American trailerable sport fishers

If you are only 200m from the slip how about an old tractor as tow vehicle. Plenty of people do it where we are, most don't seem to bother with any legal requirements and seem to get away with it. But if you go legit it would be minimal insurance, red diesel, probably zero RFL and not sure if this is still correct but your kids could legally drive it at 16!
 
Nick_H said:
Yep, just doing it anyway is certainly one of the options i'm considering.
Click to expand...

Don't quote me, but I am in the JFM camp on this. Either plod or VOSA are going to have to direct you to a weighbridge to test the rig weight. For one, the nearest VOSA interest is going to be at Southampton docks, and plod will only be interested if your rig either breaks down and causes congestion, or is involved in an accident. You have to do the "risk assessment".
 
rustybarge said:
As I understand the towing regs:

The trailer is plated for a max. weight, it is an offence to exceed this.
The tow car has an advisory recommended tow weight limit, you can legally exceed this in a private vehicle at your own risk, and it is not an offence to exceed it as long as you are not endangering other road users.
Click to expand...

Towing regs seem to be a bit of a minefield, and as usual the internet is full of contradictory and misleading information, even from trailer manufacturers, RIB builders etc.

Without wishing to add to the sea of confusion, it seems to me that you are correct. The "Manufacturer's maximum reccomended towing weight" seems to be a performance based advisory limit, to allow the vehicle to function correctly without damage, for instance considering the starting load on a 12.5 deg gradient, which is quite relevant to boat retrieval. This may explain why the max reccomended towing limit on a Discovery is so much higher than a XC90, because of the low ratio box on the Disco?

It may be that a prosecutor could refer to this limit as evidence of endangerment by overloading, but that seems unlikely because there is a specific measure relating to safe loading which is plated on the tow vehicle, the "Maximum Train Weight". This is the total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer as loaded at the time, so the weight of trailer you can legally tow depends also on how much weight of people, fuel etc. you have in the towcar.

edit: I'm not 100% on any of this, so would be nice if anyone who knows for sure can confirm or correct it.

I need to do some sums to determine what the legal towing weight of the XC90 will be with just me in the car, but I may also need to consider whether it will physically pull the best part of 3 tonnes up Lymington slipway. It's an auto, which I don't think helps in this respect.

One last consideration, my folks live in the Yealm, and it would be nice if I could tow this boat to Devon if we visit them for a few days, and I certainly wouldn't want to be illegal, or even borderline, on a longer run. Karnic 2250 looks like maybe the best option at the moment, with some mods to the seating arrangement and a bit of upgrading with Movida fabric, fake teak etc.
 
Last edited:
DTIM said:
If you are only 200m from the slip how about an old tractor as tow vehicle. Plenty of people do it where we are, most don't seem to bother with any legal requirements and seem to get away with it. But if you go legit it would be minimal insurance, red diesel, probably zero RFL and not sure if this is still correct but your kids could legally drive it at 16!
Click to expand...

I used to keep a ski boat next to a lake, and the club bought a 1950's tractor as a launch vehicle. It was so easy to launch, especially with a front tow hitch. The problem is, if I buy a tractor, I have to store and look after it, which equals hassle. I'm on a mission to simplify my life! :D
 
Nautorius said:
Karnics are good, here is one that might fit..http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Karnic-20...9383623?pt=UK_Power_Boats&hash=item4acd25c1c7
....and she has a trailer!
Click to expand...

Thanks Nautorius. The 2050 actually has a better layout for us than the 2250, with two rear facing seats tucked in behind the helm seats out of the wind, but it's a small boat, and only weighs 850 kgs dry (ex engine), so it's going to be a bit lightweight at sea. The 2250 is still comfortably within our towing limits, and has a bit more weight and hull length.
 
moodyNick said:
Nick - I know somebody who runs a marina very close to the slipway, with a large yard for storage, if it helps your decision making.

Its about time we had the beer we have been talking about for 5 years, if you want to chat about it!!

PS You need to modify the footer in your posts ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks Nick, i'll get in touch.
 
Nick_H said:
I used to keep a ski boat next to a lake, and the club bought a 1950's tractor as a launch vehicle. It was so easy to launch, especially with a front tow hitch. The problem is, if I buy a tractor, I have to store and look after it, which equals hassle. I'm on a mission to simplify my life! :D
Click to expand...

The need for simple life probably rules out my tractor idea and the run to Yealm could be a bit of a nightmare!!:D
 
jimmy_the_builder said:
... and you're buying (another) boat...? :D:D
Click to expand...
+1!!! I was just going to post exactly the same comment.
And mind, I'm talking based on personal experience, 'cause every time I decided to keep a second boat near my lake home - and I had three of them TBH, so I accept that I shouldn't be entitled to criticise.... :) - after a while I always realised that it wasn't worth the hassle/cost.
Eventually, I sold also the latter of the three, which was by far the one I enjoyed most, and didn't replace her.
 
jimmy_the_builder said:
... and you're buying (another) boat...? :D:D

Cheers
Jimmy
Click to expand...

:) Well if I was completely rational about it, then of course I wouldn't even have one boat!

I've though about not replacing the Windy at all, but you can't live in Lymington and not have a boat here. I think a newish dayboat with single outboard, stored by the side of the garage, is as low hassle and cost as I can sensibly get. I did think about renting as and when, but that restricts me to just RIBS.
 
