Once upon a time there was a retired fisherman. He had the dream of building his ideal fishing trawler with woodwork to die for. His design was based on a classic Monk design. He set upon his task deep in the redwood forests of northern California. 5 years and many cups of coffee later, the craft was beautiful, finished, and ready for launch. Time to call San Diego Boat Movers.
It was only a 5 mile move from the build site to a launch ramp in Fort Bragg, but at 50 feet long, 17 feet 10 inches tall, with a beam of 16+ feet and a displacement of 73,000 pounds, this was no walk in the park. The move required various permits, 3 CHP officers, moving of utility lines, and the trimming of numerous trees lining the exit road from the build site.
After a 4:30am start, things went mostly to plan, without the need for any more tree cutting, or butter to get around some of the tighter corners. In a few hours Maverick had been transferred from her highway trailer to wet launch dollies, and was sitting pretty at the ramp, waiting….. for the tide. You see, at 73,000 pounds, she needs some room to float, and the move had to be timed with a full moon high tide. So it wasn’t until after 9pm that evening that, with the help of a 4-axle large vehicle wrecker (hired locally), and custom built/configured dollies (by SDBM) she slipped quietly into the waters. Happy client, and happy Leland. Check out the pictures to get a better feel for it.
NOTE: Wet launching of vessels this size is highly unusual. But SDBM enjoys(?) the challenge, and is one of the few companies offering this service for both launch and retrieval of large vessels.
