Boat haul

[n5ama]

I recently hauled my Cape Dory 25D from Lake Superior to the Texas Gulf of Mexico. I was seeking advise earlier on this forum and got some helpful suggestions from forum members that successfully moved their boats long distances and at that time there was a request to post my experience.

If there is some interest in posting this trip and the preparation, I’ll put together a few pictures of my rig and some text explaining what I did. I won’t take up forum space with this thread if there is no interest.

I could use some advise on picture size etc if there is interest. I have about 6 pictures that would be helpful to go with the text.

Thanks
Tom

[acem]

I'm interested in your trip. Please post pics and details.

Where are you from on lake superior? I've been there several years and like it a lot.

Where's your new home in Texas?

Texas is a different world from lake superior. January on the gulf coast of Texas is similar to July on lake superior!

Thx-Ace

[n5ama]

I purchased the CD25D at Siskiwit Bay near Cornucopia, WI and hauled it to Clear Lake at Nassau Bay, TX (+- 1300mi). I drove a flat bed trailer to the marina in Wisconsin and loaded the boat on a cradle that was purchased with the boat to make the trip home.

[grantmc]

Very interested in your trip. It's a frequent topic here.

[n5ama]

I hope to be able to attach images and edit text between each picture. I'm not very computer savvy so here goes.

This somewhat documents moving my Cape Dory 25D from Lake Superior (Siskiwit Bay) in Cornucopia, WI to Clear Lake at Nassau Bay (near Galveston, TX). I wanted a 5th wheel flatbed trailer for the trip with dual axles and dual tires to avoid a flat tire interrupting my trip in the middle of my 1300mi journey. The smallest trailer of this type I could rent was 24’ long and rated for 25,000# (a bit overkill but better big versus small as long as my old truck could handle the load).

1--The boat cradle pads were bad so I made up a set with ¾” plywood and carpet. The cradle was loaded on the trailer and centered over the forward axle. The boat was placed in the cradle and there didn’t appear to be an excessive load on the truck (another reason to use the 5th wheel versus bumper pull).

2--The trailer was moved to the side and the next 2 hours were spent strapping the cradle to the trailer and the boat to the cradle/trailer.

3--I bought two 2”x12”x8’ and cut them 5’ long for the sides with the remaining 3’ for the ends. The 2”x12” were placed over the lip of the cradle base and screwed to the deck of the trailer with 3 ½” deck screws. The front piece of lumber was probably the most important to keep the cradle and boat in place with braking. A 2”x4” was placed over the cradle base to anchor the base with the 3300# straps.

4—Several blocks of wood were wedged between the lower bow edge of the hull and a cradle cross piece. The wood was also anchored with deck screws to keep it from moving when I went over bumps and I did go over bumps during the trip. Four 3300# straps were placed over the boat and attached to the trailer rails. These were tightened down and secured with gorilla tape.

5—1”x6” lumber was tied to the pulpits on both ends. I removed the vane and antenna and slid the mast under the top pulpit tubing. The mast was wrapped with carpet making sure I ran shrouds away from contact with the aluminum mast and secured it to the boards. The boom and roller furler was also wrapped and tied.

6—Turnbuckles and loose hardware was tied up with tape to keep this stuff in place during the trip. Turnbuckles can unscrew and drop off with vibration during the trip and a little tape helps to avoid some expensive hardware purchases on arrival. The furler housing was also taped in place.

7—Once the ladder was removed and strapped to the cradle, the rig was ready to move. My height was 13’ 6” which wasn’t a problem on the interstate overpasses but it did make me nervous on some of the local back road over passes, especially the ones that were not marked.

8—Marine live a board hotel on wheels saved a few bucks at truck stops on the return trip. Shower for $12 and generally decent evening meals made the return trip “mostly” enjoyable. I say mostly because there were moments in traffic going through Minneapolis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Dallas that were less than pleasant. But they say “All’s well that ends well” :<)

I hope some of this might be helpful.
Tom