Conference unifix::sailing

    
    They charged me $172 to move my 23 ft Ensign from Hingham, Ma to
    Westport. 
    		Bob
    

    I have a quote for my 38' wooden cutter of $225.00 one way plus $15.00
    per stand rental ( I need 7 ).  This does not include unstepping
    as I haven't looked into this yet.
    
    Also the trucker is only moving the boat from the water to my house
    which is about one mile.  I've been told that this is a minimum
    charge and normally there would be a mileage amount tacked on.
    
    I'd give you the name but he is out of Newburyport and probably
    you could do better with someone closer to the bay.

    Let me second Bob's recommendation of Brownell.  Brownell Boat Works
    of Mattapoisett, MA invented the hydraulic trailer that is used
    for hauling large boats via ramps.  They also are the patent holders
    and manufacturers of the steel poppets (stands) that are routinely
    used.  From early fall through late November there is a steady parade
    of boats comming through Mattapoisett harbor to be hauled and then
    trucked to people's back yards.  In fact, in 1975, Brownell hauled
    and stored 625 big boats in 18 hours before Gloria struck with six
    trucks!
    
    Tom Brownell, the owner of the company, can be reached at (508)
    758-2413.  He will give you a quote over the phone, will pick up
    about anywhere and deliver about anywhere and is very easy to deal
    with.  Give him a try.

    Ref: 983.4: WOW!! Gloria struck with six trucks?? 
    
    Seriously, I suggest you also contact Carter Raymond, South Hingham
    telephone 6l7-337-5850.  This firm is excellent.  I have tried many
    others over the years and have a whole sail bag full of related horror
    stories.  I have found that if you have the space, bringing
    the boat home is generally less expensive, safer, and a lot easier
    to work on in your spare time.  Good luck!

    I shopped around and fund Brownell to be the best.  How about
    unstepping your own mast?  If it is deck mounted, this is not too
    m,uch of a chore (he said, undauntingly!!).
    
    I'm stepping my own, getting the 25 fotoer hauled from S. Dartmouth
    to Sudbury for $275.
    
    Beau
    

    I am going to have my boat moved to my place, in Connecticut. I
    was wondering what are the things to find out when talking to a
    moving company?
    
    		Thanks,
    
    		Gregg

    Gregg,
    
    Thanks to the noters, I checked with Brownell. Not in your area
    but..
    They wanted to know if my mast was in or out.
    If in, they could pull it for $2.00 X boat length.
    What was my LOA
    What was my widest beam.
    What was my overall height. They have a height limit that the boat
     itself, with the mast secured on deck or cabin top, should not
     exceed a total height of 12' 6".
    That I would need to make a support to hold the mast on deck while
     in transit.
    Did I have poppets to set the boat up in when delivered.
    That pressurized hull scrub down could no longer be done at the
     loading ramp because of environmental issues.
    That pressuriszed hull scrub down could be accomplished elsewhere
     but cost for me would be prohibative.
    That the cost would include $15.00 for an over the road permit.
    When did I want to have it done, to fit in their schedule.
    What was the general shape of my hull...dagger keel, powerboat,whatever
    
    Total cost to me to bring boat from Mattapoisett to Holliston was
    $ 373.  That is probably 90 some miles. A bargain when I look at
    the new yard rates and consider the cost to commute and time lost
    going to Riverside RI. 
    
    Don

    How did you unload the boat from the truck at your home ?
    
    Peter
    

    I have not had the boat transported yet. Hope to sail into
    November this year so scheduled for 2nd week of NOv.
    
    I have however, observed several boats loaded and off loaded.
    
    Loading in water is obviously simple. The trailer is made up
    of two sides joinded permanently at the front (fifth wheel).
    (joinded, boy, thats a new word). Aluminum or steel removable
    cross beams hold the middle and aft section of the trailer
    together. You power the boat onto the trailer which has been
    backed down a steep launching ramp. The tractor remains "ashore"
    and uses a winch to haul the trailer & your boat back up to
    reconnect trailer to tractor.  The Trailer has either hydraulic
    or mechanically manipulated arms with poppets to support the
    boat after being adjust to fit the hull before pulling.
    
    When it arrives at destination, wooden blocking (supplied by you)
    are stepped under the keel. The trailers I have seen have adjustable
    "springs" or air bags that can raise and lower the height of the
    trailer so that the keel rests on the blocking. The removable
    cross pieces are pulled out so that the trailer can be pulled out
    from under/around the keel which is now resting on the blocks on
    the ground.  There is enough room at the tail of the trailer for
    you to place a pair of poppets on the ground and sufficiently
    support the aft end of the boat. The trailers aft poppets are set
    back a little and the trailer is hauled out slowly, with the
    trailers poppets being managed to provide backup support. By
    manipulation of aft trailer poppets and your own poppets, the
    boat is supported just fine.
    
    My boat is wood. I have watched many a boat being hauled down
    rt. 495 at 65 and 70 miles/hour. Watched them go over some
    rough sections where the road surfaces on overpasses were of
    such draft that the boats would litterly bounce off the trailer
    beds. I have done a lot of work on mine over the 4 years I have
    had it. Massive frames and floors. It could have been moved
    this way locally with no problem, but 90 miles would have left me
    with either a pile or splinters or a complete two years of
    restoration. With the restoration I have done it should manage
    the ride ok. I also intend to get some "insurance" by working
    something out with the driver to "manage" the boat home.
    
    I'm really excited about this. There are so many things that
    end up undone each spring on a wooden boat that is being sailed
    and restored at the sme time. Ususally don't start some needed
    projects because they might not get finished. Have been apologizing
    every summer to my wife for why the interior is never fully done,
    the bright work never fully finished, etc. I have lost two hours
    on the road every trip to work on her....
    
