickup and delivery. It's highly unlikely they'll pick up or deliver a single boat in a town that isn't already on their schedule, unless it's right on the way.

However, if you can arrange the logistics, it's an excellent way to go. A phone call to a local kayak shop or two should get you a name and number.

The next best tactic is to go with a commercial trucking company . . . but here there's a caution. I've had experience with far, far too many fiberglass sea kayaks winding up damaged after a trip with a trucking firm to recommend them for that kind of boat. A whitewater boat, however, is different, since it's both shorter and almost invariably made of resilient plastic. A boat that can handle Class V rapids and bouncing off boulders is usually okay with a rough trip in a truck.

The advantage to a trucking firm, of course, is that you can arrange delivery to most cities in the country, and the boat can be held at the depot if no one is available to claim it immediately. If you do use this shipping method, make sure you wrap the boat tightly in some sort of padding, and make very sure you examine it closely before you sign for it. I once, believe it or not, had a trucking company insist that I sign a release stating that I'd received the boat in perfect condition — before they'd let me see the boat. I had to threaten legal action before they relented, and, surprise, the boat — a fiberglass sea kayak — had a chunk knocked out of the bow. I told every paddler and kayak manufacturer I knew about that company.

There's one last avenue that has been used successfully by a couple of people I know. You can place an ad in the local paper and find someone who is driving to where you want your boat. You provide them with a rack and a fee to take the boat with them. The dangers inherent in this sort of drive-away kayak shipping should be obvious, but it's cheap.

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