[spn]

DJ has reappeared on AIS. Here's the last one for Halifax. Hopefully he will go back to reporting on sailwx now.

[rdsport323]

so, why the layover in Halifax? to refuel? or does BMW/MB/Audi have a VPC center here?

[Appropriate]

Besides refueling, I would have to guess it was dropping off some cars for a VPC center for Canadian buyers. I thought I read elsewhere that BMW drops the hammer on US dealers which sell to Canadians. I don't know exactly why, but this suggests to me that BMW's Canadian distribution scheme is seperate and distinct from their U.S. scheme.

I hadn't even thought the vessel might contain non-BMW cars. But I guess that's a possibility too huh?

[Appropriate]

Originally Posted by spn

I was able to capture a pic of DJ rounding McNabs Island and heading out of the harbor.

Look at the bold vertical strip (it is actually a ramp) on the side of DJ in the harbor pic and compare it to the other photo I found of him. They are the same ship.

So do you think that ramp folds out onto the dock, and then the top end of the ramp can be raised and lowered to different levels on the ship. That looks to me how it might work. That way, you load up one level in the boat, and then move the top of the ramp up a level and repeat. Of course, the ramp incline when loading the top levels of the boat would be very steep, but if you load the bottom levels first, the boat would be lower in the water by the time you got to the top levels, so this would help. Additionally, the ramp could be telescopic to lessen the angle when loading the upper levels.

They do drive the cars onto the boat right?

Fascinating.

[spn]

Originally Posted by rdsport323

so, why the layover in Halifax? to refuel? or does BMW/MB/Audi have a VPC center here?

While researching web cams yesterday, I saw that BMW has a VPC there. WW Lines has a dock there, too.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

Besides refueling, I would have to guess it was dropping off some cars for a VPC center for Canadian buyers. I thought I read elsewhere that BMW drops the hammer on US dealers which sell to Canadians. I don't know exactly why, but this suggests to me that BMW's Canadian distribution scheme is seperate and distinct from their U.S. scheme.

I hadn't even thought the vessel might contain non-BMW cars. But I guess that's a possibility too huh?

I can't remember the stops that DJ is making, but that will tell you which cars are onboard. These ships can carry between 5000-6000 cars. If he's stopping at San Diego, he will have Porsches and Volkswagens and a few misc small manufacturers onboard, as that is where their VPCs are located. If he stops in LA, that is where Mercedes Benz VPC is located (actually Carson), then of course, PH is where BMW's VPC is located (actually Oxnard) and maybe Saturn, too. . . I can't remember exactly.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

So do you think that ramp folds out onto the dock, and then the top end of the ramp can be raised and lowered to different levels on the ship. That looks to me how it might work. That way, you load up one level in the boat, and then move the top of the ramp up a level and repeat. Of course, the ramp incline when loading the top levels of the boat would be very steep, but if you load the bottom levels first, the boat would be lower in the water by the time you got to the top levels, so this would help. Additionally, the ramp could be telescopic to lessen the angle when loading the upper levels.

They do drive the cars onto the boat right?

Fascinating.

This web site goes up and down all the time, but is especially interesting. Take a quick look before it goes down again. (it's been down all week).

http://www.offworld.com/e46/images.html

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

So do you think that ramp folds out onto the dock, and then the top end of the ramp can be raised and lowered to different levels on the ship. That looks to me how it might work. That way, you load up one level in the boat, and then move the top of the ramp up a level and repeat. Of course, the ramp incline when loading the top levels of the boat would be very steep, but if you load the bottom levels first, the boat would be lower in the water by the time you got to the top levels, so this would help. Additionally, the ramp could be telescopic to lessen the angle when loading the upper levels.

They do drive the cars onto the boat right?

Fascinating.

I think you are right about that. That is a clever design. Although, I have only ever seen photos of cars coming out the lower smaller doors. Somewhere on DJ there will be a "small" door and ramp that is at dock level, or some ships have them in the back, and that is where I have seen them being driven off. On each level of the ship, they can also lower sections of the metal floor to make into a ramp to the level below. Another clever design. I think the idea you proposed above gives them more flexibility. I am not sure all vehicle-carrying ships have that design. Maybe??

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

So do you think that ramp folds out onto the dock, and then the top end of the ramp can be raised and lowered to different levels on the ship. That looks to me how it might work. That way, you load up one level in the boat, and then move the top of the ramp up a level and repeat. Of course, the ramp incline when loading the top levels of the boat would be very steep, but if you load the bottom levels first, the boat would be lower in the water by the time you got to the top levels, so this would help. Additionally, the ramp could be telescopic to lessen the angle when loading the upper levels.

They do drive the cars onto the boat right?

Fascinating.

I was just looking at that web site link and there is a photo that might show what you wrote about. Look at photo "Down the ramp 1." Do you think that is a flexible outer ramp??

[Appropriate]

Originally Posted by spn

This web site goes up and down all the time, but is especially interesting. Take a quick look before it goes down again. (it's been down all week).

http://www.offworld.com/e46/images.html

That page is awesome.

