European Tug Adventure

[TexasEye]

Has anyone shipped a RT to Europe

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

TexasEye: We have not but cruising thru Ft Lauderdale Florida we've seen many boats being loaded up for an Ocean crossing, at the Port Everglades Shipping Terminals. This may be a good place to research for transport ships, costs, etc. but it would be nice to get a response from someone who has done this.

Jim F

 

[TexasEye]

I've requested a quote last night, hope it's in soon and I'll share.

We want to spend about a year in Europe on the boat...

 

[Cmjansen]

We’re in Holland on vacation presently and the canals are wonderful. Many can handle larger sailboats so a Ranger should not be an issue. I’d be curious on the cost to transport a tug to Europe.

 

[baz]

When posting cost please indicate

1) Shipping company used; name and a phone number

2) Shipping preparation cost (e.g., was fuel tank required to be emptied) and what was required to make boat safe for transporting

3) Name of Ports: From & To

4) One-way trip cost & Round-way trip cost

5) Was ground trip required and its cost from EU Port to some land-based EU location included ?

6) Any special insurance required ?

7) US has 110v and EU has 240v so how was boat modified to deal with this aspect ?

Thank you very much for providing this information. 🙂

 

[TexasEye]

I'm looking at a Roll on Roll Off. This means the trailer and boat are shipped together.

The least expensive way is to get a multi input voltage battery charger and use it to charge the boats batteries while using an inverter on board to continue to make 120 volt 60 Hz power as needed. This allows you to keep batteries charged and use appliances on board as needed. It works best for small power demands; if your boat has three air conditioners and a washer dryer this is not going to work so well.
The next way is to get a transformer to convert the voltage. The snag with this is that transformers are big and heavy and expensive and won't convert the frequency. A transformer for a 30 Amp 120 volt service will cost about $600 and one for a 50 Amp 12/240 volt service will cost around $1750. The frequency may not matter for many pieces of equipment but for some it could cause overheating or other problems. If you have a new boat under construction you can specify dual frequency motors for air conditioners and refrigeration and avoid this problem.
US boats going permanently to Europe will be required to comply with CE requirements. What this means in practice appears to depend on who is doing the certifying. If the boat is to be rewired at least it should be possible to keep most of the existing wires as they will be adequately sized to support the lower currents and higher voltage.

 

[TexasEye]

Shipping method: RoRo
Ship from: Jacksonville, FL
Ship to: Le Havre, France
2008 Ranger Tug 25 Classic on Trailer (Operable)


Quote Details
Ocean Shipping
$2,500.00
AES costs
$50.00
FedEx
$75.00
Total Rate:
$2,625.00

 

[ALICE J]

Several years ago PDQ sponsored a trip to Europe and were able to get a large discount for the eleven 34ft PDQ's to Norway, the trip took them across Scandinavia, to Germany, Holland, France and back to the US. Perhaps the Factory may want to get involved if enough interest were shown?

 

[TexasEye]

Good Idea. I was surprised at the cost of shipping. Obviously there are other charges at Port which have to be investigates.

 

[ALICE J]

Here's the Soundings article on venture https://www.soundingsonline.com/news/pd ... candinavia Sorry I got the number of vessels incorrect 😳

 

[scross]

Wow, $2,650 each way seems like a good deal since nice chartering a bareboat 30 ft motoryacht is running $2,500 to $3,000 USD per WEEK in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea areas.
Im sure there’s some logistics hassle of getting it shipped and also figuring out how to tow the trailer around once you get boat+trailer to France to overcome but for anything longer than a month that sounds like a great way to explore a lot of Europe.
I’m envious!

 

[TexasEye]

I'm in the infant planning stage. My plans now are ship in April and join the boat in May. I want to tour for a year but it depends on the Commander in Chief and her Job (I'm a kept man).

As we get more realistic towards the adventure I'll share the planning and invite advise or criticism...

Do you Ocean folks think the RT25 would take a well planned Channel Crossing??? Who knows maybe we'll do the May 26 2020 Dunkirk Evacuation 80th anniversary...

We looked at buying a canal boat and doing the tour but I think using the Tug will be better since I'm getting used to her and she will be a rare site on the Seine.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

You mean the channel between England and France? having sailed it a few times its just all about the weather. last time we motored both ways in dead calm.

 

[baz]

This will be an interesting thread to monitor. If you have the time a blog detailing your overseas adventure would be awesome reading IMO. Doing this has to be unique compared to the many other adventures posted here.

Crossing the English Channel should be done with care. The shortest distance is around 22 miles and the channel is heavily travelled with all sorts of boats..... and be careful dealing with unwanted immigrants that may want to board your boat for the crossing. I would contact the British port authorities about the issues you might be faced with.

 

[TexasEye]

This will be an interesting thread to monitor. If you have the time a blog detailing your overseas adventure would be awesome reading IMO. Doing this has to be unique compared to the many other adventures posted here.

Crossing the English Channel should be done with care. The shortest distance is around 22 miles and the channel is heavily travelled with all sorts of boats..... and be careful dealing with unwanted immigrants that may want to board your boat for the crossing. I would contact the British port authorities about the issues you might be faced with.

I have a British Navy friend who should know small craft folks. The BLOG LOG is a sure thing. Being trailer able the RT25 offers lot's of options in Europe. If we get tired of the Seine we can call for the trailer and jump off to the Rhine or Danube...Have to make the Adventure HUGE!

 

[CaspersCruiser]

You’re planning a trip I’d love to make. My work has taken me many times to Cologne, Germany. Our layover hotel is right on the Rhine. The current on that water, at least in the Cologne environs, is WICKED. It would be slow going upstream. If you’re planning to cruise the Rhine, I suggest trailering up and cruising down. Here are some photos from an afternoon “castle cruise” on the Rhine from Rudesheim to Koblenz. There are lots of castles on the route. Every one has been destroyed and rebuilt in wars over the centuries. We were on a Koln-Düsseldorfer (K-D) boat similar to the one in the picture below.

Here’s a air view I took last summer of a river I’d like to cruise— the Danube in Austria:

 

[TexasEye]

I worked in Cologne too. Bonn/Cologne that is...Was stationed in Heidelberg, Loved it, yep, down river is an absolute as 3 to 4 (maybe) MPH going UP would be BOARING.

Depends on how long we can manage the Holiday/Sabbatical...Like I said I'm a kept man living off a much younger wife...

Those are some beautiful pictures of HOME for 3 years...