240 Sundancer that fits into a box!

[mjbow2]

Folks,

Im looking at shipping a 2001, 240 Sundancer in a 40ft container. I need to know the actual dimensions to have a cradle custom made that will allow the vessel to sit tilted to one side in the cradle, such that it will fit an internal door aperture of 7'6" wide and 8'5" high

Boat dimensions;

Beam- 8'6"
Length- 24'10"
Height- unknown


Stern drive (up) adds 1'8" to the height but alas I have no idea what the actual height of the vessel is.

The cradle builder has indicated they would need to know the angle of the dead rise in addition to the 'V' angle mid way aft and at the bow?

Can anyone help with this information? If I can fit this boat into a container it will greatly reduce the shipping cost.

Thanks
MJB

 

[Henry Boyd]

Have you downloaded the owner's manual from Sea Ray? That should contain some dimensions.

Now a couple comments on your plan. Rolling the boat on its side is going to load the hull and structure in a way it wasn't designed. It may work safely, and then it may not. You could try to get some help out of Sea Ray, but they may not be too forthcoming. The other alternative is to have a naval architect look at the load plan for you. Think of it as insurance against stress cracks. Speaking of which you may have a hard time finding given the unconventional loading method.

Keep in mind ocean bills of lading have a USD $ 25,000 limitation of liability. Additional value has to be covered by insurance. Insurance companies do not pay cargo claims for improperly stowed and secured cargo.

Next comes the part about loading the boat in the container. How you gonna get it in, and then how you gonna get it out? Many years ago I designed a set of container car carrying racks for Sea-Land. Its a bit more complicated then just pushing it in with a forklift and then dragging it out. You not only have to secure the boat on the cradle, but also the cradle in the container. To do that longshoremen (who are generally on the large size) need to be able to get into the container, secure the load and then get out. You might want to consider using a flatrack instead of a box. It will leave your boat exposed, but the boat and cradle will be safely secured. Final possibility is to use someone like Dockwise Yacht Express.

Henry

 

[magster65]

I'm sure a 240 won't fit in the container not to mention the securing problems. I went through this trying to ship a 20' Bertram Moppie to Sweden. The flat rack is really the only option if you want to ship that way.