How (much) to ship cheap boat from England to Ireland?

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LifesaBoat

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I'm looking to buy my first boat soon :eek: and it will likely be a cheap & cheerful 21 footer of some kind. Judging by most of the ads I see there's a fair chance it will be purchased somewhere around the south coast of England and I need to get it to Ireland, preferably west coast..

What is the best way to do that without breaking the bank and bearing in mind the value of the boat (cheap!) and my sailing experience not really being up to the task of sailing it all the way myself. How much should I budget for that?

Thanks!
 
I have no up to date prices but I have trailed a 24' from Mumbles to Fishguard, ferry to Rosslare and years later a 26' boat from Poole to Cairnryan, ferry to Larne and then onward. (we borrowed a builders Transit van to do the towing) I have also had a larger boat delivered to Cairnryan, lifted in with a big dockyard crane then sailed over. Stepping the mast was a problem for them and you had to sign a disclaimer relieving them of all responsibilty. I suspect elfin safety will have killed that option now. Headroom for a fin keeler was an issue on the ferries but I think it was charged at the rate for caravans. At that time the delivery cost went a long way toward buying the good four wheel braked trailer we used and it was later used every winter to move the boats about.
To get help here you may need to provide more information about the type of boat and the destination but I am surprised you can't find something suitable at lower cost (taking account of transport costs) in Ireland than on the south coast of England.
 
To get help here you may need to provide more information about the type of boat and the destination but I am surprised you can't find something suitable at lower cost (taking account of transport costs) in Ireland than on the south coast of England.
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Probably something like a corribee or kingfisher, not a great selection in ireland on apolloduck or others and prices seem higher in ireland although delivery costs could indeed make up the difference unless I can sail it here myself. Kerry coast would be ideal but anywhere between south and west coast would do for now.
 
Try asking the seller if they would help you sail it home if you pay the return travel costs & put them up over night in Eire. They will know the boat well enough to know if it will make the passage safely and should have reasonable experience. Refusal implies that they don't trust the boat :eek: but be aware that acceptance could mean that they simply don't understand the risks! :rolleyes:

My first boat was delivered on a 50 mile passage with the original owner's help. I learned a lot about sailing, navigation, and the boat itself. And it gave me a great deal of confidence for taking her out with my family.
 
Searush said:
Try asking the seller if they would help you sail it home if you pay the return travel costs & put them up over night in Eire. They will know the boat well enough to know if it will make the passage safely and should have reasonable experience. Refusal implies that they don't trust the boat :eek: but be aware that acceptance could mean that they simply don't understand the risks! :rolleyes:

My first boat was delivered on a 50 mile passage with the original owner's help. I learned a lot about sailing, navigation, and the boat itself. And it gave me a great deal of confidence for taking her out with my family.
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Great suggestion, that would be ideal!

However its quite a distance to sail from the south coast (2 days to the closest point in ireland?) so I don't know - is it reasonable to ask the seller to take on such a trip? Particularly in a fairly small/old boat?
 
If you are relatively inexperienced sailing a small boat from the Solent to west Cork or Kerry might be a bit of an undertaking in winter. The risks of strong weather are a lot less from about May onward. So if you plan to do it much before then, I think you would be better to consider trailing it. The ferry costs are usually cheaper on shorter routes and with a trailer you may be able to do a deal on freight rates. Most of the ferry companies have non publicised deals for motor cycle racers and other sports that tend to travel regularly with vans and trailers. Whether you buy or hire a trailer depends on what you can find, the one on Apollo duck looks a bargain to me and could always be sold on in Ireland if you do not need it later. The trouble with hiring is you will be charged again for bringing it back. You don't need to hire a Range Rover, a decent van or pick up will cope fine with that size of boat.
My choice would be to wait until spring/early summer and then take about a fortnight to make the passage in easy stages with time to dodge strong weather. Once you get to Ireland there are great harbours all along the south coast, and if you are going to sail regularly out in Kerry you will be meeting a lot more weather than you will experience on the way..
 
I would think if it's small enough to be legally tower behind a Land Rover or similar, that would be the way to go.
Maybe you can just get the trailer delivered to the ferry?
Unless the ex-owner really wants the adventure of taking it around Land's End.
No harm in asking.