Nick_H said:
Towing regs seem to be a bit of a minefield, and as usual the internet is full of contradictory and misleading information, even from trailer manufacturers, RIB builders etc.

Without wishing to add to the sea of confusion, it seems to me that you are correct. The "Manufacturer's maximum reccomended towing weight" seems to be a performance based advisory limit, to allow the vehicle to function correctly without damage, for instance considering the starting load on a 12.5 deg gradient, which is quite relevant to boat retrieval. This may explain why the max reccomended towing limit on a Discovery is so much higher than a XC90, because of the low ratio box on the Disco?

It may be that a prosecutor could refer to this limit as evidence of endangerment by overloading, but that seems unlikely because there is a specific measure relating to safe loading which is plated on the tow vehicle, the "Maximum Train Weight". This is the total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer as loaded at the time, so the weight of trailer you can legally tow depends also on how much weight of people, fuel etc. you have in the towcar.

edit: I'm not 100% on any of this, so would be nice if anyone who knows for sure can confirm or correct it.

I need to do some sums to determine what the legal towing weight of the XC90 will be with just me in the car, but I may also need to consider whether it will physically pull the best part of 3 tonnes up Lymington slipway. It's an auto, which I don't think helps in this respect.

One last consideration, my folks live in the Yealm, and it would be nice if I could tow this boat to Devon if we visit them for a few days, and I certainly wouldn't want to be illegal, or even borderline, on a longer run. Karnic 2250 looks like maybe the best option at the moment, with some mods to the seating arrangement and a bit of upgrading with Movida fabric, fake teak etc.
Click to expand...
If you ignore the manufacturers limits, you might run foul both of vehicle warranty and insurance. If you are only covering the 200m or so to the slip, then you are unlikely to find this a problem. If your vehicle is still in warranty, you might want to read the small print about dunking it in water. Sea water is going to do nasty things to your brakes and anything else that gets dunked. Not sure of the corrosion spec of the Volvo, but being Scandinavian it is likely to be OK for the body/chassis bits, as they spread a huge amount of salt around Gotheburg.
Now, the next question is how steep and slippery is the slipway? I used to launch with a Discovery, and she was fine. Auto, low range etc. However, I sometimes needed to get her quite a long way in to float the boat off the trailer. As the car was owned by LandRover, and I used to change every 6 months, corrosion was not a factor (to me anyhow). I'm not sure your Chelsea tractor will be quite so easy to launch from.
 
Nick_H said:
Rafiki

What weight was the boat/trailer, and did you need to use low ratio to pull her up the slipway?
Click to expand...

First boat was a 22' Sea Ray Cuddy, about 2 tonnes total, second was a 25' Sunbird cruiser about 3.5 tonnes total. Yep, used low range, 3rd gear to climb the ramp. Some ramps were extremely slippery, so traction was the key. Your issue will depend on gross train weight, and the cars ability to pull it up the ramp, while the traction control is operating. It might kill the engine power so much that it cannot climb.
 
MarieK said:
Nick I have the perfect solution for you...



I wonder how a "lifestyle" 4x4 would handle this...
Click to expand...

Did you notice the amount of flex in the forward A-frame section of the alloy I-beam trailer as the rig "bounced" when coming to a stop?
Clearly the trailer was built for a longer boat, but how would you feel grinding the under sections of the trailer every time you staged a launch, even with that device attached between the trailer and vehicle coupling to raise the front of the trailer.

Thanks for posting btw.
 
rafiki_ said:
First boat was a 22' Sea Ray Cuddy, about 2 tonnes total, second was a 25' Sunbird cruiser about 3.5 tonnes total. Yep, used low range, 3rd gear to climb the ramp. Some ramps were extremely slippery, so traction was the key. Your issue will depend on gross train weight, and the cars ability to pull it up the ramp, while the traction control is operating. It might kill the engine power so much that it cannot climb.
Click to expand...

I've noticed in the last six years a number of mainstream tow vehicle manufacturers like Ford, Nissan and Isuzu (dual-cab utes) have raised the first gear ratio (manual boxes) slightly to make the vehicle more 'drivable' in a general sense, moving away from the older style crawler first gear.
With rigs up around the maximum towing weight, even stopping in traffic on a steep incline would mean riding the clutch to get started again or engaging low-range, then disengaging once on more level ground, which was a pita but necessary to avoid clutch replacements.
 
AndieMac said:
I've noticed in the last six years a number of mainstream tow vehicle manufacturers like Ford, Nissan and Isuzu (dual-cab utes) have raised the first gear ratio (manual boxes) slightly to make the vehicle more 'drivable' in a general sense, moving away from the older style crawler first gear.
With rigs up around the maximum towing weight, even stopping in traffic on a steep incline would mean riding the clutch to get started again or engaging low-range, then disengaging once on more level ground, which was a pita but necessary to avoid clutch replacements.
Click to expand...
Nick's current 4x4 is a Volvo XC90, auto gearbox.
 
rafiki_ said:
First boat was a 22' Sea Ray Cuddy, about 2 tonnes total, second was a 25' Sunbird cruiser about 3.5 tonnes total. Yep, used low range, 3rd gear to climb the ramp. Some ramps were extremely slippery, so traction was the key. Your issue will depend on gross train weight, and the cars ability to pull it up the ramp, while the traction control is operating. It might kill the engine power so much that it cannot climb.
Click to expand...

Thanks, looks like I may need to do some kind of trial to see how the Volvo copes in practice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top