Transporting Cruiser in Ireland

[GL-Ire]

So here’s the deal

• I am not in Ireland
• I have a cruiser tied up at a berth on the Shannon.
• I will soon lose the berth and anyway the boat should come out of the water for TLC.
• The facilities at the place where the boat is currently, do not include any boat lifting gear although there is a ramp into the water and I have floated the boat on and off my boat trailer, albeit with a little difficulty, previously.
• My boat trailer is no longer roadworthy.
• My licence will no longer allow me to tow a boat trailer of the size needed in Ireland I have been told – not sure if this is true.
• I have “free” storage for winter available about 50 miles away if I can get the boat there.
• I do not have a Pilot’s licence for the Shannon nor do I have access to anyone that has.
• I will probably look to sell early next year

Size

• Length : 11.5m approx.
• Beam: 3.5m approx.
• Weight: 5 tonne approx

I seem to have some options

• Repair the boat trailer and get a driver with the appropriate licence to drive to “free” storage. Once there I know someone that will do basic work on the boat – cleaning varnishing etc but no skilled labour. Clean prepare and then in Spring take to marina/brokerage and sell (I will not sell from the free storage location)
• Hire Marina to collect (either by land or water) from current anchorage and then lift/float out at Marina – if I go that far is there any point in taking elsewhere? Am I better to leave at Marina and maybe even pay for the cleanup? Will that cost much more than transport?. If I leave at Marina I can get sales action when I want?
• Hire transport co to transport to my free storage site and worry about Spring in Spring.

Any recommendations?

 

[DownWest]

Getting a commercial outfit to shift it sounds expensive, with lifting out and dropping off at the far end. How bad is your trailer to fix? Bit curious as to the regs on what must be around six tonnes to tow?
Free storage might not be cheap with the hassle of transport, compared with the Marina? Get some quotes?

 

[pandos]

If your trailer is good enough to take boat out off the water and be dragged up onto plant trailer you would probably find a transport guy to move it (like the guys who move mobile homes)

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

You say that your licence previously qualified you to tow your particular trailer, presumably twin-axled, but now it doesn't, how so? Is it Irish or UK? If it is Irish and you have had it for more than a few years it's quite likely that you are still qualified. I got my license in 1972 and am automatically qualified to tow a trailer whose GVW, combined with that of the towing vehicle does not exceed 7,000 Kg whereas sometime in the last few years new rules came in requiring a test before qualifying to drive a combination of that weight. Below is a paragraph copied from the Road Safety Authority www.rsa.ie
Car and Trailer Licences
The rules around the weight of a trailer that a car may draw will depend on a number of factors. A person holding a car licence, category B, can draw a small trailer provided that the trailer has a design gross vehicle weight (DGVW) no greater than 750 kg, and in some cases a heavier trailer, provided the car and trailer combined is not heavier than 3,500kg DGVW. DGVW means the designed gross weight which the trailer is designed by the manufacturer not to exceed, including the load on it. If you exceed this, you will be required to get a category BE driving licence. A driver with a car and trailer licence, category BE can draw a trailer where the MAM of the vehicle and trailer combination is greater than 3500kg but less than 7000kg. A car with a towing capacity of 2000kg can draw a trailer with a plated MAM of 3500kg PROVIDED the combination of the weight of the trailer and any load does not exceed the towing capacity of the car e.g. 2,000kg

 

[duncan99210]

Following on from Glenans, you are required to renew your licence at 70: if you do that using the online option, it will renew without the 7 tonne limit. If you renew using the paper route you can retain the heavier limit: that’s the case for UK, not 100% sure if it the case in Ireland.

 

[Quandary]

As I understand it Boris is removing trailer restrictions in the uk, to focus on lorry driver testing?
No help to the OP though.

 

[Biggles Wader]

"I will probably look to sell early next year"
Just sell it now for whatever you can get. Any other option is likely to cost you considerably more money than any price difference between now and then especially considering you are going to be paying others to do all the work/ transporting etc.

 

[pandos]

Following on from Glenans, you are required to renew your licence at 70: if you do that using the online option, it will renew without the 7 tonne limit. If you renew using the paper route you can retain the heavier limit: that’s the case for UK, not 100% sure if it the case in Ireland.

You will also need a medical at renewal of the heavier category...but if you dropped it in the past they will revive it for you subject to the medical...

C1E. Allows up to 12 tonne train weight...but th

 

[Slowtack]

Try Whiiten Transport... They are based close to the Shannon...

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Post deleted.

 

[GL-Ire]

Thanks for all replies.

some updates
I live in Canada - last time I had a licence in Europe was in Luxembourg in ‘98
since then I believe Ireland introduced a licence class, with test, for towing trailers over certain length and weight, which is probably a great move but does not help me.
I have access to a boat trailer, that maybe could be repaired, but I am reading that Ireland has also cracked down on trailer manufacture - they all have to have a certification - mine is homemade; well made, but homemade nonetheless.

I am beginning to think that winter at marina and then sell is the right idea and have reached out by email to a few marinas on the Shannon but they are not replying. Is business so good that they can ignore prospective customers?

I am slow to sell immediately as the boat needs some cleaning, all superficial stuff but could put off a buyer or lower price.

And, as said, no pilot licence for Shannon

Any options that anyone can think of?

