CONTINUOUSWAVE

Dear Fellow Whaler Enthusiasts,

I am hoping to fit the hull of my 170 Montauk into a shipping container along with other household goods when I move back to the States this summer from the United Arab Emirates.

I am shipping only the hull without the engine because the engine is not EPA approved - US customs wont allow the engine to be imported. I would also leave the trailer behind because the VIN is not very legible and I am worried US customs would reject it, too.

To best fit the hull into the container, I am thinking about removing the rails and the center console. I would then pack the hull into the rear of the container, into either the top or bottom half - securing it with ratchet straps. I would also build a cradle/shelf of sorts to allow for packing boxes and other items to sit above or below the hull. It would look like a simplified version of contraption seen in this image:


Do you have any advice about (1) fitting/securing the boat into the container; (2) building a cradle; (3) removing the engine, console or rails; or (4) importing the hull to the States?

I look forward to any advice you might have,

Kirk

KIRK--in case you have not seen CETACEA PAGE 75 already, here is a link:

Crossing Oceans: The Pacific
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/cetaceaPage75.html

You might get some ideas from the method of transporting via container of a Boston Whaler boat as described there.

Shipping containers suffer a lot of abuse. I would ensure all blocking and straps are robust enough to withstand all the handling you may observe while containers are handled at a port as well as the rolling forces encountered during a long voyage. I would also buy insurance coverage for the trip. Damage claims against maritime carriers are often unsuccessful.

To support an insurance claim a lot of before loading and shipping photographs could be useful.

I have moved a similar size boat stacked up but due to it size just left it on the OEM trailer as the width would just accommodate it in the container with the boat only being 6'4" wide.
Please keep that in mind as the original trailer will give excellent support. You could part below and build/have build a mezzanine level for other house hold goods.
I just had a MG sports car parked underneath and boat above and filled the rest up with household goods, did this twice once with container and once with moving truck/18 wheeler, with no damage to anything.
The move of the Whaler in the cetacea link was too wide for the container but your boat isn't so I think you could easily do what you talked about.

What is the maximum interior width of the container planned to be used for shipping?

Most boat trailers are close to the maximum width permitted without special permitting for highway travel, 8-feet 6-inches or 102-inches. The Boston Whaler website shows the 170 MONTAUK on a trailer where the wheel fenders are completely outside the hull, that is, the boat sits easily between the wheel fenders.

https://bostonwhaler-8c1e.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Boston-Whaler-170-Montauk-Gallery-9.jpg

Since the beam of a 170 MONTAUK is 6-feet 10-inches (82-inches) and the width of a fender is about 10-inches, it looks to me like the OEM trailer width shown with a 170 MONTAUK loaded on it will be at about 82 + 10 + 10 = 102-inches or 8-feet 6-inches.

The beam of the boat shown in the CETACEA Page 75 is also 8-feet 6-inches.

If the boat shown in CETACEA Page 75 had to be tilted because it was "too wide for the container", how would the OEM trailer of the same width be able to fit into a shipping container?

Standard ISO 40 foot shipping container dimensions:
- Container interior width: 7’8’’ (2.337 m)
- Container interior height: 7’10’’ (2.388 m)
- Container interior length: 39’5’’ (12.014 m)
- Container door width: 7’8’’ (2.337 m)
- Container door height: 7’6’’ (2.286 m)

Owning a 170 on a trailer, Jim is spot on, my boat on trailer width is very slightly smaller than 8 feet 6 inches.

OK my bad we had what I think was a 99" or 100" wide which would be 2" to narrow for the 170 Montauk apparently. Maybe take those plastic fenders off and it would fit in the than 40ft larger containers. (45', 48', 53') These larger ones are sometimes wider and used as semi-trailers.
Bottom line you must check with the shipping company to see what is available and you could even export box the whole boat and trailer combination.