Boat towing (southampton)

[annageek]

This is my first post here, so hello everyone!

After a second great season of enjoying our Fletcher 19 gts out on the water, our drystack package is coming to an end. We don't want to pay for storage through the winter, as we have plenty of room at home to store the boat now, but we have no means of towing, and both of us have post 1997 driving licences, so can't even hire a tow car to do it ourselves (due to towing weights).

Does anybody have any recommendations of trusted people who would be able to help out? The boat is at southampton dry stack, is on a trailer and is coming to rest for the winter here in Winchester - so not too far to lug her!

I have put up for a quote on Shiply, but based on the feedback of the companies that have provided quotes (around the £50-60 mark), none of them have any experience of towing boats - just cars and caravans etc. I'd be happier paying a little bit more to get someone who knows what they're doing and will take the appropriate care!

Thanks in advance!

Anna

 

[paul-essex]

I would think towing your small boat would be easier than a caravan as long as they are insured it seams ok to me

 

[prv]

Would it be worth one or both of you doing the additional test to be able to tow it? This is going to be an ongoing problem, plus you might want to take the boat somewhere else for a holiday etc.

Pete

 

[rob2]

What are the weight involved? Is the trailer fully roadworthy and you just need a friend with a towing vehicle?

As has already been said, a caravan is probably harder to tow from the viewpoint of reduced rear vision , manouevrability and how easily they can be damaged! (Don't ask me how I know - but a friend hit an overhanging tree and did quite a bit of harm.) Of course, if a friend does the job for you the boat is unlikely to be insured in transit.

Rob.

 

[mattnj]

This is my first post here, so hello everyone!

After a second great season of enjoying our Fletcher 19 gts out on the water, our drystack package is coming to an end. We don't want to pay for storage through the winter, as we have plenty of room at home to store the boat now, but we have no means of towing, and both of us have post 1997 driving licences, so can't even hire a tow car to do it ourselves (due to towing weights).

Does anybody have any recommendations of trusted people who would be able to help out? The boat is at southampton dry stack, is on a trailer and is coming to rest for the winter here in Winchester - so not too far to lug her!

I have put up for a quote on Shiply, but based on the feedback of the companies that have provided quotes (around the £50-60 mark), none of them have any experience of towing boats - just cars and caravans etc. I'd be happier paying a little bit more to get someone who knows what they're doing and will take the appropriate care!

Thanks in advance!

Anna

Go for the Shiply option....i would.

 

[onesea]

Shiply, but based on the feedback of the companies that have provided quotes (around the £50-60 mark), none of them have any experience of towing boats

As others have said boats are easier than caravans normally better balanced and more aerodynamic so less likely to weave, they are tougher than they look.

If it was not for the silly licensing I would say just go for it yourself. Certainly if you are going to keep the boat well worth doing next thing you know you will be towing it to France for your holidays...

But to put the cost in terms of money.... Return Winchester - Southampton by Landrover 15 quid in fuel, 1.5 hours. Little prating around each end 50 -60 quid is quite good.

 

[prv]

If it was not for the silly licensing I would say just go for it yourself.

Certainly a mate of mine does, and he's too young to have a pre-'97 license. I guess he assumes that since the rig looks reasonable (18' speedboat, large 4wd pickup) he's unlikely to be stopped.

Pete

 

[lw395]

There are specialists, I think there might be one advertising on ebay who is fairly local?
£60 sounds cheap to me. You'd need to do a lot of those jobs to pay for a Land Rover.

I'd be looking at friends/relatives with suitable cars or vans. Insurance to do it commercially is probably dear, but towing a friends boat as a favour would be OK.
The boat's insurance should cover it for anything major, minor scratches etc are often not covered. Third party will need to be covered by the towing vehicle's insurance.
If it's done commercially, the towing firm ought to insure against damage, as the boat's insurance co will be after them IMHO.

A good time to check your policy!

In the long run, doing the test might make sense?

 

[lw395]

Certainly a mate of mine does, and he's too young to have a pre-'97 license. I guess he assumes that since the rig looks reasonable (18' speedboat, large 4wd pickup) he's unlikely to be stopped.

Pete

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driving-licence-rules-and-what-you-can-tow

Licences held from 1 January 1997

If you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 and have an ordinary category B (car) licence, you can:
##drive a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM
##tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined weight of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg


For anything heavier you need to take a category B+E driving test.

(end quote)

So a two ton banjo carrier, plus a one ton boat on a 500kg trailer is OK.

 

[annageek]

I'm certainly not against the idea of towing myself, or even doing the test to increase weights so I am less constrained by the vehicle that I use to tow with. It's still doesn't solve the problem in that my car won't tow it so i'd have to change cars.

It's a 1.4t boat on a 0.4t trailer, to 1.8t total. That would mean changing to a medium 4x4 like a landrover freelander or a pickup, as even some of the smaller 4x4's have maximum towing weights of 1.7t or so. My car does 40mpg ish, a freelander would do maybe 10 less (?) so on my 12,000 annual miles, that's an extra £600 annual fuel bill. Plus an extra £200 tax. Plus an extra bit for insurance. Plus slightly more expensive servicing (more costly tyres etc.) After all that, you're looking at an extra £1000 to run a suitable car... just seems more sensible to get someone else to do it.

I found out today that I can hire a pickup truck from SHB in Romsey which has a towbar to do this myself, but that'd cost £95, and then fuel on top, so if I can get it towed for me for around the £100-120 mark, then it just seems to make a hell of a lot more sense. Plus I've never towed a thing in my life, so I'd have to factor in the cost of rebuilding the front wall... as I WOULD hit it! I drove the van when we moved here, and that doesn't bend in the middle, but there were still one or two near misses!!!!

 

[annageek]

And of all the people I know, not a single one of them drives a car that would tow it!

 

[prv]

It's still doesn't solve the problem in that my car won't tow it so i'd have to change cars.

For infrequent towing you'd be better off hiring either a van or something like an L200:

My mate (mentioned above) hired one of these one time when we wanted to go out in his boat but his car wasn't available for some reason.

Pete

 

[FulmarJeddo]

I wouldn't be put off by towing companies not having experience of towing boats. Providing the boat is on a road worthy trailer and well secured, a Sports boat is a lot more resilient than a caravan or car on a trailer. As others have said a boat is a lot easier to tow. Make sure the Outboard or drive leg are clear of the road and cover any sharp edges (prop, skeg, etc.)
If you only plan to tow twice a year getting someone else to do it makes a lot of sense.

 

[PhillM]

Towing a boat is easier than a caravan or trailer.

My range rover sport does 23 mpg average. But I agree the costs of a 4x4 are greater than hiring. Nice to drive round in though

I have used www.anyvan.co.uk to find someone to move the odd large item.

£60 to move your boat is pretty cheap.

Have you asked local taxi firms? Some of them do airport runs with trailers.

Or try these people:

http://www.trailertraininguk.co.uk

They can teach you how to do it and perhaps let you move the boat during a lesson!