# Container Boat- Far Harbor 39



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Thought those of you who have not seen this might be interested. These guys pulled into the marina today in their 7.5' wide 39 foot Perry designed boat that is designed to fit inside a shipping container so you can truck it or ship it anywhere in the world you want to sail...without having to cross an ocean. I was invited aboard for a tour and I must say that I was most impressed with the concept AND the execution. It has an inside steering station and wheel with a cockpit tiller so you can stay protected or get out and sail. 
This is a weird looking boat to anyone with a traditional sense of proportion...but it sails well, motors well and the interior is perfect for two. Maybe two guests would be ok for a few days. But this is couples boat.The idea of paying $7500 and having your boat in Greece or Aussie land in a couple of weeks and cruising for as long as you like has a lot of appeal. At $250k sailaway price, I don't think it is unreasonable either. What do you all think of the idea? By the way...the boat and people on the web link are the boat and folks at our dock. Impressive sailors! 
CONTAINER YACHTS


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

That is really cool! You would never believe it only has a 7.5 foot beam from the side picture. 39 feet X 7.5. Is it rolly?

I like the looks.

If I had the money I might like something like that.

Cam, could you put wheels on the container and tow it behind an RV?


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## J36ZT (May 18, 2008)

I especially like the idea of having a "pilothouse" below deck...

Seems to be a good concept, boat in a box, ship it where you want it. Mind you, it's not for me, but I can see where it'll find a good market place.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Yeah, it's a cool thing isn't it ? Clever bloke that Perry. With a bit of practice he could go far.


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## RickQuann (May 27, 2005)

I saw this boat at the Annapolis Boat Show several years ago and remember being impressed. Unusual for sure, but the boat fulfills a niche. 
Bet she goes to weather well.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The only caveat is that the mast and keel need to be removed from the boat for it to fit into a container. You need to have a good boatyard at each end to reassemble the thing.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

You know, I'm going to be the naysayer I guess.

There are a lot of things that could be said about the proportions of the vessel and rig, particularly the limited mast height due to container length. 

But setting all that aside, when I first read about this concept, my initial thought was "Why not charter?" For the shipping costs alone, not to mention the capital costs, you could enjoy fine yachts all over the world from respected charter fleets. Without any of the normal aggravations associated with ownership, not to mention the increased hassle of commissioning/packing/unpacking/recommissioning the boat in foreign parts.

And if you're a cruiser/live-aboard, what do you do while your boat is in transit? Plus, the air fare costs.

I give credit to the designer for fulfilling the design brief, apparently quite well. And I'm sure there are a few sailors out there whom this concept will appeal to. But I do not foresee large volume production or great commercial success. Here's hoping I'm wrong!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

First saw the idea about a year ago in Sailing Magazine.
To me the boat looks good in profile, but in plan I don't care for her.
Than again, I don't understand the concept. I have my hands full with sailing on the lakes let alone the Med or Down Under. Not my niche, but evidentaly there are people out there that fill the bill.


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## mstern (May 26, 2002)

I was on one of the first container yacht hulls at a boat show two or three years ago, and was impressed with the practicality of the design, if not its looks. The owner of this particular hull had multiplied the oddness factor even more by having two small fish fighting chairs installed aft of the cockpit. To me, the hull looks like the box the boat came in. 

Its definitely a small niche market. My guess is that those who can afford to ship a boat all over the world and cruise long enough to make it worthwhile can afford and would want a bigger, more comfortable boat than this. Those who can't quite afford that are probably better served by having a boat at home that isn't hampered by the design compromises necessary to make the boat fit in a container, and by chartering in remote locations. Oh well, as we all know, choosing a boat is rarely a rational decision.

As an aside, at the boat show were I saw the container yacht, one of the bigger Hylas yachts was moored nearby, and Dick Hylas was aboard. I asked him what he thought of his neighbor, and he said something to the effect "I like Bob Perry, but I don't know what he was thinking when he designed that..."


