Transport boat without trailer?

B

BillE

New member
OK, more newbie questions here, but we are planning on not getting a trailer for whatever boat we buy, and most of the time that would fine. And if we wanted to move the boat to another cruising ground for a season I would be OK with paying a commercial boat transporter.
But how does that work without a trailer? What supports the boat? Do you have to build a custom cradle every time that it's moved? Please help out the clueless when you have free time!
 
Im learning all this now too! Its actually a very neat process.

First you need a marina or boat yard that has a Travel Lift. Then you drive your boat into the staging area in the water. Then you will be lifted up by 2 heavy duty staps.

After that you'll need a trailer. Most bigger boats will need a hydraulic trailer. Then you can transfer the boat from the trailer to the "hard"". This requires a combination of blocks and boat stands.

I watched the entire process last December with my new boat. Kinda nerve wracking seeing it in real-time! Theres some serious implications from improper practices. Boats fall off their stands from time to time!

Hoping another Brat can expound on the process in more detail. Im just going from memory.
 
The also make special boat transport trailers that have a number of adjustable hydraulic arms that are adjusted to hold whatever boat happens to be on it.

See here: http://www.hostarmarine.com/

Generally the expense of a trailer is pretty low especially when it comes with the boat. I think that it won't take very many moves to exceed the cost of a trailer. Although, if you don't already have a suitable one, you'd have to figure in the cost of a tow vehicle.

Personally, for a boat the size of a C-Dory I would want to have a trailer. One of the best things about it is the ability to take it to new places, which we do all the time with ours.
 
Thanks to all for the replies. If I got a trailer I would have to rent a place to store it and then hire someone to tow it, as I don't have and otherwise don't need a suitable tow vehicle. That would probably still be cheaper if I transported often but for just occasional moves it seemed easier and cheaper to just hire it done.

Beyond the financials, my wife WILL NOT ride in any vehicle towing a large trailer, boat or RV, and after 36 years I've kind of gotten used to having her around!
 
If you find out more about how this works, please post it here.....I'd really like to know.

I have a trailer for my CD25, but I only use it to drive 1/2 mile from my boat shelter on my property to the launch ramp. The trailer isn't in good shape, and I don't trust it to go far or fast. But the biggest problem is the lack of a tow vehicle (I currently use my V6 4Runner). At some point I'd love to take the boat to Alaska or maybe Lake Powell.......not enough trips to justify a trailer overhaul and a tow vehicle.

A couple of commercial tows of a 1000 miles or so, would be just up my alley.
 
16,000 miles on my boat trailer last year alone! You don't know what you are missing with these great trailerable boats!!! However, to each their own. I can't imagine commercial tows of any distance would be real cheap. But I do see plenty of boats that stay on the same lake, and are placed in dry storage on land during the winter months. (I live in the Midwest.) I also know of boats that are stored on racks in large storage sheds, and are just placed in the water by big fork lifts when the owner desires to go cruising. Not sure the cost, but must not be too prohibitive. I suppose one could just google boat moving services in their local area, and see what is available. Just my two cents. Colby
 
We shipped our sailboat from San Diego to Mobile, Al in 2001. This was the Start of the Great Loop Adventure. If you go to the web page, Judy discusses what we had to do and what "they" had to do. Also you can view the big picture.

We also shipped the boat from Tahiti to Vancouver on one of the floating drydocks. That was a lot simpler since we just drove the boat on in Papeete and off on Vancouver.

56_In_The_Hold_001.sized.jpg


Here's a picture of the boat on the trailer. Obviously, a C-Dory is simpler than a sailboat, but the general process is the same. The supports need to be adjusted, the boat needs to be lifted onto/off the trailer. Just for a single tow it's not an easy thing. Contact local haulers for an illuminating discussion as to what's available and price. Note that a C-Dory is NOT a wide load.


1_BoatShip_s.jpg


Boris
 
There are expeditors who work with independent shippers of boats. We see them carrying both used and new boats on I 10 each trip across country, as well as on I 65 going N and S. between the Great Lakes and Gulf coast.

I had a 30 foot express cruiser shipped from Michigan City, In to Pensacola on one of the hydraulic trailers in March, 2003 for a dollar a mile. But I found a hauler who had taken a new boat from Florida, to New Hampshire, then a boat from New York to Wisconsin and coming back to Florida without a load..

Be sure that the hauler is bonded, insured and licensed. I got references from the shipper. I also had the boat insured and let my insurance company know what was happening. My hauler called me each evening and let me know what progress was made. Some of the shrink wrap came loose, and he had some tape to "fix" it with. He set the boat on blocks for as bottom job, but he could as easily launched it directly from his trailer. He was set up for boats up to 40 feet.

https://www.uship.com/cost-to-ship/boats/ Uship, is one of those expeditors. They generally seem to run from a dollar a mile to as much as $3 a mile, but the higher number is for remote areas and oversized (length beam or height.)
 
If towing and sitting on a trailer wasn't something I was interested in, there's a thousand boats I'd rather have more than our c-dory. That's what makes the boat what it is. If your paying for a haul out service, storage and all that goes with it, just own a bigger more comfortable boat. That's what i'd do anyway.
 
----"just own a bigger more comfortable boat.---"

That is hard to find with outboards. I don't do diesel or outdrives. Outboard cruisers are becoming more available these days but they are still rare, and new ones are pricey. Big new ones are very pricey. It is still hard to beat the economy and overall practicality of a used C-Dory in an outboard powered pocket cruiser.
But perhaps having to have it lifted for service might change that economic picture a bit.
 
Pacificcoast101":psww1in2 said:
ssobol":psww1in2 said:
Pacificcoast101":psww1in2 said:
Go in with friends and save money.
c4a0c32bdc37ff168c653568d1cb507b.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, your C-dory would sit quite nicely on the deck of any one of the "boats" in that picture.
Click to expand...
Right above the word transport in the photo is a tiny boat that is probably as long or longer than most of our boats.
Click to expand...

That "little" boat above the word "transport" is about a 60 footer.
 
Bill , hope to see you in Orange Beach next weekend .
Wefings has a great network of hauling services [ including me sometimes] that we can help with .Thats part of our complete customer care. We have transport trailers and are well insured .
Just an FYI .
Marc
 
There is a "tiny" boat between that one and the next row where the two opposing bows nearly meet. It is not a 60. Maby a 25 CC Walkaround with a T top.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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