Advice appreciated - Speed boat / trailer under 750kg to take to Europe.

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SeacretSailor

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My family and I (2 adults 2 kids under 7) live on the UK south coast and currently have an f-rib 375 (flat floor version) with a Double seat console and a 30hp Tohatsu outboard. Elec start and trim. Boat also has a Bimini. So it’s a really nice little setup that flys along and collapses down and fits packed away in the shed when not in use.
We are going to Europe next summer and want to tow it to Europe (Lake Annecy then to lake Garda) on the back of our Hymer motorhome. But there is a fly in the ointment - I’m getting the itch for a speed boat for the extra space, ability to lounge / sunbath on the boat and have seats for lunch etc. From my brief research a 17’ bowrider seems to be the sweet spot to have a decent size boat for the family and stay under 750kg with a trailer (which my driving licence allows). Our budget is prob around £7k ish
So I have a few q’s:
- What boat brands are the best to go for or avoid? Fletcher seem to have good rep for sea going hulls and in budget. These any good?
- Outboard or inboard? Love the sunbathing platform you get with the inboards but I’m concerned about extra weight and added complexity. Reliability is very important but we like speed as well for skiing and blasting around.
- I have no speed boat licences - what’s required for France / Italy?
 
You will find it hard to get a combined boat, trailer, engine, fuel and gear below 750kg. However your licence allows more, you can:
  • drive a car or van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM
  • tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg
I guess that the motorhome takes most of your allowance? The rib seems the better option to be frank.

And France/Italy licence depends on the power. To have anything useful you would need an ICC which you can get as part of a Powerboat Level 2.
 
From the sound of your requirements youll struggle to fit it onto an unbraked trailer. Defo not an inboard unless something like one of the seadoo jet boat type of things.
I think if I were you I'd look at taking trailer test or look at Ribs which give you more open layout for a given length although probably not sunloungers at the size youd be looking at. A rib is probably more practical for use around the uk coast too being a bit better when it gets rough
 
Towing a boat behind your Himer is a fantastic way to go on holiday's near water with your family, can speak from many years of nice experiences !
why don't you go for a slightly bigger Rib, when you want to stay under 750kg.
while a bowrider seems much fun, I don't see much advantage compared to a rib,
If you feel more relaxed, and your himer can tow above 750kg, you can choose for a cabin sport boat, advantage is: enclosed toliet, , loads of storage space for water toy's , and a sunpad above the cabin,
The modern open walkaraound boats (with toilet in the center console) have become popular aswell
we were fan of sport fisher models (large open cockpit, in combi with sunpad on top of the cabin)

inboard or outboard is a personal choice,
each has its advantages and disadavantages
 
regarding license,
everywhere in europe, for boats that can do speeds above 20km/ h (roughly >10kn)
you need a ICC or equivalent,
any serious boater should have this !
 
Why not take your towing test, upgrade your driving licence, remove the 750kg restriction and widen your options.
 
Thank you for your replies.
I will book onto a Powerboat level 2 next year.(y)
2 q’s:
1) What are the options of boat, aside from a RIB, if I wanted to keep under 750kg all in and not take the towing test?
2) From what I can gather, my max tow weight is 1300kg for our Hymer - what boat would fit in this weight bracket?
 
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Hi
Perhaps a more friendly opinion, but to be fair, above mentioned have pretty much covered it...
You’ll likely need something capable of towing a gross weight of around 1600-2000kgs.
although perhaps an extreme example, my 18ft North American 18ftbowrider is about 1400kgs dry with her big v8 mpi. Add 100 litres of fuel and her sbs trailer....she will be the guts of 2000kgs all in.
ive towed her with 3 cars a bmw 530d gt, a Volvo XC90 and a discovery 3
The Volvo manages fairly well. The bmw no doubt manages as well and certainly stops well...but without doubt, the discovery made less fuss of it all and certainly was in charge of the situation like none of the others were.
more recently I towed my fletcher SC19 from middle England to Loch Lomond...the xc90 made short work of it all, but mainly on the motorway and not so much lesser roads. The fletcher would likely only weigh around 1600kgs all in though.
long story short...be well aware of seemingly light tow weights and go as big as possible with tow car choice. Always better for the car to boss the trailer, instead of the other way about !
Good luck.
 
