Transporting large sailboat over the road, max height

[Blackacre]

I’m making arrangements to transport a Beneteau Oceanis 46’ on a flatbed trailer across North America. It should be an interesting experience. One of the most important aspects has been getting accurate measurements. This will be a wide load because of the 14’ beam which increases the cost some but still reasonable. One of the more difficult things to measure has been the ultimate height off the ground. Does anyone have any tips on The best way to measure this while in the water. Under 13’ 4” maximum or ultimate height would be very important to achieve. My plan is to remove the mast, canopy/solar panels, dodger and maybe even the lifelines if necessary.

[boatman61]

Measure highest point of cabin to the water using a plank or something for a level then add draft.. then chuck in an extra foot to be sure..

[capt jgw]

13'4" sounds pretty low for a boat that big. What's the draft? And of course you're using a lowboy or purpose built yacht trailer?
I remember once moving a Columbia 26 on a regular, not lowboy trailer. Had one bridge on the road to the marina we weren't sure about. Cleared it by only a couple inches but we brought along an air compressor and generator to run it in case we had to let the air out of the tires.

[Blackacre]

Low boy semi trailer for sure. My draft is 6’ 9” below the water line. Unfortunately, I can’t just add an extra foot as a safety measure, I wish I could. The max height has to be exact. I’m not too worried about bridge clearances as it is going from one major port to another and all interstate in between. It’s more of a permit issue once it breaches the total max height.

[Spot]

I would be inclined to ask Beneteau to look it up on their CAD system for you.
My guess is that it will be more than 13'4"...
https://www.beneteau.com/us/contact-1

[Jammer]

If it's in slings you can use a sight level and someone with a leveling rod to get within an inch or two.


In the water you can use the same technique to get the waterline-to-coachroof measurement. No good way to measure the draft accurately while it's in the water.

Originally Posted by boatman61

Measure highest point of cabin to the water using a plank or something for a level then add draft.. then chuck in an extra foot to be sure..

A few inches can make thousands of dollars difference and in some cases change the cost so much that a purchase isn't worth pursuing.

[Sailmonkey]

I feel like your keel is coming off and laying on its side beneath the boat.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I feel like your keel is coming off and laying on its side beneath the boat.

With a 6ft 9in draft leaving just 6ft 7in for the rest I would agree with the above.
On the bright side you'll know your keel bolts are sound and the hull/keel join is well sealed and watertight..

[kenbo]

Call Beneteau factory in So. Carolina, they have the knowledge. Usually on a boat that size you may have to remove the pushpit, pulpit and the stanchions to make height.

[brownr377]

I believe up to 15 foot something it will just cost more in permits over that I think it gets complicated.

I used Associated Boat Transport to ship my much smaller boat from WA to CA, they have a custom low boy trailer that has the keel ride about 6 inches off the road. Was no big deal.

And yeah agree with Kenbo, they ship these boats all over the country

[Tingum]

The shipper needs to know exactly. Determining this before it is loaded is iffy.

[skipmac]

I moved my 42' Pearson with a 5'4" draft and was close to the max clearance. Unless your Beneteau has a really, really low cabin I doubt seriously you're going to make the limit.


The limits by the way are based on actual bridge clearances and not some arbitrary regulation. Short hauls you can possibly route around lower bridges and move a taller boat but across the continent I think you will have to pull the keel.

[GordMay]

FWIW:


The Federal Government first enacted size regulations for CMVs with the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. This Act provided a maximum vehicle width of 96 inches (2.44 meters) on the Interstate highway system. Subsequently, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1976 increased the allowable width for buses to 102 inches (2.6 meters). The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) of 1982 extended the same width requirement of 102 inches to commercial trucks. At the same time,

There is no Federal vehicle height requirement for CMVs. Thus, States may set their own height restrictions. Most height limits range from 13 feet, 6 inches (4.11 meters) to 14 feet (4.27 meters), with exceptions granted for lower clearance on particular roads.

➥ https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/pub...egs_final_rpt/

[MarkI]

Beneteau ships new yachts of that size without Keel Installed. See http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2915396 for a picture of a new 2019 46.1 arriving on west coast.

[Cheechako]

You need a lowboy trailer for sure. I would think you could measure from waterline up to toe rail and from there to cabin/hatch tops. Us a long board on cabin top and a level taped to the top of it. Level it and measure.