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  1. #1

    Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Well as trucking my 78 37C from Mobile Al. to San Diego is just not economically feasible. On the truck height is close to 16 ft.
    For what it would cost me to truck it I can run the Canal.

    Now the catch. Fuel stops along the way. How to map them out? Obviously will require fuel bladders in cockpit and foredeck. Should give me 750 gallons. 500 mile range. I just don't know if that will cut it.

    Anybody made a trip through the canal? Point me to link to anybody that has or resources for planning?

    Real early stages of thinking about it. I would hate to sell her in Mobile. Just finished a 2000 mile journey 3 great lakes and the river system to Mobile.

    Mike

  2. #2

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeMck View Post
    On the truck height is close to 16 ft.
    Is that with the flybridge taken off? Back in the day they shipped these boats all over via the highways.

  3. #3

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Did you look into putting it on a freighter, or using one of the yacht transport services like Dockwise?
    CRICKET
    1966 HAT50C101
    Purchased 1985 12v71Ns
    Repowered 1989 with 8v92TI
    Repowered 2001 with 3406E

  4. #4

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Not willing to pull the flybridge off. Back in the day Hatteras would just add the ground transportation to the price of the boat. Same math does not work on a 40 year old boat.
    Putting it on an ocean transport would exceed the ground transportation cost. Tried using Joule yacht transport. $11K if under 15ft loaded on the trailer. Over 15 ft. $25K. Due to additional pilot car required and route being 500 miles longer.
    Last edited by MikeMck; 01-11-2019 at 10:23 PM.

  5. #5

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Pull the flybridge and put it on a truck. Dont try that run in an old 37 without a buddy vessel to get you home safe.

    750 gallons will hurt the seaworthyness of the vessel. It was not made for a run like that.

    Either truck it or ship it but dont put your life and others at risk.
    Scott
    41C117 "Hattatude"
    Port Canaveral Florida.


    Marine Electronics and Electrical Products Distributor.

  6. #6

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Quote Originally Posted by Boatsb View Post
    Pull the flybridge and put it on a truck. Dont try that run in an old 37 without a buddy vessel to get you home safe.

    750 gallons will hurt the seaworthyness of the vessel. It was not made for a run like that.

    Either truck it or ship it but dont put your life and others at risk.
    I'm 65 do I have to make sane decisions? :{). I understand your point but I might point out I can follow the coastline the entire route. Not much different than my last 2000 mile trip through 3 great lakes and multiple rivers dodging barges the entire way.

    Also understand the buddy boat concept. My last trip was 1/2 the loop and buddy boats were a natural occurrence.
    Until I know distances between diesel stops I'm not sure how much fuel will be required.
    Your advice is sound but if I can run 300 miles between fuel stops it was made for trips like that.
    Too many unknowns at this point for me to make any decisions.
    Your input is appreciated and not taken lightly.
    Mike

  7. #7

    Talking Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Leave the boat in south fl and fly to boat when you want to go boating.

  8. #8

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    It's a great adventure to add to your impressive resume. But do it for the adventure and not the cost savings. I helped a friend run his 64 Nordhaven from Cabo to Tampa two years ago. After I saw your post I asked him to ballpark the cost and he said $30-50k. (The range is a rounding error in his world.) He said the pilot and canal fees were about $3k if that gives you pause.

    He also had safety concerns after a brush with pirates off the coast of Southern Mexico. A freighter deviated course and shadowed him after a non-AIS contact kept closing without making any VHF response to either his boat or the freighter's calls.

    Again, do it for the adventure.

    Bruce

    Freestyle
    1986 62 CPMY (54MY with cockpit extension)
    Tampa

  9. #9

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    Taking the bridge off is no big deal. These boats were shipped with the bridge on the foredeck; I believe they built wooden cradles for them and they shipped them like that every week, I suspect.

    Your route by sea through the Panama Canal takes you past some very troubled areas; including Venezuela, I think. This is not prudent, frankly. Would it be an adventure? Certainly. Might you end up dead? Certainly.

    Your two rational choices are 1) removing the bridge, which was built that way, so it's not a big deal (I've done it on my boat- basically you tag and unhook all the wiring, and you remove the steering pump and just bag it all and tape it in place up there) 2) ship by boat as deck freight. You can use a yacht carrier, built for the purpose, but you could also just have it shipped as deck freight. This is done all the time by the Far Eastern builders in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Taiwan- all those boats that come here as new vessels are shrink-wrapped and shipped as deck freight. Your owner's manual contains a graving diagram which shows how to support the boat on a cradle and may even have dimensions for it.

    I suspect trucking would be quicker, easier and cheaper. Don't get hung up on the bridge removal thing; any competent yard with a small crane or lift can do this.

    As to the float-on, float-off yacht carriers, they still exist, but I don't know about the cost or the routing. They are very trick, and it must be a great deal of fun to watch, but they cater to a very wealthy clientele, so the cost might exceed that of the other two alternatives.

    Oh, and I think your fuel calculations might be optimistic, as far as running the boat on it's own bottom. And keeping a lot of fuel on deck in bladders adds its own complications in weight and stability.

    These boats are very well made vessels, which is why they are still around decades later, but they were not built as offshore passagemakers, and in recognition of that, I'd ship your boat.
    Last edited by jim rosenthal; 01-12-2019 at 09:56 AM.

  10. #10

    Re: Mobile Al through the Panama canal.

    I wouldnt do it with a boat that small. It s a lot of wear and tear on the boat, adding 2000 to 3000 lbs of fuel is drastically going to affect the handling and sea keeping.

    If everything goes right, it would be a great trip but between weather delays, canal delays, potential mechAnical issues and security concerns, the risks are just way too high for costs to escalate out of controls... plus corrupt officials and bribes

    Other considrations...

    Your insurance is unlikely to approve the cruising ground extention and if they do it wont be cheap...
    Forget having any kind of weapons on board for personal security, Mexico has extremely stricts rules and a number of captsins have spent time in mexican jails
    Pascal
    Miami, FL
    1970 53 MY #325 Cummins 6CTAs
    2014 26' gaff rigged sloop
    2007 Sandbarhopper 13
    12' Westphal Cat boat

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