QBHoy - regarding the tow vehicle - I think our tow weight figure is more a technicality than ability as the base vehicle is a 4.6ton Mercedes twin axle RWD truck. It’s been re-classified as a 3.5 ton camper. But that’s a moot point really as we’ll have to stick to the 1300kg for legal reasons. I need to double check the vehicle plate as the 1300kg towing figure is just from internet searching. Our other car is a Porsche Cayenne with self leveling air suspension and, I think, a 3500kg tow limit for the Uk trips but the Hymer is what we need to tow to Europe with.
Is there any website that can provide boat weights in one place?
 
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You'll struggle to find universal data lists for boat specs as they vary so much however if you go to your vehicles max towing capacity that opens up a lot more boats to you certainly some of the smaller us bowriders will come under that weight. Probably the easiest way to move forward for you is first double check the tow capacity of the vehicle and preferably get it in writing as the vehicle has been modified and already downrated. Once your 100% on the capacity you realy need to start looking at potential boats for sale and checking the weight of individual packages, the engine size and trailer design could both determine wether a particular boat comes within your weight restriction.
You could have two identical hulls side by side and have 2-300 kg difference depending on trailer & engine fitted to each. Generally if your looking at outboard powered boats in the 17 -19ft then they may be within your weight restriction I'd forget inboard powered boats as almost all will be overweight for you.
When looking 2 stroke engines are usually lighter for a given hp & bunked trailers are usually lighter than roller trailers. You can probably discount twin axle as they are usually over 1600kg hopefully this narrows things down a little for you
 
Beamishken said:
You'll struggle to find universal data lists for boat specs as they vary so much however if you go to your vehicles max towing capacity that opens up a lot more boats to you certainly some of the smaller us bowriders will come under that weight. Probably the easiest way to move forward for you is first double check the tow capacity of the vehicle and preferably get it in writing as the vehicle has been modified and already downrated. Once your 100% on the capacity you realy need to start looking at potential boats for sale and checking the weight of individual packages, the engine size and trailer design could both determine wether a particular boat comes within your weight restriction.
You could have two identical hulls side by side and have 2-300 kg difference depending on trailer & engine fitted to each. Generally if your looking at outboard powered boats in the 17 -19ft then they may be within your weight restriction I'd forget inboard powered boats as almost all will be overweight for you.
When looking 2 stroke engines are usually lighter for a given hp & bunked trailers are usually lighter than roller trailers. You can probably discount twin axle as they are usually over 1600kg hopefully this narrows things down a little for you
Click to expand...

Gotya, thanks for advice. I was using the single axle trailer rule while looking but then saw some small boats on twin axles and it threw me! ?
 
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Hi I used to tow a Ranieri revolution 15 to south of Spain every year. With a 50hp Suzuki outboard. Lovely engine.
Great small setup for the med and lakes. Big sunbathing pad up front. 2 man helm seat and 3 to 4 person bench at the rear. All comes in just under 750kg with the trailer . I used to load the boat up with stuff, so was probably over on weight but it towed fine with my Mercedes estate.

Great light weight boat, self draining cockpit, towed inflatables fine, seemed impossible to bury the bow, we were out in some pretty choppy stuff on the med, it's so buoyant.

There is currently one online for sale for 8k
 
SeacretSailor said:
maxum 1800 mx 2007 weigh? - Maxum Boat Owners Club - Forum

this link states the total weight on the maxum 18ft, including trailer, is approx 1100kg add 100kg for fuel and that leaves approx 100kg spare for extras. So 1300kg all in... that would work or am I missing something?!
Click to expand...
Recommend if you are towing through Europe dont take fuel. No point in lugging extra weight. I take 3x 20l plastic fuel containers to fill up from local petrol stations. and a jiggle syphon.
Lake Annecy is beautiful with a boat.
 
SeacretSailor said:
maxum 1800 mx 2007 weigh? - Maxum Boat Owners Club - Forum

this link states the total weight on the maxum 18ft, including trailer, is approx 1100kg add 100kg for fuel and that leaves approx 100kg spare for extras. So 1300kg all in... that would work or am I missing something?!
Click to expand...

that sounds very light including trailer. I thought they were around the usual 18ft bowrider and 3.0 weight 1000-1100kgs dry and without trailer.
my 18ft bowrider is 1400kgs dry and without trailer and fuel etc. Heavy as she is though.
 
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