1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
"We're getting on fine with it, and it requires very little maintenance.
Page 41
Page 42
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
All we need to do is inspect and grease it every six weeks."
John Shepherd
act in the early eighties, John Shepherd answered an advertisement placed by Glasgow boat dealership Euroyachts. It wanted a truck driver who could drive a boat transporter. He enjoyed the work so much that he decided to set up his own haulage company specialising in it.
Almost 20 years later, based near Kilmarnock, he's still transporting boats from ore end of the UK to the other, and makes regular trips over to the Continent.
"Over the years I've been to Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden, among other destinations," he recalls.
Euroyachts is still one of his customers, and he frequently goes over to France on its behalf to collect new yachts built by Jeanneau at Les Herbiers, not far from Nantes.
Boat trailers are pretty specialised kit and in the past Shepherd has bought second-hand trailers and converted them to meet his requirements. This time around he asked Dennison to construct one from scratch to his exact specifications.
"I knew that they would build precisely what I wanted," he says.
The development work took 12 months and the stepframe extendible trailer was finished early last spring, Shepherd is pleased with the result.
"It's everything I required and more, and I'm delighted with the build quality," he enthuses. "It can carry every configuration of vessel we haul, and to date we've encountered no operational problems.
"We're getting on fine with it, and it requires very little maintenance. All we need to do is inspect and grease it every six weeks."
Made from welded steel, Shepherd's latest acquisition has been designed with cross-members welded to the bottom of the main beams rather than the top. This means boats with deep keels can ride as close to the road surface as possible, supported by outriggers. Ground clearance is a mere 330mm, and brake valves and ancillary equipment have been kept out of the area within the chassis frame.
Keeping the overall height and centre of gravity as low as possible are key considerations when transporting this type of cargo, and cranked axle beams specially commissioned from Arvin Mentor have been of major help. The 13.3m trailer extends by a further 2.6rn at the neck so that longer vessels can be accommodated.
Extending box sections
Two fabricated box sections have been added to the rear section of the trailer frame, outside the main beams. Two more sections connected to the front are fitted into them, and this allows the trailer to be extended. It's lengthened in the same way as a Dennison sliding bogie skeletal. Air-operated locking cylinders locate lock pins through lock bosses in the fabricated box sections. To operate them, the driver applies the brakes by removing the emergency coupling from the front of the trailer Then he connects the coupling to an additional fitting supplying air pressure to the lock cylinders. When the look pins retract, the driver drives forwards, and the trailer is extended.
"We can carry a 45ft motor yacht or a 50ft sailing yacht without any trouble," says Shepherd. "They're lifted on and off by crane." The mast is transported beneath the boat.
Twenty-tonne vessels
Shepherd also moves small fishing vessels too. 'A big boat usually weighs 12 to 14 tonnes, but we can move vessels weighing up to 20 tonnes," he says. "The trailer itself weighs about nine tonnes."
He runs two 6x2 360hp Scania tractive units. a 4 Series 124 and a 3 Series 113. One is plated at 38 tonnes, the other at 31 tonnes.
Fuel consumption is usually around 9.09.5mpg.
'We do a lot of empty running, and a lot of motorway trips," he says. "The one truck covers around 125,000km annually, while the other covers around 85,000km."
Shepherd aims to change his tractors once every six years--"when I can afford to do so"—but the Dennison trailer is likel to stay in service rather longer. "I think i will be good for 20 or 30 years," he says March to June is his busiest time— "we're booked up three weeks advance"—and despite worries over th( war in Afghanistan and the possibl( future state of the economy, there's n( indication that customers are ceasing ti buy yachts, he's happy to report.
He usually uses the Poole/Cherboun ferry to get across to France. The Ion ground clearance is rarely a problen when embarking or disembarking, hi says, and he can always raise the trailer'l air suspension if it becomes a difficult}
Private escort service
A second man in the cab and a polici escort are required for some of the boat he moves, and Shepherd would like to se( a wholesale switch to private escorts.
"We escort our own loads in Franc( without any trouble, and I'd like to see thi same situation over here," he says. "It's change that many hauliers transportin boats and caravans would support."
He'd still rather move yachts thai trailer-loads of frozen chickens or bake( beans, however, and he's one of only ; handful of hauliers in Scotland that cal offer this service.
"With a boat, if you're running a bit lati you can ring the marina and let then know, and generally it's not a difficulty," hi says. "We get problems with cranes, o with the weather, but there's none of thi waiting for hours on end to be unloaded "And you don't have lots of pieopli telling you what to do."