Moving boat via tractor and trailer

GraemeS

GraemeS

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I'm thinking of moving my 29 foot bilge keel yacht. The distance is about 50miles. Is this likely to cause any damage to the boat? My worry is that agricultural trailers have little or no suspension. Has anybody had any experience of this type transport?
 
Would it be legal? Boat moving definately not an agricultural activity & I think tractors are only supposed to move on the road between farms doing agricultural activities??
 
BAtoo said:
Would it be legal? Boat moving definately not an agricultural activity & I think tractors are only supposed to move on the road between farms doing agricultural activities??
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I think all sorts of industries use tractors for example construction, councils and many more besides. I think the excise duty man is more interested in the vat on the fuel than anything. I'll ask the contractor though.
 
GraemeS said:
I think all sorts of industries use tractors for example construction, councils and many more besides. I think the excise duty man is more interested in the vat on the fuel than anything. I'll ask the contractor though.
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Others may use them - although (living in rural Suffolk) I dont see that many - but how they are road taxed may be different (some Ag vehicles are exempt) and therefore change thier use...
 
Using a tractor for a road journey of that length puts you into the white diesel category at once.

Some agr trailers do have suspension: if they are air, an appropriate services will be needed on the tractor. Trailers with no suspension are not allowed to carry non-farm goods.

I've used a tractor to move a boat around on an agr trailer. Not recommended for a bumpy or long journey.
 
The tractor must be taxed etc for use on the road....... it may not be for just moving between farm fields.. not sure about that.
( MOT ??? insurance ????)

The trailer must have suspension to be road legal ( and mudguards)

If the suspension is not good enough you may well damage the boat
 
Thanks everyone. It's the damage issue I'm concerned about. The legalities would be up to the contractor. Is certainly looks like I need to ensure the trailer has suspension. Thanks again.
 
As far as suspension is concerned as far as I am aware a trailer without suspension can be used on a public highway subject to a 20mph limit.
As for doing it depends perhaps upon where you live.I would certainly do it up here in NW Highlands on basis that the Police who are very thinly spread have better things to do with their time.
 
Up here, it's pretty much standard practice for contractors to move large diggers with a tractor and trailer, and some of them travel quite large distances. So I don't see any legal reason why it's not possible as long as the red diesel and insurance issues are taken care of.

So it just comes down to ensuring the suspension is adequate to ensure the boat gets a safe ride.
 
There's also the issue of an operators licence; as it is clearly not an agricultural job, then the contractor would need an operators licence to provide a transport service. All that said, for a short trip I don't think anyone would be too interested and it is up to the contractor to comply, not his customer.

I'd be much more worried about the suspension or lack of it and the means of adequately securing the boat to the load bed of the trailer. An agricultural trailer would be designed to manage a bulk load, evenly spread over the load bed (eg hay or fertiliser bags), not a yacht propped up and lashed in place. The side beams may not be able to cope with the loads imposed by tie downs and the centre of the load bed might not be up to the task of supporting the point load of the keel. I'd be very wary of going down this route for a 50 mile trip.
 
I think that the contractor will have to assure me that the paperwork/legal stuff is ok and I will be very clear about the weight of the boat and how its point loading potential. The last thing I want is the boat being damaged - there is more than enough work to be done already without adding more to the list!!!
 
without addressing the legal stuff moving a bilge keeler on a trailer is viable, I moved a 29ft Mirage 150 miles on a flat backed RIDGID truck over a decade ago, the boat must be strapped down and the overall height needs to be considered for bridges and overhead cables you may encounter on route.

IF you are using a trailer then weight and braking ability must also be considered but the legal eagles will spot this and assist I am sure.

As for suspension, a bilge keeler on a drying mooring gets lifted and dropped a couple of feet onto the sea bed every tide when the sea is rough so I would nt worry to much about that.
 
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Marsupial said:
without addressing the legal stuff moving a bilge keeler on a trailer is viable, I moved a 29ft Mirage 150 miles on a flat backed RIDGID truck over a decade ago, the boat must be strapped down and the overall height needs to be considered for bridges and overhead cables you may encounter on route.

IF you are using a trailer then weight and braking ability must also be considered but the legal eagles will spot this and assist I am sure.

As for suspension, a bilge keeler on a drying mooring gets lifted and dropped a couple of feet onto the sea bed every tide when the sea is rough so I would nt worry to much about that.
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That’s great my boat is a Mirage so that very interesting. I think I will pursue this a little further as the cost of moving with a yacht transport company is so much money compared to this option.
 
A 50 mile journey isnt just round the corner why not try getting a qoute off somewhere like shiply & see what the cost is from a "proper contractor" who carries all the relavant goods in transit insurance etc & has the equipment to ensure you get your boat moved safely
might save heartache in the long run
 
GraemeS said:
That’s great my boat is a Mirage so that very interesting. I think I will pursue this a little further as the cost of moving with a yacht transport company is so much money compared to this option.
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Ears prick up, another Mirage owner.
 
Farmers Guardian
In fact, a number of existing statutes relating to agricultural equipment are more or less redundant. Take the 1986 Statutory Instruments Act, which states the maximum permissible speed limit for a farm tractor is 32km/h (20mph). Today, this limit is almost universally ignored, however the problem is vehicles travelling faster than 20mph fall under commercial LGV regulations.

Technically, the only tractors sold in the UK currently meeting the legislative standards necessary for travelling at over 20mph are the JCB Fastrac and Mercedes Benz Unimog.

A further area of concern is the maximum weight limit for agricultural vehicles, which is currently 24,390kg. While this was quite acceptable in 1986 when 100hp tractors pulled 10t trailers, it seems totally inappropriate today.

A fully laden 16t or even 18t trailer travelling behind a 220hp tractor can weigh in excess of 30t. Hundreds of UK farmers and contractors rely on this size and type of equipment to efficiently transport crops from field to farm, yet under current UK regulations they are breaking the law
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The hammering a load on a trailer with inadequate suspension gets is much too harsh for a yacht.
 
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