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

I understand it but, I don't get it. A canoe with sails and a wheel. I guess if MacGregor's sell this boat has a chance.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

I wonder what it costs in fuel and time and breakage/repairs for a passage from the US to say Greece. My guess is that $7500 bucks might be low. No doubt this is a niche market...but $7500 to be in a position to cruise all of Europe, or the Great Lakes, or the Pacific Northwest, or the Caribe or Australia/New Zealand, or the Chilean fjords for as long as you care to sounds pretty attractive...especially if you can only cruise for a few months a year and need/want to be home for the major portion of the year. The cost of 2 WEEKS on a moorings charter in the BVI is $6k on a 37 foot conventional Beneteau. I don't think that chartering makes much sense even factoring in the opportunity cost of the investment of $250k in a high quality vessel.
Anyway...indeed a small niche, but perhaps just attractive enough to a few people each year to make a go of it for this company. I thought of another niche...those who want a boat but change jobs and move often. How many times do we see folks needing to sell or move their boats due to a job transfer? Problem solved. 
The company actualy runs a service where you call them and they take care of all the arrangements for breaking down, shipping and putting the boat back together wherever you want to go. 
Despite the looks...the boat does indeed sail quite well in fairly rugged conditions. They placed 7th in the Miami to Key West race. The long waterline makes it quick under motor as well...keeping up with most 45 footers. 
I really like it a lot more in person than I tought I would when I saw the pictures a year or two ago. It makes you think about other possibilities and really breaks new ground which can only be good.


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## CGMojo (Jul 6, 2007)

*Total Cost*

I'll bet $7500 is the cost of shipping the container across the Atlantic. Don't forget to add the yard costs involved with unstepping the mast and removing the keel prior to boxing the thing up, and the yard costs involved with putting it back together. I just spent about $2K on each end of cross country shipment of a 36' sloop.
As far as what to do while your yacht-in-a-box is in shipment, you could probably ride the same ship as your box. Not a luxury cruise, but far better rates.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

This is not Bob Perry's first 'container' boat. The flying tiger and tiger cub are both container boats, but for different reasons (build cheap in china, ship to OD races worldwide, etc).

btw, for those of you who don't know Perry's resume..

CT54, CT56 CT48 and CT65
Tayana 37, 48 and 52
Valiant 32, 40, 42, 47, 50
ESPIRIT 37
Nordic 44, 46RS. 40, 34
Norseman 447
Lafitte 44 and 66
Cheoy Lee 35, 44, 48, 42LRMS
Islander 26, 28, 34, 32
Freeport 36
Baba 30, 35 and 40
Tashiba 31, 36 and 40
Passport 37, 40, 41, 44, 47, 50
Tatoosh 42, 51
Saga 48, 43, 35
Mirage 27, 30, 32, 35

to name a few...

What I'm actually more interested in is his upcoming project with Pacific Seacraft...  In his words "This is a 38'er that will be my best shot at the ultimate offshore cruiser for a couple."

Hmn, start saving yer pennies...


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

CGMojo said:


> I'll bet $7500 is the cost of shipping the container across the Atlantic.


Nope...that is what the site quotes as the average cost for both sides of the assembly AND the shipment. About a grand on each side for the work and average $5k in shipping fees.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

Only thing i can say is having been in other narrow boats i dont feel the pictures show the true nature of how narrow the interior of the boat is


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

tenuki said:


> What I'm actually more interested in is his upcoming project with Pacific Seacraft...  In his words "This is a 38'er that will be my best shot at the ultimate offshore cruiser for a couple."
> 
> Hmn, start saving yer pennies...


Unless it's been revived, my understanding is that project died with the bankruptcy (I'm not sure he even got paid for the substantial work he did).

As far as I know, the new PSC company is not contemplating building Perry's design.

However, it's possible my info is dated.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

tenuki said:


> This is not Bob Perry's first 'container' boat. The flying tiger and tiger cub are both container boats, but for different reasons (build cheap in china, ship to OD races worldwide, etc).
> 
> btw, for those of you who don't know Perry's resume..
> 
> ...


There you go then. It was only yesterday that I predicted he had a great future in front of him and look what he's already achieved. 

For those of you who havn't seen it , BP's book is a ripper.

I still think it's a cool design but it is only what it is. Probability is that the meltdown will render the project dead and buried and I for one have no desire to ship my boat around the world in a box but it was an interesting idea.