Try Whiiten Transport... They are based close to the Shannon...

emailed for quote, no reply yet

If your trailer is good enough to take boat out off the water and be dragged up onto plant trailer you would probably find a transport guy to move it (like the guys who move mobile homes)

might try that As it is all private land .. depends if it affects price and/ or ease

 

[pandos]

Thanks for all replies.

some updates
I live in Canada - last time I had a licence in Europe was in Luxembourg in ‘98
since then I believe Ireland introduced a licence class, with test, for towing trailers over certain length and weight, which is probably a great move but does not help me.
I have access to a boat trailer, that maybe could be repaired, but I am reading that Ireland has also cracked down on trailer manufacture - they all have to have a certification - mine is homemade; well made, but homemade nonetheless.

I am beginning to think that winter at marina and then sell is the right idea and have reached out by email to a few marinas on the Shannon but they are not replying. Is business so good that they can ignore prospective customers?

I am slow to sell immediately as the boat needs some cleaning, all superficial stuff but could put off a buyer or lower price.

And, as said, no pilot licence for Shannon

Any options that anyone can think of?



emailed for quote, no reply yet





might try that As it is all private land .. depends

You can take advantage of the age of the trailer to avoid certification AFAIK...

Licence for the Shannon is a mystery to me never heard of such a thing...have you any link to the details?

Best way to get answers in Ireland is by phone...I think the pathological hatred of emails gets worse the further west you go...

 

[Pump-Out]

The rules around the weight of a trailer that a car may draw will depend on a number of factors. A person holding a car licence, category B, can draw a small trailer provided that the trailer has a design gross vehicle weight (DGVW) no greater than 750 kg, and in some cases a heavier trailer, provided the car and trailer combined is not heavier than 3,500kg DGVW. DGVW means the designed gross weight which the trailer is designed by the manufacturer not to exceed, including the load on it. If you exceed this, you will be required to get a category BE driving licence. A driver with a car and trailer licence, category BE can draw a trailer where the MAM of the vehicle and trailer combination is greater than 3500kg but less than 7000kg. A car with a towing capacity of 2000kg can draw a trailer with a plated MAM of 3500kg PROVIDED the combination of the weight of the trailer and any load does not exceed the towing capacity of the car e.g. 2,000kg

Size

• Length : 11.5m approx.
• Beam: 3.5m approx.
• Weight: 5 tonne approx

The boat is five tons, too heavy under EU rules, regardless of the drivers B+E ticket.
At 3.5 metres that's also over width (at least in the UK)
It's a truck job.

@GL-Ire : HIAB it, if you can find the appropriate haulier. Get them to off-load onto your trailer, so it can at least be shunted around off the road. As for using the trailer as the primary method of transport - file under bargepoles and touching.

 

[Dino]

What sort of boat is it and where is it moored?
There is no requirement for a pilots/skippers license on the Shannon.
My recommendation is to advertise it on www.DoneDeal.ie and sell it now. Boats just deteriorate over the winter.
An alternative is to get Whitten Haulage or Kennedy Haulage to transport it for you.

 

[GL-Ire]

What sort of boat is it and where is it moored?
There is no requirement for a pilots/skippers license on the Shannon.
My recommendation is to advertise it on www.DoneDeal.ie and sell it now. Boats just deteriorate over the winter.
An alternative is to get Whitten Haulage or Kennedy Haulage to transport it for you.

Thanks for that ( and the others who asked) bad info on my part. Mix up between need for craft to be registered, which it is, and pilot to be licensed , which is not required.

Boat is on Lough Derg. Near Killaloe. Thinking I could cruise down to Killaloe or up to Portumna if I get a good answer at marinas

 

[penfold]

Is the storage place on the water? Getting a pro to shift it would be straightforward if so.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Thanks for all replies.

some updates
I live in Canada - last time I had a licence in Europe was in Luxembourg in ‘98
since then I believe Ireland introduced a licence class, with test, for towing trailers over certain length and weight, which is probably a great move but does not help me.
I have access to a boat trailer, that maybe could be repaired, but I am reading that Ireland has also cracked down on trailer manufacture - they all have to have a certification - mine is homemade; well made, but homemade nonetheless.

I am beginning to think that winter at marina and then sell is the right idea and have reached out by email to a few marinas on the Shannon but they are not replying. Is business so good that they can ignore prospective customers?

I am slow to sell immediately as the boat needs some cleaning, all superficial stuff but could put off a buyer or lower price.

And, as said, no pilot licence for Shannon

Any options that anyone can think of?



emailed for quote, no reply yet





might try that As it is all private land .. depends if it affects price and/ or ease

There is no requirement for a licence on Ireland's inland waterways. Any incompetent idiot can buy a boat and just drive away, as can be seen from daily reports of lifeboat callouts to drag boats off rocks, reefs and sandbanks, usually on the wrong side of navigational marks?.
Lough Derg Lifeboat Helps 10 People on Vessels Run Aground in Back-to-Back Shouts

 

[GL-Ire]

As I review all the options it seems that the transport option is less attractive. The boat is a Priincess 33 and the weight of trailer and boat is about 6 tonnes, so even finding right vehicle to tow the existing trailer is challenging.

I am inclined to think that it is best to head to a marina on the Shannon for the winter. I would still like to get the boat out of the water and do some repairs but then most likely I would want to sell and it seems best to have it at a marina for that purpose.

So, since you all have been very helpful so far, any recommendations on a good marina and/ or insights to costs/ rates I should expect?