Mast Truck Transport Montreal to New York

[vector420]

We're heading down from Montreal to the Caribbean this September! We need to unstep the mast to pass under bridges from Montreal (Sorel) to Albany, New York. The problem is our that while our boat is 35ft, our mast is 53ft, so putting it on deck would make that leg of the trip very difficult (a ten foot jousting pole sticking off the front and back!) especially with all the locks we have to transit!

We would really like to truck the mast & boom from Montreal to Albany but cannot find any good shippers to do this. A standard truck container is 53ft so the mast should fit (maybe at an angle).
We're also looking for a good marina to store the mast for about 10 days while we motor our way down and then re-step.

Does anybody have any experience doing this?
Who can recommend a good truck transporter?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
John

[Vasco]

Most do the Canal with the mast on deck. Lots of overhang is not much of a problem. You'll get used to it fairly quickly. Did it many times in my CS36 and the mast is even longer than yours. There have been a couple of outfits that tried transporting masts with mixed results. They usually try to get more than one mast before they'll do the trip and you might get to the Hudson and not find your mast there yet. The best thing to do if you intend to truck the mast is ask the yard or marina where you're un-stepping. Also there is no place to step at Albany. You have to get to Castleton ( a boating club that has no place to store masts) or Catskill where there are two marinas which do masts. Riverview Marina in Catskill is the preferred one.

[vector420]

Thanks Vasco.
This is our first time doing it and I would love to benefit from your experience!


Where did you unstep your mast? (the Federal dock at Sorel?) They warned me that at the end of August the water levels may be too low to get under the crane hoist...


How did you manage in all the locks (maneuvering, other boats, etc)?


Won't the added 18ft cost more $ going through the Chambly, St-Ours and NY canals & locks or do they charge only per foot of boat?


Won't the added 18ft cost more when overnighting in a marina slip? (although we hope to anchor most nights)


Won't the added length cause problems just finding a marina to stay? (i.e. the 9ft sticking off will definitely cross the dock)


I've been leaning towards stepping at Riverview. Just curious why is Riverview preferred over Hop-O-Nose or Castleton?


This logistical headache is causing me a lot of grief during these final planning stages.
Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it!


John

[Vasco]

John,

I have not done the trip from Quebec so cannot tell you anything about the Quebec end of things. I have done the trip from Oswego (Oswego and Erie Canals), many times although not recently.

Maneuvering the boat in the locks does not really present a problem. It is better if you have someone with you but I have seen single handers doing it. You will get the hang of it after the first couple of locks.

There is no extra charge in the NY State canal system for the mast overhanging the boat. At night we tie up at the locks, there is no charge for this.

The only marina we go into on the trip is Riverview and Mike, the owner charges only for the length of the boat. He is very cruiser friendly and that's why I always recommend Riverview. I stepped my mast at Castleton (DIY) a couple of times but stopped going there after seeing a bad accident there.

There is quite a lot of info on getting through the canal on this site if you do a search.

[steamgoat]

John, my boat is 37 and my mast 53. I had never done a lock before but no problem,you dont have to turnaround and any other boats with you are going the same way,theres no hurry and its calm. One thing though,make sure your mast is well tied/braced as your boat may roll a bit if you hit a wake in the wider spots,or on Lake Champlain.Need a few sets of old gloves for the grab ropes hanging on the lock walls.If you have nice fenders,hang an old 2x6 plank,6 or 8 ft long outside them to stop the walls scuffing them, easy with 2 people on your size boat,good luck,enjoy the drive ! Bruce.

[vector420]

Alright, you've inspired us and we will go the mast on deck route!
Does anyone have any advice on:

1. Mast supports? vertical posts balancedby straps or x-braces?

2. Which end goes where?

3. How can we get our RIB dinghy on/off without the mast, boom or davits? (we don't have davits so instead we use the spinaker halyard to hoist it up vertically and lower over the side into the water.)

Thanks

John

[Drumroll30]

John you might want to check out Collin's Bay Marina in Kingston. Every year several boats head south from there and the marina organises a truck that brings all of the masts at the same time. Not sure where you are in Montreal but I've done the trip to Kingston many times from Lake St.Louis and its roughly 32 or so hours on my 30 footer. You would end up going the Oswego route rather than the Richelieu River/Lake Champlain route if you chose this option.

Allan