[Appropriate]

Originally Posted by spn

I was just looking at that web site link and there is a photo that might show what you wrote about. Look at photo "Down the ramp 1." Do you think that is a flexible outer ramp??

I don't think it operates like I thought it did. They probably have a spiral ramp inside the boat (or some other parking garage type ramp system). My design would provide a lot of extra space on each level (you would gain the floor space on each floor where any ramp system would be), but would also be more mechanically complex (the top of the ramp would have to slide up and down the outer edge of the boat). Plus, mechanically complex stuff doesn't fair too well at open sea (saltwater is nasty).

I'll have to take a look at the U.S. patent database and see what people have thought up.

But I also notice that the boat from the linked page is different than the modern ones we see, where it looks like the ramp folds up parallel to the overall side of the boat rather than at a skewed angle (which is actually useful because then you don't have to have a long distance clear on the side of the boat (the ramp runs closer to parallel with the boat)).

But the boat from the linked page also has what looks like the flat-side ramp, but the ramp in the unloading pictures doesn't look like the same one... it somes out a notch in the ship. Hmmm...

The short ceilings inside the boat would mean interior ramps wouldn't take up much room.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

I don't think it operates like I thought it did. They probably have a spiral ramp inside the boat (or some other parking garage type ramp system). My design would provide a lot of extra space on each level (you would gain the floor space on each floor where any ramp system would be), but would also be more mechanically complex (the top of the ramp would have to slide up and down the outer edge of the boat). Plus, mechanically complex stuff doesn't fair too well at open sea (saltwater is nasty).

I'll have to take a look at the U.S. patent database and see what people have thought up.

But I also notice that the boat from the linked page is different than the modern ones we see, where it looks like the ramp folds up parallel to the overall side of the boat rather than at a skewed angle (which is actually useful because then you don't have to have a long distance clear on the side of the boat (the ramp runs closer to parallel with the boat)).

But the boat from the linked page also has what looks like the flat-side ramp, but the ramp in the unloading pictures doesn't look like the same one... it somes out a notch in the ship. Hmmm...

The short ceilings inside the boat would mean interior ramps wouldn't take up much room.

Look at these photos and descriptions. Somehow they are watertight.

http://www.tug44.org/tugboats.trawlers/pegasus-highway/

[spn]

Here's a nice graphic:

http://www.nykroro.com/

More photos:

http://www.nykroro.com/2ndTier.htm

[Appropriate]

Neat pics....

Even though they are watertight, the saltwater air would still do a lot of damage to complicated mechanisms. It looks like there must be interior ramps between levels.

Very interesting that there are ramps on both sides of the boat and the back!

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

Neat pics....

Even though they are watertight, the saltwater air would still do a lot of damage to complicated mechanisms. It looks like there must be interior ramps between levels.

Very interesting that there are ramps on both sides of the boat and the back!

Those outer ramps seem like a diaster waiting to happen, but somehow they've figured it out.

You're lucky to have a ship that at least looks seaworthy. Hojin is a rusted mess.I just hope my car makes it to see land again someday.

[Appropriate]

LOL. I'll say a little prayer for it tonight.

So I just got an email from my saleswoman, and she noted that my car was set to arrive in Oxnard on 4/23 (NEWS FLASH! ) and thinks I'll probably have my car by the end of the month... since I'm in Denver, I'm pretty excited that she thinks less than a week to get my car off the boat, through the VPC, to Denver, and ready for delivery.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

LOL. I'll say a little prayer for it tonight.

So I just got an email from my saleswoman, and she noted that my car was set to arrive in Oxnard on 4/23 (NEWS FLASH! ) and thinks I'll probably have my car by the end of the month... since I'm in Denver, I'm pretty excited that she thinks less than a week to get my car off the boat, through the VPC, to Denver, and ready for delivery.

Well, at least she's being optimistic. They usually swing the other way in their predicitons and completey squash all your hopes of ever seeing your car in any foreseeable future. It's called "managing expectations," which drives me crazy.

The ship my first car was on (two years ago) arrived in the port of LA on a Friday morning. (They do unload the ships on the weekends, but the customs offices are closed, so the cars have to wait until Monday.) It went through customs first thing Monday morning then onto the VPC that same day. It was transferred to the trucking yard on Wednesday, loaded onto a truck, and the truck departed for Salt Lake City on Thursday morning. My car arrived at my dealership in Salt Lake City in the early morning hours on Friday morning, which was almost exactly one week from when the ship reached port. I was in touch with the trucking company, via email, all week, even before my car reached them. The truck driver drove all night Thursday night and delivered my car at the dealership in the the early morning hours of Friday. When I awoke Friday morning (very early-it was like Christmas!), I already had an email from the trucking company that my car had been delivered. I don't know if this is normal for a truck to deliver cars so quickly, or if he just knew I couldn't stand the wait one more minute, but I loved that truck driver. What worried me is that he probably didn't sleep, as he left Carson Thursday morning and arrived at my dealership around 3 a.m. Friday morning. I can't remember who that trucking company was (unlike BMW, MB uses various companies), but I loved that trucking company and that truck driver. So, I knew my car was at the dealership before the dealership even opened.