We all need to remember that designers most often design for the client, not necessarily for themselves.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

So sad, I hope you are wrong. Looks like the Dana 24 molds weren't bought either from what I can tell, that might be an even sadder state of affairs.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

Agreed tdw - the flying tigers are a much better reason to use containers IMO, already 91 hulls delivered in little over a year so the market would seem to agree.


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

I yakked with Bob over a beer about this boat, interesting concept but not my cuppa tea. The CA 36 that was designed over on SA is more my speed, that or the 46 we're currently bandying about.


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## baboon (Aug 7, 2008)

I think this might be a good boat for a retired couple who could spend a month or 3 at locations all over the world. The shipping costs start to factor out ok the longer you spend in one location, especially compared to chartering. You end up with a well made craft with no learning curve and the equipment you want ready to go. My biggest concerne would be damage. Sliding that hull in and out of unforgiving metal containers on inflatable rollers seems iffy. One slip, one time, and suddenly your expensive new boat needs a month in some foreign yard for repairs. Most workers doing this have probably never done it before as it is a pretty rare bird. Shippers are also notoriously carless with our stuff, with damaged goods being very common overall.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

tenuki said:


> So sad, I hope you are wrong. Looks like the Dana 24 molds weren't bought either from what I can tell, that might be an even sadder state of affairs.


Tenuki,

The Dana 24 moulds are up in the PacNW with Seacraft Yacht Sales. They are working on completing their first new Dana.

However, it would not surprise me if at some point the Dana gets reunited with the rest of Pacific SeaCraft in North Carolina.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

CharlieCobra said:


> I yakked with Bob over a beer about this boat, interesting concept but not my cuppa tea. The CA 36 that was designed over on SA is more my speed, that or the 46 we're currently bandying about.


Yea Verily CC, yea verily indeed. The 46 is coming along nicely. I'd do some things differently but who wouldn't. I could live with either of them but I do like the look of the 46. If you've seen my thread on mainsail sheet here, you know where it came from. 

How's the Joy Boat coming.....on hold till spring or are you getting some work done?


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I saw it at this years boat show, it just looked weird - way too skinny. Fills it's niche, but not for me.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It's only half a boat anyways... right???


chucklesR said:


> I saw it at this years boat show, it just looked weird - way too skinny. Fills it's niche, but not for me.


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

tdw said:


> Yea Verily CC, yea verily indeed. The 46 is coming along nicely. I'd do some things differently but who wouldn't. I could live with either of them but I do like the look of the 46. If you've seen my thread on mainsail sheet here, you know where it came from.
> 
> How's the Joy Boat coming.....on hold till spring or are you getting some work done?


Slowly, what with the limited time I've had to work on her. I need to pull the sticks and tent her so I can pull the decks and cockpit. I had two partial ribs I had to cut out and wanna get to the hull under the cockpit without obstructions to verify it's solidity. All of the planks are good, even below the bad rib areas. I'll end up drilling holes in ash strips for the plank fasteners and rebuilding laminate ribs. I'll fill the holes with epoxy when the new ribs are finished to lock the old plank fasteners in. I don't see any issues with flex or alignment because the planks are locked in by the C-Flex hull shell.

Once I have the cockpit out, I'll pull the Perkins, rebuild it and throw it back in. I can then reset the cockpit, new decks and button everything back up and KNOW she's solid below to the keel. All in all, good fun.


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## kaluvic (Jan 14, 2009)

I think it’s a clever idea and would be a fun design project.
Its not for me...I like more traditional proportions, but I think there is definitely a market for it.
I think the estimation of $7,500 to ship a 40ft container is way over the top. 
4 months ago I shipped a 40ft HIGH CUBE container from Fl. to Yemen for less than $5,500.
Shipping these days is way down compared to then.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

kaluvic...you are correct...the $7.5k includes the boatyard work to haul the boat, remove the mast and keel and load into the container at both ends of the trip.


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## kaluvic (Jan 14, 2009)

Yeh...that sounds better.

I can see the attraction to sailing your own boat in these far away places.

I've never been a fan of bare boat charter, I need to know my boats systems, capabilities, characteristics before I put my family on board and set out to sea.

Could just be that I'm a slow learner!


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