Catamaran Transport Methods

Discussion in 'Multihulls' started by Iridian, Dec 19, 2021.

  1. Iridian
    Joined: Jan 2020
    Posts: 65
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    Location: MD

    Iridian Junior Member

    Before my now pending divorce, I had estimated about $650k - 750k for the waterfront house in my area with sufficient area to build a 40x60 shed ($55k) + a concrete ramp into the water. Plan had been to use a 48' double trailer like this mounted with cradles. The cradles would allow me to keep a full sized catamaran completely constructed and stored out of the water at will.
    https://i.imgur.com/2mnUzts.png

    With either a decent sized tractor or a massive winch to pull it in and out of the river/bay.

    Additionally, budgeted 10 years and $500k for the boat.

    My alternative would have been a section of land abutting my parent's farm.. Free access to a shop capable of constructing the full sized boat. $500k for the house. Additionally, I had estimated $5k per hour for a 15k lbs heavy lift helicopter flying the 30 miles required to the nearest water at about 10-12 hours. ($60k)

    My preference would be the waterfront location, as it'd be possible to store my masterpiece until I retire in 30 years without paying slip fees, while also counting on substantial increases in house value. Once the mortgage was paid off, I should be able to live comfortably on the rental income from renting the house while living on my boat.

    Agreed, I won't even start the project if I don't have this.



    I had thought about this option, but I wasn't sure how this would work with the transverse bulkheads. Shouldn't be hard to build the hulls and transport them, but I'm not sure the transverse bulkheads and bridge deck can be built in sections.

    Anyway, I'm back at the drawing board for the moment, as this divorce will set me back 1-2 years.
     
  2. rberrey
    Joined: Oct 2010
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    Location: AL gulf coast

    rberrey Senior Member

    House mover , but still a chunk of money .
     
  3. Rumars
    Joined: Mar 2013
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    Location: Germany

    Rumars Senior Member

    That's not for you to figure out, it's the designer's job, you pay for his knowledge. I would rather pay the designer an additional 10k fee to make every section trailerable, then pay 60k for a helicopter.
    Anyway, there are a multitude of ways to do it, from prefabricated joining surfaces to temporary fastening even building the boat in one piece and cutting it afterwards. Cuts can be longitudinal, transverse or both.
    Just as an example of what can be done, look at some videos from this channel, the ones where they start assembly https://youtube.com/c/MJSailing This is a cat buildt from prefabricated panels shipped by container with prefabricated joints.
     
  4. Iridian
    Joined: Jan 2020
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    Location: MD

    Iridian Junior Member

    I've been following their journey closely. It's still going to take them around 2+ years to finish the boat at the boat yard. I wouldn't design something like that myself, just not sure it's even possible.
     
  5. BlueBell
    Joined: May 2017
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    Location: Victoria BC Canada

    BlueBell . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _

    They were almost as bad at 9K!
    I ended up moving it myself for under $1K.
    Two crane lifts, a low-boy truck/trailer, and a flat-bed tow truck to back it down the driveway.
    (8000 pound houseboat.)

    OP: You may be shocked as to who is perhaps the best to move your boat...
    a boat mover.
     
  6. Iridian
    Joined: Jan 2020
    Posts: 65
    Likes: 11, Points: 8
    Location: MD

    Iridian Junior Member

    I could see that for something in the 12-15 foot wide range. When you hit 25 feet and 60 miles to the nearest boat ramp..
     
  7. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    I was quoted 1500-2500 for the crane lift and expect lower end for the haul 10 miles.

    The real stress is some ******* crashing into my boat.
     
  8. Craig Meldrum
    Joined: Jan 2022
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    Location: Auckland, New Zealand

    Craig Meldrum New Member

    I purchase a 38' catamaran at hull and decks stage (6.5m beam) and then had it moved approximately 100kms (62mi) to my home to complete the build. Here (in NZ) we have specialised boat moving companies so I would suspect there would be similar where you are. They drove a low loader under the bridge deck, jacked it up and then secured it for the road move. The road trip took about 4 hours in the middle of the night and they had to avoid all motorways (freeways). It was picked up on the North side of Auckland and I live South side so a large part of the move was through suburban streets. The boat was then craned off the truck onto my property using a 55 tonne crane as it was not possible to get the trailer down my drive. There is a video of this on YouTube . Total cost of the move was about NZD10k (USD6700). Some pictures of the lift below. Note the digger that had to be used to get the low loader up a slippery slop when picking up the boat.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jan 19, 2022
    fallguy likes this.
  9. jamez
    Joined: Feb 2007
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    Location: Auckland, New Zealand

    jamez Senior Member

    What design is your boat? Have you made much progress?
     
  10. Craig Meldrum
    Joined: Jan 2022
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    Location: Auckland, New Zealand

    Craig Meldrum New Member

    Its a Simpson 11.6 which I understand is a slightly stretched Simpson 11. If you are familiar with the design you will note the different coachroof design in particular. Progress has been slower than expected due to other distractions but it is a long term project anyway.
     

  11. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
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    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

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