I don't think it will be cheap though. Unless you can buy/hire a towing vehicle and DIY. It's 3 day's wages for a start, there and back.

Perhaps there is someone regularly coming over with a suitable truck who could pick up a boat and trailer?
 
LifesaBoat said:
I'm looking to buy my first boat soon :eek: and it will likely be a cheap & cheerful 21 footer of some kind.
Thanks!
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At 21ft there are quite a lot of boats around with trailers. Which is probably the cheapest option. Only thing is the trailer, brakes, bearings, tyres etc need checking before it is towed. I didn't with the boat I bought, the tow was 30miles and I made it but replaced the bearings before moving it again, consequently lost all the time I should have been preparing the boat. That made for an interesting first ever launch of a boat for me and some entertainment for people on the jetty. 12.00 on a May bank holiday Saturday was an interesting time to arrive.

Have seen this post? regarding transport recommendation? There is a chap near Preston who transports boats with his own trailler. Preston Marina may know of him, they also sell boats.

You might be better off looking North Wales (Dickies), Lake District (Shepherds) or West Scotland (Largs, Troon etc.). usually lots of small boats around and the transport might be a bit easier.
 
I believe Nathan (of this parish) has a Corribee for sale that has been prepared for sailing round Britain. Not sure where it is (possibly E Coast) but he would be a good guy to advise you.

Check out his site by clicking this link


Ubergeekian has a Westerly Jouster that is apparently well sorted too, and a drop keel boat will sit easily on a flat bed truck returning to Ireland form a UK job.

Lots of small baots lying in anchorages & moorings aroung UK & Wales, I know of a nice Folk Boat in Caernarfon too.
 
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i would get a list of all the boatyards around south and west of ireland, there is more for sale than you might think, good time to get a boat from ireland at the moment, you could find plenty around if you visit the boatyards and ask the manager if there are any for sale, it will also solve your problem of transporting across the irish sea.

for what you spent on getting one from uk and transport to ireland you could put the cost on a better boat.
 
I brought a bilge-keeled Corribee back from UK to Ireland with a rented car trailer and a borrowed 4x4. I was confident in the condition of the boat before I went; if shopping abroad for a cheap boat, you need to be pretty sure of the boat before you go.
Ideally your boat would come with a serviceable trailer. Having said that, you want the best boat you can get for your money so you could be waiting a while for the perfect boat/trailer to show up. Be really critical - a lot of trailers are fine for tootling the few miles home from the club, but you do not want to be stuck at the side of an English motorway waiting for the constabulary to show up (they take rather a dim view).
Do have a good scout around Ireland, including the North, but have no qualms about bringing a boat from UK as there is just so much more choice.
 
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Sailing option

Regards sailing a boat across which some people have suggested - I am currently thinking about sailing my boat (28 foot) from Solent to West coast of Scotland probably via Ireland next year. What I can say so far is that it doesn't seem a cheap way of getting the boat from A-B, looking at chart purchase, EPIRB & liferaft rental, various (fairly minimal) upgrades/fixes which seem a good idea, vistor berthing on the way and also (maybe) I end up double paying for a berth up there starting 1 April when most marinas start their year, when I won't be able to move until mid May (work committments + waiting on better weather, well I hope better weatehr ). Then there is wear and tear, fuel and the list goes on. I'll try to save money where I can sensibly (eg I prefer to anchor than use marinas), but there will be plenty of costs along the way.

In comparision, I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper (but a lot less fun) to pay someone to take her on a truck, and I could know with some certainty that she would arrive the next day without any major breakdowns or damage.

I wouldn't want to do it at this time of year (or later into winter), in any circumstances. Even in summer under signifcant time pressure would be a no-no for me. Not wanting to sound negative (since I'd jump at the chance to do my trip) but just point out some practicalities. Not that we buy boats or sail for practical reasons...

So I'm thinking of it as a big adventure, but it wouldn't make sense as a way to get a small boat moved if only being boring and practical.

Thats how I see it anyway. Still, if I do it, it will be fun for sure.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far - plenty to think about!

