Road transport recommendations? 41' AWB N. Wales to Liverpool (December)

[dankilb]

Hi all - the title says all you need to know about the current state of our refit and planned re-launch, especially when I'm posting this on a sunny (up here) late-summer afternoon! - but would anyone care to share any recommendations, recent(ish) experiences, or (dare I even ask?!) prices for a road haulage move of our 41' Jen from N Wales to Liverpool? We have a date almost-fixed now for mid-December.

I'm only looking to get quotes for the transport from suitable - and ideally, given the short distance, relatively local - specialists. The boat is 12.5 x 4 m and draws 1.7m. Standard fin keel AWB.

Other considerations are hopefully taken care of...: Cranage, mast handling, etc. is in hand and access is proven-by-experience for (even multiple) HGVs. The 'own bottom' delivery aspiration has been striven for - bl**dy hard, at times! - for coming up on two years and the options, where we stand now, have finally and carefully been weighed-up in favour of road. So, we're not secretly soliciting moral support for a change of mind towards a 'proper' delivery (it wouldn't be safe - leave it at that). ?

As road haulage has always been a potential over the 2 years we've taken on the boat, I've done some research and already have a shortlist for some firms I could approach for quotes:

- Collett, Halifax (Welcome to Collett and Sons Ltd)

- Beverley Transport, Hull (Boat Transport | Boats by Road | Beverley Transport Services)

- John Shepherd, Ayreshire (Homepage)

- Gilbert Brown & Son, Ambleside

- Sealand, Lancs. (BTX BOAT TRANSPORT / YACHT DELIVERY NEWS) who are our most local and I have had some good contact with in the past, but since assumed had ceased trading - until they started updating their website again this summer! ?

Any other reccomendations to add to the list - or experiences of the above (within Forum rules, of course!) would be most welcome! You'll see that I'm not looking at companies in the South/West etc. as I'm assuming it would make more sense to look at those closer to road links to the North West. But, I will also consider putting a Shiply (or similar) tender out to cast the net wider, failing any joy from the conventional quote-and-book approach, which I plan to try first (i.e. now!).

TIA! (on behalf of The Christina I, who now badly needs to be released from her 'prison sentence' of 7 years' hard standing!?)

 

[Wandering Star]

i Just had a smaller boat delivered (last week) by road from Holyhead to Lymington due to the boat having a dicky engine. The transporter was enormous and dwarfed the boat, the delivery was done as a “back load” And was handled very professionally by Aaron & the driver. The company was Apa Logistics Ltd who are based (I think) in Dudley, West Midlands. I was quoted £1200 as a back load which can involve a bit of flexibility around dates although once booked, the date is firm.

Aaron 07925 630868

 

[mickbond]

Have used Gilbert Brown twice, good price and professional service 35ft AWB

 

[neil_s]

Seafix Boat Transport in Porthmadog did a good job for me - admittedly some years ago now.

 

[Lightwave395]

I used Shoreline Transport based down here in the South to deliver my 12M boat from Anglesey to Hamble, again some years ago. They (used to ?) deliver shiny new Beneteau's from down here to up there at Conwy Marina and I too got a return load for £1150 (As I said, it was a few years ago)

 

[[3889]]

Seafix Boat Transport in Porthmadog did a good job for me - admittedly some years ago now.

Also used them and would recommend but 15 years ago.

Thinking outside of the box, small keel boats are moved in multi-tows, i.e. 6 or 8 boats per tug, from and to the Mersey for Strait's fortnight every year. Would a tow by sea in settled weather be a)safe for your boat and b) feasible?

 

[dankilb]

Thanks all for the recommendations so far. I've been asked to measure the actual height of the boat with deck hardware etc. - which I can't get to the boat to do straight away. Once I've got that info, I'll crack on with getting a handful of quotes.

Would a tow by sea in settled weather be a)safe for your boat and b) feasible?

We have considered pretty much every/all 'wet' method of delivery. We need to move early December, so weather not ideal for a start. We could get the boat watertight by then, and probably also running under her own engine. But that would leave us no time for anything else - and there'd be a long list (inc. safety items). Plus she's been be laid up so long, and with so many critical new refit items, any launch would be somewhat of a gamble - let alone from a private crane, into a confided drying creek, needing to make a 12 hour dash for your 'safe haven' in the Mersey, of all places!

I've also heard that Port of Liverpool aren't too keen to allowing tows in (and that was from a local lifeboat coxswain - but I'm sure exceptions can be organised, as the racers rightly evidence. It would still be a long tow, once you've dodged the windfarms and lined-up the Queen's channel, with a an arrival after dark necessitated by the tide).

On the plus side, the mast needs coming down anyway, so I can see the extra cost as being mostly confined to the transport (we'd need a crane to launch either way and the arrival marina lift-in isn't much less than the mast un-step service we're 'saving' at the departure end).

What with weather and tides - on top of life and jobs! - I must say my stress levels have lifted with the idea of a fixed date and her turning up on the doorstep when we need her here!