Catamaran Haul - FL West Coast

[candycat]

gulf way marine in ft myers can haul and store

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by JayH

The rail at Snead Island is operational. They can handle a 30' beam, but the situation is much the same as at Bob and Annie's -- one boat at a time, in and out, no storage.

Jay, Thanks for the report and pic. I need to talk to them about the details. Location is ideal for us...only 3-4 hour sail.

[seajoy]

If your Mast is lee than 65' you can do Fort Myers.we have a 25 ' beam and a 72' mast. the only place that could haul us without stepping the mast was tarpon springs

[neelie]

JayH - looks like yours is the the first boat up the Snead island rail. So I guess it works ok.

[JayH]

Yep, it works fine. I was a little nervous, but they know what they're doing and there were no problems. I will say you want a calm day, slack tide, and very little traffic on the river. There are a few critical minutes while the sled is coming up under the boat that a chop or wake could bounce you around and possibly do some damage.

My boat has 11' long mini-keels and they sit on the sled across two beams, making only four contact points for the whole weight of the boat, which is a bit more concentrated than I'd like. I'm not sure how they'd handle boats with different profiles (i.e. dagger boards).

[neelie]

Yeah, we went to have a look at it to see how it looked. Was wondering how how you thrashed us on that downwind leg - so had to look at what was under the water!!... spinnaker on order!! see you in 5 weeks

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by JayH

Yep, it works fine. I was a little nervous, but they know what they're doing and there were no problems. I will say you want a calm day, slack tide, and very little traffic on the river. There are a few critical minutes while the sled is coming up under the boat that a chop or wake could bounce you around and possibly do some damage.

My boat has 11' long mini-keels and they sit on the sled across two beams, making only four contact points for the whole weight of the boat, which is a bit more concentrated than I'd like. I'm not sure how they'd handle boats with different profiles (i.e. dagger boards).

Jay, Thanks for testing the railroad for us. Did they allow you to do any of your own work? We wouldn't mind them doing the bottom, but we have some sail drive maintenance, seacocks, etc that we prefer to do on our own. Thanks.

PS. Did you have a strong urge to sing "I've been working on the railroad..." during the haulout?

[JayH]

Originally Posted by svcattales

Did they allow you to do any of your own work? We wouldn't mind them doing the bottom, but we have some sail drive maintenance, seacocks, etc that we prefer to do on our own. Thanks.

I don't think Snead Island is likely to let you work on your own boat. I'm sure it is not their policy. They have a large crew to keep busy and having you crawl around under your boat might be seen as a liability.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by JayH

I don't think Snead Island is likely to let you work on your own boat. I'm sure it is not their policy. They have a large crew to keep busy and having you crawl around under your boat might be seen as a liability.

Thanks Jay. It's hard to find a yard that lets you do your own work anymore. I don't enjoy the hard labor, but some things I prefer to do my self so I know they are done correctly.

[seajoy]

Have you tried the shipyard in Tarpon Springs? We had our cat with 24'9" hauled out there, they did a great job.
There is also the rail road tracks there, but there were not very reliable. They confirmed and backed out once we were there, that's when the Ship Yard next door ( on the river) stepped up and hauled us out the very next day. Great service !

[JayH]

Seajoy, I'd like to know more about the Tarpon Springs options. What are the names of the yards you're referring to? Were you hauled with a rail or a lift? Do you know the max beam? Did you have any trouble navigating the river? Were you able to do your own work? Was there pressure to get you back in the water?

I've only heard vague accounts about Tarpon Springs. That the river is very narrow. That they don't really cater to yachts. That they want to turn the boats around quickly. I'm interested to hear more about your experience.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by seajoy

Have you tried the shipyard in Tarpon Springs? We had our cat with 24'9" hauled out there, they did a great job.
There is also the rail road tracks there, but there were not very reliable. They confirmed and backed out once we were there, that's when the Ship Yard next door ( on the river) stepped up and hauled us out the very next day. Great service !

Seajoy, I'm also interested in more info about Tarpon Springs. Jay pretty much asked the questions I have on my mind. Thanks.

[svcattales]

Has anyone hauled at Cortez Cove lately? If so, were you happy with the yard? They claim they can handle 21.5' beam, but it will be really tight.

I have already checked on Snead Id, NOA, Viking, and Bob & Annies and ruled them out for various reasons. Key West will also work, but I'd rather finish the haulout before the next cruise rather than during the cruise.

[svcattales]

I visited Cortez Cove this week and we are going to do the haulout there in Nov. They advertize a max beam of 21'6" which is the exact dimension of Cat Tales at beamiest point...YIKES! We measured the well and it was 21'7" and the travelift was 22.0' If I go in at mid to high tide, my rubrail (widest part) will be above the well and I gain two inches. That gives me 1.5" on each side so I plan to bring lots of vaseline. I would rather have more room, but Cortez Cove is the only marina in the area that will allow me to do some of my own work and the yard manager was very helpful and accomodating. The yard has to do the bottom job, but they have no problem with me working on sail-drives. My second choice for a haulout is in Key West and it is just as tight so I would rather get the work done before starting our winter cruise.

What are the pitfalls of hauling out in such a tight spot and what preparations do I need to make?

I plan to tape some chafe protection on the hulls below the rubrails (perhaps 1/4" foam insulation). Swinging in the lift is another problem and the lift operator must be very steady... perhaps some fenders on the lift? A windy day will be a no-go also.

Pic is another P37 in a travellift.

[JayH]

You may get there and find out your boat isn't exactly as wide as the specs say.
If you only have 1.5" a side, where are the slings going to go?
With so little sideways tolerance, you'll have to go in perfectly straight. Any current or breeze would make that very difficult. You'll need lots of hands to help guide it in.
Any chop or wake could bring your topsides crashing down on the side of the well.
Swinging in the slings could be a big problem.
The splash might be harder than the haul. You'll be dealing with a different boat position in the slings, and a different lift position relative to the well.

I wouldn't do it Greg. My opinion is to let a reputable yard do your saildrives. I'm all in favor of doing as much of my boat work as possible, but sometimes reality makes that impractical. If you're intent on doing it yourself, have you looked at Boat & Tires www.boatsandtires.com ? If I didn't like my haulout options, I'd consider finding a quiet beach and backing onto it.