Route specialty
Panama Canal Yacht Delivery & Transits
The link between the Pacific and the Caribbean and Atlantic. We've handled numerous canal transits for both power and sailing yachts — including the agent, measurement, and line-handling logistics that trip up first-timers.
A Panama Canal transit is as much paperwork and logistics as it is seamanship. The vessel has to be admeasured, an agent arranged, a transit date scheduled, an advisor taken aboard, and four line handlers plus regulation lines and fenders provided. Miss a detail and you sit for days.
We manage that whole process so the owner doesn't have to, and we fold the transit into the larger delivery — a West Coast or Mexico yacht moving to Florida, the Caribbean, or the Mediterranean, or the reverse. The approaches on the Pacific side, across the Gulfs of Tehuantepec and Papagayo, carry their own strong-wind reputation that we plan around.
What this route demands
Why owners hire a licensed captain for it
Transit paperwork & the agent
Admeasurement, tolls, the transit booking, and the ship's agent all have to line up. We arrange them so the boat transits on schedule instead of waiting at anchor.
Line handlers & equipment
The canal requires an advisor aboard, four line handlers, and long regulation lines and fenders. We come prepared with the crew and gear the transit rules demand.
The Pacific approaches
The Gulf of Tehuantepec and Gulf of Papagayo are famous for sudden gale-force offshore winds. Timing these crossings correctly is part of a safe delivery.
One continuous delivery
A canal transit is usually the middle of a much longer move. We captain the whole passage end to end, so there's no handoff and no gap in responsibility.
From our delivery log
11 deliveries on this route — and counting
A sample of Panama Canal yacht delivery runs from our logged deliveries, across 5 different builders. Explore the full delivery database →
Nordhavn 60′ · 2024
Fort Lauderdale, FL Colón, Panama
Sirena 68′ · 2024
Fort Lauderdale, FL Panama City, Panama
Sirena 68′ · 2024
Panama City, Panama San Diego, CA
Nordhavn 63′ · 2023
La Paz, Mexico Panama City, Panama
Nordhavn 63′ · 2023
Bocas del Toro, Panama Palm Beach, FL
Nordhavn 60′ · 2023
Bocas del Toro, Panama Dana Point, CA
Jeanneau 64′ · 2023
Panama City, Panama Marina del Rey, CA
Outremer 51′ · 2022
Panama City, Panama Oxnard, CA
See it for yourself
See a Panama Canal yacht delivery in action
Real footage from our own deliveries on this route, filmed underway.
Nordhavn 76 Florida to Australia. Crossing Panama Canal. #nordhavn #panamacanal #cross ocean #boat
Questions about this route
Do you handle the Panama Canal transit paperwork and agent?
Yes. We arrange the admeasurement, ship's agent, transit booking, and the required line handlers and lines, and we take the canal advisor aboard for the transit.
Can you deliver a yacht from the U.S. West Coast to Florida or the Caribbean via the canal?
Yes — West Coast and Mexico to Florida, the Caribbean, or across the Atlantic is exactly the kind of delivery a canal transit is part of, and we run the whole passage end to end.
Do you transit the canal with both power and sailboats?
Yes, we have taken both motor yachts and sailing vessels through the Panama Canal.
Planning a Panama Canal yacht delivery?
Tell us about your boat and route — quotes are free, with no obligation.