Challenge: Transporting a Catamaran

[category4jay]

Can anyone tell me the feasibility of transporting a catamaran from Phoenix to either Puerto Penasco Mexico or San Diego or ?? I've checked out some boat hauler websites but most don't specifically mention Cats. have not called any of them. Because I am landlocked for the foreseeable future I am contemplating constructing a +/- 50' x 28' catamaran. Weight = +/- 29,000LBS. This may not even be possible. Just checking. Thanks.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by category4jay

Because I am landlocked for the foreseeable future I am contemplating constructing a +/- 50' x 28' catamaran. Weight = +/- 29,000LBS. This may not even be possible. Just checking.

It can't really be done feasibly. If you flip it on the side you are hampered by bridges and the fact no shipper will want to be responsible for the condition of the hull. You can't go flat because it's way too wide, even with lead and trail vehicles.

Sorry about that.

[Intentional Drifter]

As Maren said. Unfortunately, not a chance.

ID

[sandy daugherty]

Boatdesign.net has a designer's forum that thrives on this kind of off the wall stuff. Ask them how you would go about building a cat in two 14' wide halves, or building it whole with the intent to cut it in half for the trip. The latter might insure a better fit when you get to the put it back together stage. They might decide it's two easy, and start talking about squeezing in into four shipping containers.

[category4jay]

cuttin' it in half...now that's thinking outside the box sandy! Thanks. I'll check out your recommendation.

[stacy]

there was this guy Blair Gringols who built a cat that was 47+ feet long. He named it Capricorn Cat. During the construction he hauled it from calif to washington state to complete it. He did exactly what Sandy suggested. He cut it in two and trucked it up. I do not know at what stage this was done.

[category4jay]

Thank you Stacy thats very interesting info. Any info from the cruisin forum world about Blair Gringols and his project will be appreciated. Thanks again.

[barnakiel]

Where the heck is Phoenix? Cannot sail?

b.

[daddle]

Capricorn Cat is a very fine cat. You'd do well to copy anything or everything about her. I can put you in touch with the present owner if you PM me. He knows Blair and the boat well.

[category4jay]

i know barnakiel. you are absolutely correct though. phoenix and sailing dont exactly gp together but dont get me started. i WILL someday be off the hard as it were. but not right now... right now im examining all the options i have to make it happen

[SearenitySail]

Once you get wider than 16' or so it becomes a problem. I had my boat shipped from Anacortes, WA to Baltimore, MD.

There are a lot of unscrupulous shippers out there, so when you are ready to ship do your homework.

There was a thread on the Cruisers forum earlier this year:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tle-37736.html

Several forum members suggested shippers they had good results with and some suggested shippers to stay away from.

I used Associated Boat Transport after getting ripped off by Global Yacht Hauling, Inc. and owner Ed Perrin. Contract called for 50% deposit, which would confirm a date.

Kept getting a runaround when I asked for a firm date as specified in the contract and finally used Associated. They don't even require a deposit! As Jack, the owner said, "I have your boat."

I posted a page about the perils of shipping:
Beware of Global Yacht Hauling Inc.: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Hiring a Transporter to Haul Your Boat

[maxingout]

I also live in Phoenix where I am earning my Freedom Chips. I think the only way you can build a boat in Phoenix is to cut it in half for shipment. I don't see that as a problem. Just another step in the construction process. After all, my Privilege 39 catamaran was built in four pieces - two hulls, one bridgedeck, and one deck. The four pieces were fiberglassed together to create a massively powerful bond of all four parts.

That being said, if I wanted to build a catamaran, I would not do it in Phoenix. Four or five months a year, it is too hot to do building unless you are in an airconditioned building. There are lots of places around the world that are better adapted to the home builder. When I was in Monty's boatyard in Caboolture, Australia, there were boats underconstruction all of the time.

It's easier to move the builder than it is to move the boat.

[imagine2frolic]

Why not buile her in 3 pieces? Later add the hulls to the house? That is how Imagine was built.......i2f

[clockwork orange]

If you are building it from scratch, plan for cutting it in half, this is not really outside the box , just practical thinking. Many years ago Gils Catamarans in california did just that when building a big CSK cat for a Chicago customer,they are still in business so you may want to give them a call.
Steve.

[category4jay]

maxingout Dave,
im slowly beginning to face the realization that building a cat of any size in Phoenix is not a good idea unless you want to moor it in your back yard. (Wow now thats an idea. How about an entire trailer park for the snowbirds with no trailers-just catamarans on the hard.) Building it as difficult as that will be is actually the easy part compared to getting it to the water.