It would certainly be an adventure to sail it back myself and maybe after some coastal hops for practice I might give it a shot if a suitable weather window is forecast - might be worth filling it with foam filled coke bottles just in case.. ;)

Would be handy to find something suitable to buy in Ireland though. Will have to keep looking.. found a nice looking folkboat nearby but it's just a tad more than I can spend now unfortunately.
 
How (much) to ship cheap boat from England to Ireland

Two previous boats bought UK and trailed back to Northern Ireland. Cost was the same as towing a caravan. Both bought with road going trailers. The Mischief 24 bought in Doncaster and towed back home by large saloon car. The H boat I borrowed a 4x4 from a friend and towed from Edinburgh.Cost was sub £400 including ferry both ways via Larne Cairnryan in March 2009.
The latest acquisition an H 323 I had transported by lorry to Conway from the South coast and sailed her back from there.The cost of the ferry crossing for a lorry was prohibitive.
 
Here's my tuppence worth.

When we started looking for a boat, like you I found there were a lot more for sale on the South coast than anywhere else.

I did consider buying one and towing back to the Highlands, a looooong day to get there and 2 days to tow it back, round trip over 1000 miles. Cost of fuel put me off mostly, plus one boat I enquired about the seller did not advise a trip that long on the trailer it came with.

In the end I found one for sale at a boat yard 25 miles from home.

The points about the state of the trailer are good ones. My boat came on a trailer that looked okay, except the boat was last loaded onto the trailer too far back placing the weight too far back making for unstable towing. That could only be corrected with a crane, or a slipway!!!. So an uncofortable tow home the 25 miles with snaking above 50 mph.

Now the boat's in the water, I found all 4 wheel bearings completely loose. They have all tightened but two are noisy. So this will do to get her out of the water in a couple of weeks and bring her the 25 miles back home, but next summer when she's in the water again the trailer needs a thorough overhaul and at least 2 new wheel bearings. At least the brakes work. Also there was one perished and cracking tyre that's been replaced.

Only when I get her back on and loaded properly will I find out if it is stable when correctly loaded. If not, there's more work to be done (re jig the axle positions - not as hard as it sounds)

So I think what I'm saying is don't commit to a long tow, unless you have a 101% assurance from the seller that the trailer is up to it, and the boat is properly loaded.
 
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i've been quoted £150/day +expenses (return travel, food, etc.), £75/dayfor layovers (due to bad weather) for skipper to help bring a yacht back from cork. £0/day for extra crew + expenses. 2 days cork to bristol.

also need to have liferaft (can hire for £50) and coastal flares.

if you can afford that it would probably be worth the money to get the experience in your new boat.
 
ronmarson@gmail.com

Jaguar 22 in Galway bay with trailer. Come for a sail before I take it out for the winter.
ProDave said:
Here's my tuppence worth.

When we started looking for a boat, like you I found there were a lot more for sale on the South coast than anywhere else.

I did consider buying one and towing back to the Highlands, a looooong day to get there and 2 days to tow it back, round trip over 1000 miles. Cost of fuel put me off mostly, plus one boat I enquired about the seller did not advise a trip that long on the trailer it came with.

In the end I found one for sale at a boat yard 25 miles from home.

The points about the state of the trailer are good ones. My boat came on a trailer that looked okay, except the boat was last loaded onto the trailer too far back placing the weight too far back making for unstable towing. That could only be corrected with a crane, or a slipway!!!. So an uncofortable tow home the 25 miles with snaking above 50 mph.

Now the boat's in the water, I found all 4 wheel bearings completely loose. They have all tightened but two are noisy. So this will do to get her out of the water in a couple of weeks and bring her the 25 miles back home, but next summer when she's in the water again the trailer needs a thorough overhaul and at least 2 new wheel bearings. At least the brakes work. Also there was one perished and cracking tyre that's been replaced.

Only when I get her back on and loaded properly will I find out if it is stable when correctly loaded. If not, there's more work to be done (re jig the axle positions - not as hard as it sounds)

So I think what I'm saying is don't commit to a long tow, unless you have a 101% assurance from the seller that the trailer is up to it, and the boat is properly loaded.
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