    Don

    
    re: what questions to ask
    
    Does the price include transporting the dinghy?
    
    Will they put their "estimate" in writing?
    
    Does your yard have enough access for their truck?
    
    Who is liable if something is broken during transit because of
    the carelessness of the driver?
    
    Are they available on a day that the yard is available and at
    high water?
    
    Will you be the first boat hauled that day? (make the answer yes
    by changing days if necessary...  don't let it be you working in
    the dark!)
    
    How will your cradle/poppets be transported?  by whom? for how
    much?
    
    Are they bonded? (around N.E., I think they have to be)
    
       - jim
    

    Anything you have on it when you motor it onto the submerged
        trailer comes with it.
    The have a set of flat fees based on dimensions and mileage
        which are public. I think that is estimate enough. The
        only thing that came as a suprise was the 15 buck fee
    	for a road permit. That is, Brownell told me about it
    	up front but I didn't realize the state had a requirement.
    
    Yes, my yard is larg enough, solid enough (not near septic)
    
    I did not ask about insurance. A good point. When I check back
    with them I'll ask. I would have to assume they do have ins.
    that would cover neglegence on their part. If I gave them
    my boat as it was 4 years ago and I ended up with splinters,
    I'm afraid I would have had to take the blame.
    
    Think you had one other question but I've forgotten it.
    
    Don

    Brownell I think uses a public access ramp in Mattapoisett. Another
    I know of on Narragansett Bay has its own.
    
    Brownell asked me what day I wanted to move it. Because it was
    in November there were no conflicts. I asked for a Monday.
    They scheduled me to be at their dock to have the mast pulled
    at 10:30 and then to motor to the ramp where there truck
    was scheduled to haul me at 11:30. It is required that I or
    a rep be on hand.
    I have been offered free use of one of their moorings to hang
    on overnight if I need it.
    If you wanted to pull it in October, you might not be able to
    get the specific day and time you want as they told me they
    are heavily scheduled.
    
    don

    
    In 983.5 I suugested Carter-Raymond.  I just had my boat hauled
    by them again for the 15th year (5 years 32 ft wood power, 10 years
    glass sail).  They are at least as reasonable as the prices seen
    in the notes. They are very knowledgeable movers and can advise
    the best way to save on your hauling.  For example, take one last
    sail up to the South of Boston area and save transportation costs.
    They tell me they still have some open dates. At least as an
    alternative, give them a chance to bid. Mention Digital.
    P.S. If you are having trouble with getting thr bottom cleaned,
    if you do it as soon as you get it home (same day), it comes off
    
    easily with a regular boat brush, in twenty minutes (for a 32 footer)
    Since the yard now charges $50.00..That's $150/hr after taxes.Not
    a bad savings!!

    
    re .-1, $50 == $150 before taxes.
    
        you have something to write your congressman about; $50 after
        tax dollars should look more like $75 before your silent partner
        steps in.  either that, or you make a _lot_ of money.
    

    Well, "Hope" came home today. She is now sitting in my yard. A
    real yard ornament!!!
    
    I had enough trouble getting to Mattapoisett, trying to get up to
    Hingham would have been just about impossible. So I did not try
    any other haulers than Brownell.
    
    I motored over to the pier and called them on Ch. 16. "Truck is
    already on the way". A cherry picker hauled her out in short work
    and themast was slung on racks I had made for the deck.
    
    A short run over to the ramp, into the waiting poppets of the
    partially submerged trailer, two more poppets came up. Then the
    tractor hauled the whole shebang up on the fifth wheel.
    
    At home the trailer was hydraulicly raised. Blocks under the keel,
    a support for the bow and two poppets aft. The trailer was lowered.
    The boats keel was resting on blocks, lateral support provided by
    two poppets. The trailer was pulled foreward and two more sets
    of poppets placed.
      Then the trailer was gone.
    
    	So, the bill was $373.00. That included 68 bucks to pull the
    mast and $15 for the State required over the road permit. So the
    cost to load & unload and move her 64 miles was $290.00. And that
    includes free use of 7 of their poppets!!!! Hard to beat that.
    
    Boy, is it nice to have her home!!!
    
    Don

    I was caught in a massive traffic jam this week on my way to work
    at the Culver City office near Marina Del Rey, CA.  A sixty-five
    foot, homemade pirate ship, a 25 year backyard project, fell off
    its trailer on the way to the marina and cracked nearly in half.
    A shipwreck on Culver Blvd.  It looked like a beached whale.  For
    two days they struggled to get it back on the trailer.  It fell
    off again.  Finally bulldozers were called and it was hauled away
    piece by piece. Owner Jay Fiondella planned to set sail for the
    South Seas.  "Now it's history.  Her back is broken... It's the
    USS Never Sail."
    
    The wreck is only the latest adventure for the colorful Fiondella
    who through the years has helped finance a search for the Andrea
    Doria'a booty and searched the Arctic for a squadron of airplanes
    that were lost in Greenland in 1942.  At one point in the morning
    Fiondella's mother, Alice came out to look at the hulk.  Shaking
    her head, she said, "With my son, anything is possible."  Later,
    Fiondella announced his plans for salvaging the remains.  "I'll
    try to make coffee tables out of it for my new restaurant."  What
    an unbeleivable tragedy.
                      
    Don
                            

>>>    Owner Jay Fiondella planned to set sail for the South Seas.  

Judging from the irreparable damage it sustained from falling a few
feet, he's lucky it got its test in a place he could walk away from. 

Being able to "do anything" doesn't necessarily imply doing it wisely.

;-),  J.