Input on shipping kayaks?

I'd like to send a kayak or two to a friend back east. Does anyone have recent experience shipping kayaks across the country? Google yields a dizzying amount of links but nothing too recent; I'm hoping that some forum members have recent experience with this?

Here are some things that are on my mind:
(1) To the uninitiated, kayaks appear fairly strong, but if dropped or mishandled, it's not too hard to damage them (busted scuppers, etc). Are there any bulletproof packing methods I should consider?
(2) If you've had good, bad, or in between experience with a shipper, I'd love to hear it.
(3) I probably don't have to worry about invasive species inspections if I'm using a shipper... right?

I've touched on this subject a few times in the past here on the forum. You'll have to use a LTL (Less Than Truckload) carrier and many of them won't touch kayaks as they are the highest freight class (most expensive) and damage is very common as they will be loaded and unloaded (cross docked) several times as they move east.

Pack them like the forklift driver's boss in Tulsa is screaming at him and he's got 9 more hours on his shift and 3 more until his next meth break. Leave nothing sticking up or out. Wrap them in moving blankets, surround that with thick corrugated cardboard, then wrap in pallet wrap and packing tape.

Anything extra you want done is known as an "accessorial charge." Find a friend with a business address for pickup to avoid a residential pick up charge. If you can, find a carrier with a terminal near the receiver's home town and order a "hold at destination terminal" and "notify receiver" on the Bill Of Lading. They will get a phone call and can drive to the terminal to pick them up and that's one less time they have to bounce around a half empty truck. Have the receiver thoroughly inspect for damage at the time of pick up. If damage is found after they have left the terminal they're going to tell you 'tough shit buddy' and you'll have no claim.

I've moved quite a few kayaks and received one for HOW. It's been a few years, but I always had pretty good luck with Old Dominion. I don't know if R&L is still doing kayaks but they were a pretty reputable company when I worked at a 3PL. For the love of all that's holy stay away from Central Transport.

Quite honestly, at the inflated prices shit is moving around for currently, you might consider selling them locally and him buying locally and avoid this headache. Especially because the kayaks are used any potential claim will likely be denied if there's not an invoice clearly showing wholesale replacement value. If by some miracle upon miracles your claim was approved you still wouldn't see any compensation for at least 90 days.

Freight is a minefield for skilled shippers with big corporate bucks backing them. For a "regular Joe" you're swimming shark infested waters with a nasty fresh head wound.

I looked into it earlier last year and even without the obscene fuel costs now it was cost prohibitive. With the supply chain issues and shipping costs going up across the board I was only able to find a few that would even quote me and it was in the $750-1,000 range from what I was told. Certainly it could've been a situation of them not wanting to deal with me but I quickly realized that shipping the kayak wasn't worth the hassle or money to be honest.

One site that I looked at but didn't end up messing with for the kayaks was uShip.com If you're patient you may be able to find someone willing to ship at a reasonable rate and typically these are independent people shipping or moving products or equipment so there's not the likely transfer issues you would have with another larger company. I did use this site to get quotes on having a vehicle shipped and it was a much better rate than what I was quoted with a more traditional shipping company.

Whitewater kayakers often post on social media that they need to get a kayak from A to B, and to please contact them if you're going to B and are willing to take a kayak. But whitewater playboats are short and can fit into the back of an SUV or a pickup, so it's a lot easier to have somebody transport a whitewater kayak than your typical long heavy fishing kayak. But if you can find somebody who is driving an appropriate vehicle where you want to send the kayaks, that would be way easier and cheaper than shipping the kayaks.

Last Fall a Hobie Pro Angler 360 was shipped to me, and the packing job was incredible.  The steering knobs on top of the H-Rail were removed and their shafts were capped, a huge heavy corrugated box was taped over the cockpit to protect the seat, the paddle, the H-Rail, and the steering shafts, protective cardboard caps were taped on the bow and stern, and the whole thing was wrapped in multiple layers of heavy duty plastic tarp. I can't remember if the kayak was strapped to a pallet. Despite the elaborate packing job, you frequently hear of kayaks being damaged during shipping. You have to assume that the shippers will pile many other boxes on top of your kayak, will drop the kayak out of the back of the truck, and will otherwise treat the kayak roughly.

I once shipped a couple of whitewater kayaks up to Whitehorse for a long whitewater kayak trip in the Yukon.  In addition to the usual hassles of shipping a kayak, I had to get a customs broker to handle getting them over the border.  It was a major headache.  After the trip, I wished I had just strapped the kayak on my vehicle and driven up there.  It would have been way way easier.

Despite the elaborate packing job, you frequently hear of kayaks being damaged during shipping. You have to assume that the shippers will pile many other boxes on top of your kayak, will drop the kayak out of the back of the truck, and will otherwise treat the kayak roughly.

Kayaks often get holes punched through the hull by the forks on the forklift. Most carriers don't accept non-palletized cartons, so it's not boxes being stacked on your kayak you have to worry about. It's the pallets sliding around and crushing your hull once they've made a delivery stop or two.

Most kayak shops order Full Truckloads (FTL) from the manufacturers for this reason. Other kayaks stacked on top of the one you bought or sliding into the one with your name on it has way less chance for damage. If they are a smaller kayak shop they coordinate with others in the region to get space on the truck for deliveries. Companies like OutdoorPlay and Appomattox River Company are experts in packaging kayaks for outbound LTL and have special agreements with the shippers they use to be nice to their freight.