A shipper will treat your boat with more care if they can pick it up by hand. With this in mind, don't put it in a crate. Wrap it in bubblewrap and plastic. I shipped a boat to Missori via "Roadway" this way and shipping cost about $150 not including packaging materials.

There are canoe and kayak shipping services which serve large manufactures making deliveries to dealers, however you need to be willing to fit into their schedule.

: On to my question, how do you ship one of these 16-18ft, ~40lb boats? Can you
: pack 'em in a crate (2x4 and 1/2 or 3/4in plywood) and send 'em air
: freight? Or do you have to plan way ahead and have them shipped via
: ground/ocean? Have any of you guys ever shipped one? How much did it cost?