Storing a Boat On a Trailer

[dunedin]

Are these boats legally towable in the UK? I thought the maximum trailer width was 2.55m and length 7m - Towing with a car

 

[ontheplane]

I thought it could hang over the sides of the trailer but maybe that was when the trailer limit was 2.3m

I'll check the width of the 805...

 

[ontheplane]

2.77, lots of accommodation- but no tow behind a car......

 

[ontheplane]

Same is true of the Finnmaster mind - 2.72 beam.....

So keep on a trailer and launch is ok, but not tow on the road.

 

[ontheplane]

To add to the confusion.. the trailer can be 2.55 wide now (up from 2.3 in 2010) but a load may project over the side of the carrying “vehicle” (is a trailer the “vehicle”) . However if that projection exceeds the following then the police need to be notified 2 days in advance

305mm per side
Overall width of 2.9m but not exceeding 3.5m
Overall width of more than 3.5 but not exceeding 4.3m.

So there are three classes of width, however the action all appears to be the same - I.e. marker signs, warnings, special lights at night and police notification so not really sure why there are 3 different criteria.

The load may also project up to 3.05m from the end of the trailer, but I wouldn’t want 3m of boat unsupported, that’s where the heavy bit is!

So as long as your trailer is a newer 2.5m wide model, then the overhang on the sides on these boats would be IRO 100 mm either side and less than 2.9m overall - so does that make it legal? According to NTTA as long as the LOAD not the trailer is under 2.9m and does not project more than 305mm over the sides, that’s fine.

Also there is further confusion. The regs I can see state the 7m rule applies but “exclude the coupling and drawbar”. But what is the drawbar? A boa trailer often has a fairly long tapering section at its front, is this the drawbar? Or is the drawbar only the section in front of where the trailer converges to a “point” OR as a poster suggested, is the drawbar from the point where a straight line is drawn from the front of the winch post to the coupling.??

In reality, I doubt if a copper would know either, so it’s very confusing and for boats not at all clear.

NTTA - Trailer Law - Trailer Maximum Dimension

 

[Simon391088]

I actually stupidly assumed that a boat sold on a trailer was legal to tow.
However having taken a closer look I don't think it would be legal to tow in the uk.

I will take a look at the dry stacks.

The price of the boat not the issue - boats hold their value really well. (Although i'd prob get a 2 year old one). I just don't like throwing money down the drain (having done that lots in the past) especially over winter.

Thanks
Simon

 

[ontheplane]

Buy 2 years old and you are right - you will keep most of your investment intact.

I actually think it WOULD be legal to tow.

As long as the boat didn't go beyond 3m past the end of the trailer, not more than 305mm each side of the trailer and suitably marked up (and only tow in daylight) - then I think you'd be ok.

 

[dunedin]

To add to the confusion.. the trailer can be 2.55 wide now (up from 2.3 in 2010) but a load may project over the side of the carrying “vehicle” (is a trailer the “vehicle”) . However if that projection exceeds the following then the police need to be notified 2 days in advance

305mm per side
Overall width of 2.9m but not exceeding 3.5m
Overall width of more than 3.5 but not exceeding 4.3m.

So there are three classes of width, however the action all appears to be the same - I.e. marker signs, warnings, special lights at night and police notification so not really sure why there are 3 different criteria.

The load may also project up to 3.05m from the end of the trailer, but I wouldn’t want 3m of boat unsupported, that’s where the heavy bit is!

So as long as your trailer is a newer 2.5m wide model, then the overhang on the sides on these boats would be IRO 100 mm either side and less than 2.9m overall - so does that make it legal? According to NTTA as long as the LOAD not the trailer is under 2.9m and does not project more than 305mm over the sides, that’s fine.

Also there is further confusion. The regs I can see state the 7m rule applies but “exclude the coupling and drawbar”. But what is the drawbar? A boa trailer often has a fairly long tapering section at its front, is this the drawbar? Or is the drawbar only the section in front of where the trailer converges to a “point” OR as a poster suggested, is the drawbar from the point where a straight line is drawn from the front of the winch post to the coupling.??

In reality, I doubt if a copper would know either, so it’s very confusing and for boats not at all clear.

NTTA - Trailer Law - Trailer Maximum Dimension

Are these extra overhangs only allowed if the towing vehicle is over 3500 GVW?

 

[ontheplane]

Are these extra overhangs only allowed if the towing vehicle is over 3500 GVW?

Again really unclear, because it’s contained within the Construction and use part, which talks about “the vehicle” but for construction and use, a trailer is a vehicle!