Towing Boat

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Wandering Star

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I need a 27 foot sailing boat (fin) towing from Manchester to Wexford in Ireland. Weight is 2500kgs which is too heavy for my car. Anyone got any suggestions or recommendations (apart from chopping it up into envelope sized pieces and popping in the letter box for delivery by Royal Mail) for a cheap (ish) towing company or alternatively a flat bed lorry of a length capable of transporting the entire rig (boat and trailer plus mast). The trailer is twin axle and in roadworthy order with new bearings and tyres., it's purpose built so will support the boat whilst in transit.
 
Wandering Star said:
I need a 27 foot sailing boat (fin) towing from Manchester to Wexford in Ireland. Weight is 2500kgs which is too heavy for my car. Anyone got any suggestions or recommendations (apart from chopping it up into envelope sized pieces and popping in the letter box for delivery by Royal Mail) for a cheap (ish) towing company or alternatively a flat bed lorry of a length capable of transporting the entire rig (boat and trailer plus mast). The trailer is twin axle and in roadworthy order with new bearings and tyres., it's purpose built so will support the boat whilst in transit.
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It might be worth trying Shiply for quotes.
 
That seems awfully light for a 27 footer. I know mine's a long-keeler but it's also 27' long and is quoted as weighing 3 tons, but even when stripped of almost everything removable, empty tanks and even the rudder removed, it was showing over 3.5 tons on the crane hook! Glibert Brown in Ambleside used to have a little 7.5 tonner with which they have moved ours in the past.
 
As said either hire a suitable towing vehicle or look around for quotes from carriers with flat bed truck to take boat on the trailer. You would need to work out total height above the truck bed for boat with mast either on top or along side. My lttle 21 ft boat travelled from Melbourne to Perth 3300km on its trailer on the back of a truck with no apparent problems. (a long time ago) good luck olewill
 
William_H said:
As said either hire a suitable towing vehicle or look around for quotes from carriers with flat bed truck to take boat on the trailer.
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I've had a quick look at possible vehicles. It looks to me as if it would need an 18 tonne flat bed (7.5 tonne ones only take ~20' and ~2.5 tonnes) which would be an overall length of 10m. The cheapest Irish Sea crossing I can find for that, loaded to 10 tonnes, is £660 from Liverpool to Dublin. It's about 100 miles return Manchester to Liverpool and 160 miles return Dublin to Wexford. 18 tonners need an HGV license and none of the companies I have found hiring them will do so to private individuals.

I'd be surprised if there was much change out of £1,500 from a carrier.
 
A while ago there was something about flat beds no longer being useable as plod or someone were going to insist on ' purpose made ' trailers with fixed hull supports; I don't know if anything came of it but I guess anyone operating a flat bed will know.

I take it even a RangeRover wouldn't be legal to tow then ?

How about the small trucks I believe a normal driving licence goes up to ? ( never had to do anything like that so I forget the rule ).
 
At a more suitable time of the year, maybe a delivery skipper could take it from Trafford via the M S C to Liverpool and on to Wexford. I don't know if the M/c Ship Canal is a possibility for yachts.
 
We took our old boat on a purpose built trailer to France twice all up weight about 2.75 tonnes.

We were quite happy towing behind a 4*4 which was rated up to 3 tonnes.

To my knowledge there is no standard two wheel drive car that can tow much more than 1.6 tonnes.
 
JumbleDuck said:
It might be worth trying Shiply for quotes.
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Took your advice and have had a quote from Shiply for £800 but not sure exactly what's included. If it includes the ferry (which it may do if the lorry was otherwise returning empty) then that's a lot less than expected. I've asked for clarification.

Sailing the boat back isn't an option really, the boat is in a fairly shabby state, I wouldn't be happy sailing her across the Irish Sea or asking anyone else to, without first refurbing her and ensuring all her equipment were up to it.

Trailing her back myself is certainly an option behind a big 4 X 4 but where do I find a hire company prepared to lend me an expensive 4 X 4 with permission to take it on the ferry. This is my preferred option in fact, but finding a suitable vehicle to rent with permission to use for towing and taking abroad (Ireland to UK or vice versa) is nigh on impossible. The boat is a Jaguar 27 and looking at the specs online she should weigh 2550kgs, not sure what that is in real money.

Thanks for all the advice and comments.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I've had a quick look at possible vehicles. It looks to me as if it would need an 18 tonne flat bed (7.5 tonne ones only take ~20' and ~2.5 tonnes) which would be an overall length of 10m. The cheapest Irish Sea crossing I can find for that, loaded to 10 tonnes, is £660 from Liverpool to Dublin. It's about 100 miles return Manchester to Liverpool and 160 miles return Dublin to Wexford. 18 tonners need an HGV license and none of the companies I have found hiring them will do so to private individuals.

I'd be surprised if there was much change out of £1,500 from a carrier.
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I'm sure it was a 7.5 tonner that Avocet was moved on a while back? The bow overhung the top of the cab and the stern overhung the back of the flat bed a bit. I don't know what the kerb weight of the truck was though, but 3.5 - 4 tonnes wouldn't seem that unreasonable, would it?
 
Wandering Star said:
Took your advice and have had a quote from Shiply for £800 but not sure exactly what's included. If it includes the ferry (which it may do if the lorry was otherwise returning empty) then that's a lot less than expected. I've asked for clarification.

Sailing the boat back isn't an option really, the boat is in a fairly shabby state, I wouldn't be happy sailing her across the Irish Sea or asking anyone else to, without first refurbing her and ensuring all her equipment were up to it.
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Eight hundred sounds pretty good - if that includes the ferry I'd bite their hand off ... in a few days, in case an even cheaper bid came along ...
 
The £800 sounds good if it includes the ferry; otherwise how about buying an old 4x4, then selling it later? Jeep Cherokees can pull quite a load & can be bought quite cheaply.
 
TheOrs said:
The £800 sounds good if it includes the ferry; otherwise how about buying an old 4x4, then selling it later? Jeep Cherokees can pull quite a load & can be bought quite cheaply.
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Now, there's a thought - I know nothing of Jeep Cherokees, can you tow with an automatic gearbox? Are there any other similar cars I might consider? There are several engine sizes, which would be most suitable?
 
SHB Hire (head office is at Romsey near Southampton) have depots around the UK and hire all types and sizes of 4x4's, 7.5 tonners and larger trucks. They allow foreign travel.
Our 7.5ton truck with sleeper cab and 20ft box with tail lift has an unladen weight of 5000kgs. A standard 7.5ton flatbed is likely to weigh 4500kgs so should have a load capacity of around 3000kgs. You can drive a 7.5 tonner if you passed your test before 1995.
 
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