As long as your car wasn't a Euro delivery (which takes a lot longer for customs inspections), it shouldn't take that much longer to get to CO than it took to get to SLC.

Once the ship reaches port, they are pretty efficient. The only thing I see that could cause a small slowdown, is that Atlantic Highway is due the same day as DJ, but I have seen day after day of one and two ships arriving back to back, so two ships in one day isn't a huge deal. Another thing, for those of you who are expecting cars in the LA area (actually for all of us), these cars have to be inspected by a technician at your dealership before they turn the car over to you. Many dealerships don't have techs available on Saturdays or Sundays. It is slightly possible that some of the LA people could have their cars on Saturday (if DJ arrives early enough on Wednesday), but if there isn't a tech at your dealership on Saturday to inspect cars, you will have to wait until Monday to get your car. Some dealerships do have techs on the weekends and some don't. My dealership will call in a tech if a customer is waiting for their car to be delivered (thankfully). Just a heads up on that, because some people fall apart (understandably so) when they learn that information after their car has been delivered to the dealership on a Saturday.

I really think it is do-able to have your car in CO in about 10 days. I have honestly seen some very quick and surprising deliveries all over the western US. The worst ones I have seen are Euro Deliveries. When I was on this forum last summer (I track cars for friends a lot), both BMWs and Mercedes were sitting in port for three weeks awaiting customs inspections (and that is for two different ports!) The last I was keeping track of customs timing was just this past Feb/Mar and it was taking about nine days for a ED car to get through customs inspections. My last car (two years ago) was a Euro Delivery, and my car went through customs the same morning, but for some reason (tightened security??) it is taking much longer for customs now. I think the summertime wait is longer, because everyone wants to do EDs in summer. That is why I didn't do ED this time. I didn't want my car to take one more day longer than necessary. I won't take that chance again.

[Appropriate]

Interesting. I told my sales-lady that I wouldn't get my hopes up (because it seemed like 10 days was a more possible optimistic probable outlook than 7 days after seeing the stuff on this board). Guess we'll find out.

[rdsport323]

those pictures on that website are awesome... now I can see how 500 BMWs got messed up in January when a car got loose... It'd be like a pinball machine in there with all the crazy water/tides throwing cars around at each other. They don't seem to waste any space.. how do they get so close w/o banging each others doors getting out? oh, they probably park right side first huh. duh.

[Appropriate]

Shit, I wouldn't of thought of that. Nice. Between all of us, we might be able to run the whole operation.

I wonder how many drivers they have running back and forth to load up those 4-5k cars onto a ship. That job would SUCK.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Appropriate

Interesting. I told my sales-lady that I wouldn't get my hopes up (because it seemed like 10 days was a more possible optimistic probable outlook than 7 days after seeing the stuff on this board). Guess we'll find out.

Have you ever driven from Denver to LA?? If so, how long does it take?? I have never done it, but I think a truck could/would do it in 2 days and 1 night, do you think? The unloading and VPC processing only takes two days (when everything is going well), but for the trucking company to get it all together, especially if you live off the beaten path and/or your dealership isn't a high-volume dealership, it can take some time. So, a big time sink can be filling a truck to go to Denver, or Salt Lake, or Phoenix, or Seattle, or wherever. They won't send a truck on its way unless it is full. One guy on one of the threads I was on lived in a small town in central CA and it took FOREVER for him to get his car. I think it took two weeks, just because he was off the beaten path.

Just a couple months back, a BMW ship arrived at PH on a Wed and, believe or not, a guy in Seattle got his car that Saturday. I couldn't believe it! Unfortunately, he was one of those people who couldn't take delivery of his car because there was no service tech to inspect it on a Saturday. He had to wait until Monday. It was so painful for him. I told him if it were me, I would go to the dealership, ask to have access to the car, sit down in it, read his manuals, get to know all the knobs and buttons, take pictures, take all the time in the world, and he did! It wasn't a perfect situation because he couldn't drive it, but it beat sitting at home on his computer just dreaming about it. I do that anyways in my garage, whenever I bring a new car home.

[spn]

Originally Posted by rdsport323

those pictures on that website are awesome... now I can see how 500 BMWs got messed up in January when a car got loose... It'd be like a pinball machine in there with all the crazy water/tides throwing cars around at each other.

Did you see the photos of the cars from the ship Courage, the ship that ran into rough seas?? There were 400+ damaged cars and some of them were so smashed you couldn't even tell what manufacturer they came from.

Originally Posted by rdsport323

how do they get so close w/o banging each others doors getting out? oh, they probably park right side first huh. duh.

I had to think about that one. I am glad you provided the answer.