Hey Everyone. Now I've had my Nacra 5.2 for a season and I'm completely and irrevocably hooked. Now, I'm starting to look at getting my second cat.
Yes, I know I'm insane but I've been looking at the F17s and F18s and have started lusting after carbon masts and booms as well as spinnakers and wave piercing hulls. Hey call it a mid life crisis and I don't like sports cars.:)
Anyway there are some reasonable deals to be had for a cat that is a couple of years old but there aren`t any dealers or even modern Nacra catamarans within 1000 miles of me. So I thought I would ask the question.
Has anyone shipped a cat long distance? How would one go about that? Who the heck does it (I'm don't think a cat will fit in a UPS truck)? I know I can ship a car clear across Canada on the train for a couple of thousand bucks but a cat is even bigger and more fragile than that.
Anyway this a long term plan and I was just wondering if anyone had done this or had some advice.
loved it, but found he hardly ever sailed it as organising crew turned out to be more hassle than the slight step in performnace the bigger boat returned
so he sold it and went for a newer 16' cat
while it some ways it seems the next step after an old 17'cat is a new 18'cat, unless you are always with crew maybe you should be looking for newer but smaller boats with spins, like the f16, f17 or weta tri
Hey Dave,
This a great question. There is a strong demand for the modern rigs like the F18, F16, N20, and A cat and many miles have not stopped the sale. For instance, when I sold my red N20 I had many commitments from buyers in California, New York, and Canada (I'm in Alabama), as well as other areas, and they all had made arrangements to get the cat home via different methods. Some had chosen to fly in and rent a tow vehicle and drive it home. Several had enlisted the service of a driver through a website that puts drivers in touch with needers like yourself. It's a win/win as the driver is making the trip anyway, and he gets gas money, and you get the boat delivered reasonably.
First thing I would do is place an ad in the classifieds here for the boat wanted. Do you want to sail solo and spin? If so, I recommend looking F16. The other option is F17. I know of a few nice boats available in both. My opinion about the F17 is it's heading towards the dreaded "dead boat society" while F16 is growing. If you just want to kick around the lake and not race, a good buy on F17 might be the ticket. The rule of thumb is that buyers will commit cross country for the right boat. Typically, a boat that has been raced is current and well maintained.
I work in the logistics industry, though I mainly deal with dangerous goods if you are really interested I could make some calls for you.
In general shipping charges make up a good percentage of the cost of everything. The issue with the cost of moving a cat is though relativly they are light (as freight is concerned) they would be charged out in volume. Basically it would take up a lot of space the shipping company has to charge for the space instead of the weight.
UPS small package service wouldn't handle a cat, but the UPS freight service would. If you are going to have a trucking company, ship line or air carrier move a cat it would need to be crated. ALWAYS INSURE FOR COST OF BOAT,CRATING AND FREIGHT CHARGES.
When the boat arrives thoroughly look over for damage or tampering. Once you sign for the freight it makes it more difficult to file a successful claim if it isn't note on the bill of lading that you signed off on.
For the actual transportation you would be best contacting a freight forwarder or broker.
Hey guys,
This is more a theoretical discussion at this point (because I don't have money in hand right now) but it is a problem I will have to address soon enough so I wanted to get some info.
I would probably lean towards an F17 despite it's 'dying' status. I've sailed 16 footers and really prefer the size and performance of my 5.2 (I'm about 220 lbs myself and my usual crew is the same). The F18 is very enticing simply because its seems to have status as the 'premier' catamaran class and has everything I would ever want in a boat. That and all the development money seems to be going into that class. I would likely keep my 5.2 also (I have a large cottage lot).
I'm in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and for most of you who have never heard of the place that is the center of North America if you include all of the North. It is also 3 hours North of Fargo, North Dakota - so you see how far away I am from almost everything except great ice fishing and sailing (in the summer). :) I have no idea what SLC is short for by the by. :)
Shipping would likely have to be Freight because the chances of hooking up with someone needing to come here are pretty low. We have a local Hobie Dealer, but he probably wouldn't be too interested in helping me ship a Nacra (but he is a super great guy so you never know). When the time comes I will likely talk to the Nacra dealer in Toronto first, but I wanted to know what options are open.
I work for a trucking company too, and this is definitely great advice. If I were shipping a nice carbon mast, I'd of course make sure that all the rigging and spreaders were removed, the ends were capped with sturdy cardboard, and the whole thing was wrapped with heavy-duty plastic or shrink wrap. A crate for a cat shouldn't be too hard to build, but definitely make sure everything is individually wrapped and secured inside the crate. A freight broker is definitely a good choice, especially if you are considering crossing any borders.
That said, if the boat is on a trailer and located in North America, you might be better off to find someone that will tow it directly to you, rather than crating it and paying a trucking company. I don't have any experience with this, but it might be a lower cost option. I'd still make sure everything was secured and protected from road debris before making a 1000+ mile trip.
Any more questions, let me know. Good luck with it!
My guess is I really should talk to a Nacra dealer first before I purchase anything. They must get thier boats somehow. :) But all your advice sounds good.
I like the F17's better than the 16's and hope they stick around. From the Nacra F17 web site, it looks like there is at least one F17 about 3 hours east of me - wonder if they are looking to sell... :)
Darn I thought that's what they did. You would only need a little box then! :) It also explains why my dogs hate the thing too, never thought of that before.
I had to read the thread to figure it out...I should have read it more thoroughly before blowing 10 minutes... Live and learn.
BTW, I ship my cats via cat-a-pult service. I prefer the trebuchet up-sale option as it's more dramatic and delivers the fur faster. Tried Red Tailed hawk service before, but they kept arriving broken and parts missing...
I used Uship to deliver my last cat. Cost about $1000 to deliver an I20 on trailer about 1500 miles. Finding someone to cross the border might be an issue, but you could consider meeting at the border and bringing
it across yourself.
Pete
-- Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20 --
Might check with some people who race a lot. They will drive insane distances, by my thinking, to attend races.
I bought a mast and sails from somebody going from Mass. to Fla. Only had to drive an hour to meet them. I bought a boat that was is Calif. and a sailor brought it to NC for $1000 then headed to NY to take another boat back to California. When I sold it the buyer shipped it to TX.
Many years ago I had an 18ft cat shipped from CA to FL. I used one of the major movers, Allied I think, but had to wait a short time till they had someone moving coast to coast and they had extra room on the tractor-trailer. The boat was disassembled and the mast was tied to the bottom of the trailer. When they arrived to pick up the boat, they let me supervise the loading and make suggestions on how to tie the mast to the bottom of the trailer. Everything arrived without a scratch but I don't remember how much it cost. It must have been reasonable, otherwise I wouldn't have done it.