Cargo cult
| 16 March 2012 | Posted by Alex from Lagoon under Technical world |
In 2011, 85% of our boats were sent to countries other than France. Most of the times, these boats make the trip on their own bottom with crews by “normal navigation”, but they can also be sent by ship. This article will explain the different stages of cargo ship transportation of a Lagoon catamaran.
There are different stages for cargo ship delivery of a Lagoon catamaran:
- The preparation of the boat for shipping
- The boat delivery to the port of loading,
- The loading, transportation and unloading of the boat,
- The preparation for delivery of the boat,
- The delivery to the customer.
The boats are prepared so that nothing can move on board and that all elements are identified to have make delivery easier. For the Lagoon 450 and smaller, the masts are transported separately. For the Lagoon 500 and longer, the masts are in two parts (for aluminum spars) and sleeved before rigging, so that they are transported on the catamaran itself with specific cradles. The rest of the rig is labeled and placed around the mast (strong part of the boat) as it is quite heavy (more than a half ton for a Lagoon 620).
Commissioning of a Lagoon 620 for cargo ship.
The boat delivery to the port of loading is thus typically made by motoring. The favourite ports for the Lagoon catamarans are: Zeebrugge (for Asia), Antwerp, Rotterdam, Southampton (for North America), Le Havre. The shipping price depends on several factors: the distance traveled, the size and weight of the boat, its value and the frequency of the freight line. It is therefore difficult to give specific prices but here is an approximation: the freight for a Lagoon 560 from Europe to the Caribbean costs around 60 000 – 70 000 €, that of a Lagoon 450 from Europe to India around 50 000 – 60 000 € and that of a Lagoon 400 from Europe to the United States about 30 000 – 40 000 €.
Concerning the loading, there are two main types of ships available: cargo ships for which the boat has to be dismasted and others on which the boat can stay masted. We use ships requiring dismasting most of the time because the frequency of trips and travel opportunities are better with these. In this case, the loading is done by crane and we have created cradles that will fit on 40’ containers. This makes it easier to store boats on the freighter. For masted transportation, loading is impressive in terms of ease since the freighter uses water ballasts to literally “sink” to the boats level, allowing them to get on board as in a marina!
Lagoon 620 in the cargo holds.
Lagoon 400 on containers to Hong Kong.
When the ship reaches its destination, it then becomes a conventional preparation and delivery of the boat as we do it in France. There still are some surprises sometimes regarding the facilities available for the different preparation procedures such as masting!
Lagoon 560 arrived in Mumbai commercial harbor.
In India, every people help to prepare the Lagoon 620 rig.
To make a long story short, anywhere you are in the world, your Lagoon can be sent to you, but cruising in Europe is great!
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Miguel Queiroz
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Alex and the Lagoon Inside Team
