Sailboat as Cargo Carrier

[american]

Unsure where to post this question as there's no section titled "How to Sink Your Boat," so I'll just put it here...


The Challenge: Transport a 287 kg (631 lb) engine from Malaysia to Thailand (140nm as the crow flies) aboard a 36' mono hull.

Here's the engine in question:
betamarine - Engine View

And the boat:
TOSCA 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

Currently thinking we'll either secure the new engine in the cockpit or on the fore deck (in a cradle of some sort) - depending on final measurement of engine and said locations.

Curious if anyone here's ever attempted something like this - and if so, what lessons you might have learned? Beyond that, looking for humorous comments detailing our position on the idiot spectrum!

[svmariane]

Well, since you specifically stated you were "looking for humorous comments" You got my attention! Thailand.... Longboat.... cleverly mounted engines. Have you considered making a quick bamboo frame and using the new engine for propulsion?

[american]

Originally Posted by svmariane

Well, since you specifically stated you were "looking for humorous comments" You got my attention! Thailand.... Longboat.... cleverly mounted engines. Have you considered making a quick bamboo frame and using the new engine for propulsion?

Love it! Not so sure the owner of the new engine will love it though. Will get a few beers in him, then ask

[newhaul]

Remove the alternator. Palatize it and secure in the in main salon. The lower the better. It may be difficult to get in and out. But you will be glad you put it low in the cabin. Close to the center of the boat. Best under the aft edge of the table.

[Don C L]

I agree with Newhaul.

[american]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Remove the alternator. Palatize it and secure in the in main salon. The lower the better. It may be difficult to get in and out. But you will be glad you put it low in the cabin. Close to the center of the boat. Best under the aft edge of the table.

It will come from the factory on a pallet, in a shipping crate.

Given the size and weight of the beast I don't think it'll fit through the companionway, nor do I think we could wrestle it down into the boat.

I understand we want the weight low, but I think the lowest we're going to get it (assuming the boat doesn't sink!) is going to be the cockpit floor. Again, we need to get measurements from the manufacturer to know whether or not this is going to work.

FYI, my engine compartment is accessed through the cockpit sole, if you're wondering how my engine got installed without going through the companionway.

[El Pinguino]

Didn't go to sea like it but did remove the Volvo MD17D from my engine room and sat it on bearers in the cockpit ( frd of the wheel ) while we did a major overhaul on it. She sat on top of thwartships wooden bearers which sat, in turn, on the seats. Boat didn't fall over in her berth....
If you went to sea like that I think compass deviation may be a problem

287 kilos isn't a lot on a 6100 kilo ( dry?) boat... just like having three biggish blokes sitting in the cockpit or 14 x 20 litre bidones full of water lashed to the rail. I carry 8 x 20 litres of diesel on deck as a matter of course.
I'm assuming Langkawi - Phuket so I guess a flat water run.

Sounds quite do-able to me.

How do you plan to get it on and off the boat??

[svmariane]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

How do you plan to get it on and off the boat??

Block & tackle rigged from the boom?

[svmariane]

Originally Posted by american

Love it! Not so sure the owner of the new engine will love it though. Will get a few beers in him, then ask

Well make it beer Chang then. More kick than Singha.

[american]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Didn't go to sea like it but did remove the Volvo MD17D from my engine room and sat it on bearers in the cockpit ( frd of the wheel ) while we did a major overhaul on it. She sat on top of thwartships wooden bearers which sat, in turn, on the seats. Boat didn't fall over in her berth....
If you went to sea like that I think compass deviation may be a problem

287 kilos isn't a lot on a 6100 kilo ( dry?) boat... just like having three biggish blokes sitting in the cockpit or 14 x 20 litre bidones full of water lashed to the rail. I carry 8 x 20 litres of diesel on deck as a matter of course.
I'm assuming Langkawi - Phuket so I guess a flat water run.

Sounds quite do-able to me.

How do you plan to get it on and off the boat??

Actually... yeah... now that I think about it, the space available in the cockpit wall to wall (including sitting area) is massive fore/aft and across the beam. Covering that with a strong platform would create a space large enough for two engines of this size. This would block the companionway and require gymnastics for getting down into the boat, but would work. Fortunately, it's a center cockpit with a 2nd hatch leading into the aft cabin (and a "tunnel" connecting aft cabin to the main cabin). Huh. That might just work!

As for getting it on/off the boat... we're toying around with either "lots of balloons" or "cats with buttered toast taped to their backs" (anti-gravity machine). If all else fails... We've been told there are cranes on hand at both ends of the journey.

And, yes, this is going from Langkawi to Phuket so the sailing should be relatively smooth.

[Don C L]

Well, then maybe you have room in the cockpit for it. Your boat is pretty beamy, should be able to handle it.

[Get-away]

I'm in Phuket on the west coast right now.

My advice would be get underway ASAP, the NE monsoon winds already started to switch to the SW monsoon pattern, little to no East left in the wind. Today its light, variable and flat, but just 3 days ago, there was a steady NW breeze of about 10 to 12 knots. Producing a low swell.

It will not get any flatter than it is now until November.

The ITCZ is very slowly (we need the rain) moving north, with it will come strong wind waves and rain from the West - if your headed north from Langkawi sods law will ensure there's more North in it.

As previous posters said, 287kg is just three large people in the cockpit. Just make sure it can't move once on-board.

[dlymn]

If you plan to motor then lash it down in the cockpit diagonally fron cleat to winch or something similar. This is more about comforting you than actually holding the motor in place. Think of it a three burly drunk men in a storm

[american]

Originally Posted by Get-away

I'm in Phuket on the west coast right now.

My advice would be get underway ASAP, the NE monsoon winds already started to switch to the SW monsoon pattern, little to no East left in the wind. Today its light, variable and flat, but just 3 days ago, there was a steady NW breeze of about 10 to 12 knots. Producing a low swell.

It will not get any flatter than it is now until November.

The ITCZ is very slowly (we need the rain) moving north, with it will come strong wind waves and rain from the West - if your headed north from Langkawi sods law will ensure there's more North in it.

As previous posters said, 287kg is just three large people in the cockpit. Just make sure it can't move once on-board.

Understood regarding NE monsoon. Departure time is linked to timing of delivery of the engine to Langkawi. That's scheduled for mid-May. Would love to leave sooner, but no point if there's no engine to pick up!

We'll just have to find a weather window. I've found NE monsoon to have some of the most windless conditions (alongside torrential downpours and big winds). So... we just need to get the timing right

[Female old salt]

We have done it from Telaga at the height of the SW Monsoon in Oct. 2010 and had a good ride all the way up to Royal Phuket Marina. It was as well a Beta (55), "the red beast" which we lashed down and secured on deck of a 11m steel boat and covered it.