Transportation of a spar

[JimConlin]

I'm looking for a reliable but reasonably-priced way to get a 44-foot 130 lb. spar transported from Bath, ME to Wellesley, MA.

[sawcutmill]

Speak to Jim Elk in Bar Harbor, Me.
He is a friend of mine, as well as a premier Spar builder,NY50 "Spartan"s comes to mind, he might have the perfect solution for you, give him a call.
Stephen

[sawcutmill]

BTW, He advertises in WB.Classifieds.

[Concordia...41]

I was just listening to the story of a carbon fiber stick that went through a second story window and broke into three pieces when the driver pulled in some place for a sandwich, so you probably don't want my advice.... :rolleyes:

[skuthorp]

OOOOh!! Ouch!! Insured I hope?

[boylesboats]

44 feet long :eek: wow.....

Only suggestion that I could offer is, plan a trip without going around corners ..
At 130 lb ain't too bad as it sound.. Maybe a few hands will lift it around the corners downtown...

Have an escort in front and rear of you.. String out some RED blinky lights.. Yeah, I know it a silly thought.. But I am trying to get real here too..
An idea after seeing a local handyman haulin' long pipes on his standard size pickup
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/boylesboats/Haulin44footspar.jpg

[Thad]

I just drove from Mystic to Marblehead with a 40' stick with pretty much the above setup. No problem.

[hikingchrs]

I tow 40' to 55' "masts" all the time, ok telephone poles, would it be practical to tow a mast like this... with a set of wheels lashed just back of the ballance point, and hitch lashed to the end.
Chris

[Paul Scheuer]

My best shot was 32 feet. I towed an empty trailer behind to keep the rear overhang clear and legal.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn278/PaulScheuer/MastTransport02.jpg

[Concordia...41]

I vote for Paul's idea (with a bit longer trailer, which I'm sure you have).

I know I wasn't going to help any, but you surely couldn't take out any second floor windows with it strapped to the top of your truck. :D Oh wait, I wasn't going to help any...

[Dale Genther]

When we had to moves our prevoius boat's mast (55 ft. long) we borrowed one of the trailers from a local college that they use for for the college's eight (I think) person rowing shells. Those things are pretty long.

[ChrisBen]

If you're planing on doing it yourself as in Larry's method above, lay the mast on a 40 extension ladder to distribute the load.

[JimConlin]

I am entirely risk-averse in this. There's too much invested in that thing. The trip is 150 miles, so it's gotta be legal.

The rowing-boat trailer approach was/is my first choice. (an eight is about 60' long, my mainmast is about the size & weight of a four and the mizzen ... a single.).)

[paladin]

Look around for a "Pole trailer" used to move long sections of pipe....can be towed behind a normal vehicle with the proper ball or pintle hitch.....electrical companies usually have them.....or use the method above....

[Thorne]

We've moved telephone poles on small truck racks by getting some reliable folks to follow in chase/escort vehicles to keep the punters from spearing themselves -- works for short trips but expensive for long ones.

[Steveh]

I transported my 55’ mast on a spar trailer, perfect for the job. First eye opener was when I turned right slightly leaving the boat yard and the mast which I could see sticking way out in front veered left at an alarming speed and took out the stormwater downpipe off the boat shed. Roundabouts en-route also got the scything action. Thankfully the mast at the front end was high off the road but certainly was carving a large arc.

This trailer telescoped out for full length, very handy.

I’m also impressed with Paul’s answer by towing a trailer to get past length legalities, very clever. 30 odd feet is about as long as you can go with roof rack method.

Will also need to transport a similar length spar (9.5m) to home for shaping up. And then a 11.8m mast but this may be coming by truck.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

My best shot was 32 feet. I towed an empty trailer behind to keep the rear overhang clear and legal.

Yep, I've used the same method satisfactorily too. Just a 6' x 4' trailer, to protect the overhang --

http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/public/mast-on-car.jpg

You can't really see it in this picture, but there's another support bolted to the tow-ball as well. Here it is in action, shipping Skuthorp's Felicitié across to Goolwa a few years ago --

http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/public/tow-bar-prop.jpg

(And yes, they're both Mazdas; although I'm driving a Merc these days....)

Mike

[Hwoodworks]

Could you sail it there? I mean on the water. You would have to build a boat first, or use another boat.

[rbgarr]

Bowdoin College in Brunswick or The Hyde School in Bath have rowing teams and may be able to get your mast to Boston area (for a donation) if they go to regattas there this spring. Is your mast being made by Custom Composites? If so, they are good folks.

If those ideas don't pan out, e-mail me again and I may have an alternate idea.