TWL: Atlantic Crossing
We used Dockwise to bring Perseverance around from Ft. Lauderdale to the
pacific northwest and were quite pleased with the experience. We costed out
hiring a skipper and crew to do it and found that Dockwise was a few
percentage points higher than our estimate, so we elected to forego the risk
of mechanical breakdown, etc., and went with Dockwise.
It's a big ship so it's a quicker trip than it would have been on her own
bottom, and everything arrives in the same condition as it was in when the
vessel departed. If you book early, I think you can have a crewperson
accompany your vessel on the ship.
Be cautious, though - the Dockwise contract explicitly disclaims all
liability for everything, so unless you get a rider on your insurance
policy, if they sink in a hurricane you'll be out of luck. That rider will
cost some money so be sure to calculate that in your cost tradeoff.
If I'd had the time it would have been fun to bring her around myself, but
lacking that, it was quite interesting to bring Perseverance off the ship.
You can walk around underneath your vessel & check the bottom, etc., while
it's elevated on very professional adjustable steel supports. Then they
ballast the ship down, the water comes in, and one by one they begin to
float. The divers then go down and remove the supports, they open the back
doors, and off you go. If there's any interest, let me know - I can post
some photos on a website and shoot you a link so you can view the process.
Jeff Patton
Perseverance
Seattle
At 01:34 PM 12/17/2001 -0800, Jeff Patton wrote:
We used Dockwise to bring Perseverance around from Ft. Lauderdale to the
pacific northwest and were quite pleased with the experience. We costed out
hiring a skipper and crew to do it and found that Dockwise was a few
percentage points higher than our estimate, so we elected to forego the risk
of mechanical breakdown, etc., and went with Dockwise.
REPLY
Are we talking much less than 10% difference?
Arild
Arild Jensen
The Electronic Navigator
I don't remember exactly but I think it was less than 5%. That involved
some assumptions about the length of the trip and the resulting expenses,
including some assumptions about the number of lay days before transiting
the canal. As always assumptions can affect estimates in either direction.
One large consideration for us was the fact that the boat was new to us and
we didn't know what to expect from the mechanical systems. In retrospect,
it would have been awkward to discover some of the mechanical difficulties
on long passages that we later discovered in port and close to mechanical
support.
Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: Arild Jensen [mailto:elnav@uniserve.com]
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2001 6:57 PM
To: Jeff Patton
Cc: trawler-world-list@samurai.com
Subject: Re: TWL: Atlantic Crossing
At 01:34 PM 12/17/2001 -0800, Jeff Patton wrote:
We used Dockwise to bring Perseverance around from Ft. Lauderdale to the
pacific northwest and were quite pleased with the experience. We costed
out
hiring a skipper and crew to do it and found that Dockwise was a few
percentage points higher than our estimate, so we elected to forego the
risk
of mechanical breakdown, etc., and went with Dockwise.
REPLY
Are we talking much less than 10% difference?
Arild
Arild Jensen
The Electronic Navigator
At 08:38 AM 12/18/2001 -0800, Jeff Patton wrote:
I don't remember exactly but I think it was less than 5%. That involved
some assumptions about the length of the trip and the resulting expenses,
<< snip>>
One large consideration for us was the fact that the boat was new to us and
we didn't know what to expect from the mechanical systems.
REPLY
Jeff, I think you have just provided very good support for the notion of
using a coastal cruiser to cruise overseas.
Lets face it, most of us spend 90% of the time cruising in coastal waters
within 50 miles of shore.
I have a friend who dreams of exploring the world; but the wife hates
being at sea; can rarely be talked into a day trip and doesn't much enjoy
living aboard full time.
A coastal cruiser will hafve many more amenities that would satisfy her
need for comfort etc.
So far the objection has been that a coatal cruiser cannot cross the
Atlantic on its own bottom.
My counter-argument is you don't have to. Ship it, then fly over and
rejoin the husband for some interesting coastal trips.
However, until now I never had any hard cost data to support that argument.
Thanks
Arild
Arild Jensen
The Electronic Navigator
I agree. My wife gets carsick on the way to the mall, but we'd both love to
explore the Caribbean islands some day. However, the trip from Seattle down
the Pacific coast is probably going to be a non-starter. We've talked about
saving our pennies and shipping the boat back to Ft. Lauderdale, then
working our way down the islands. I think if I lived on the East coast I'd
be strongly tempted to try the Med. some day, and there are even yacht
transports heading to the far east. It can sure expand the horizons of
one's dreams, eh?
I'll grab a few photos of our Dockwise trip off the boat computer this
weekend and post them on a website for people to view.
Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: Arild Jensen [mailto:elnav@uniserve.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2001 6:37 PM
To: Jeff Patton
Cc: trawler-world-list@samurai.com
Subject: Trans ocean transport ( was: Atlantic Crossing)
At 08:38 AM 12/18/2001 -0800, Jeff Patton wrote:
I don't remember exactly but I think it was less than 5%. That involved
some assumptions about the length of the trip and the resulting expenses,
<< snip>>
One large consideration for us was the fact that the boat was new to us and
we didn't know what to expect from the mechanical systems.
REPLY
Jeff, I think you have just provided very good support for the notion of
using a coastal cruiser to cruise overseas.
Lets face it, most of us spend 90% of the time cruising in coastal waters
within 50 miles of shore.
I have a friend who dreams of exploring the world; but the wife hates
being at sea; can rarely be talked into a day trip and doesn't much enjoy
living aboard full time.
A coastal cruiser will hafve many more amenities that would satisfy her
need for comfort etc.
So far the objection has been that a coatal cruiser cannot cross the
Atlantic on its own bottom.
My counter-argument is you don't have to. Ship it, then fly over and
rejoin the husband for some interesting coastal trips.
However, until now I never had any hard cost data to support that
argument.
Thanks
Arild
Arild Jensen
The Electronic Navigator