Towing a Jeanneau Leader 805

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keith1506

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After a lot of of research I have settled on the 805 as my ideal next boat, but only if it is genuinely trailable. I have seen several for sale with "UK spec" trailers, so I assume this must mean they are road legal, but they must be right on the edge of towing legality! Tow vehicle wise I can buy whatever is needed, and it would seem there are a few 4x4s that will do the job. NB I'm not planning on trailing this every weekend - she'll live on a mooring most of the time, but I want to be able to move it once or twice a year to a different cruising ground, and I do have experience of towing big boats. All that said I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually towed one, and what issues they found, if any.

Many thanks
 
CLB

CLB

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Sorry to burst your bubble, but at 9ft9in it is technically too wide to be UK legal. It is almost certainly going to be more than 3500kg when it is on a trailer, so it's going to be too heavy too.
 
Nick_H

Nick_H

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CLB said:
Sorry to burst your bubble, but at 9ft9in it is technically too wide to be UK legal. It is almost certainly going to be more than 3500kg when it is on a trailer, so it's going to be too heavy too.
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I'm not sure that's right. The boat is 2.9m beam, which is bang on the maximum allowed (don't forget the boat can overhang the trailer). Only spec I could find says 2250 kgs with a petrol engine, so probably a bit more with a diesel, 750 kgs for a trailer, leaves a few hundred kgs for fluids, extras and build variances.

I'd say it's borderline, but just about legal with the right tow vehicle.
 
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keith1506

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Nick_H said:
I'm not sure that's right. The boat is 2.9m beam, which is bang on the maximum allowed (don't forget the boat can overhang the trailer). Only spec I could find says 2250 kgs with a petrol engine, so probably a bit more with a diesel, 750 kgs for a trailer, leaves a few hundred kgs for fluids, extras and build variances.

I'd say it's borderline, but just about legal with the right tow vehicle.
Click to expand...
 
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keith1506

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As Nick H says It IS legal, in both size & weight (I checked with Vosa) - the rig I was looking at was 3100kgs, and a RangeRover (in fact most of the Landie range) can tow 3500kg. I have often towed boats of this size & weight, including one 2000mile trip across Africa, so I have no problem with the idea of towing this one. That said all loads are different hence my post asking to hear from anyone who has towed this particular boat.
 
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CLB

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The following link says the 805 is 2.98m wide, so even if the 2.9m is correct, it is still too wide. It also says the 805 is 2250kg ex engines. If that's true, and a trailer for this boat is going to be at least 750kg, I can't see how it could be kept under 3500kg.
 
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Stats007

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As my post said - with a single engine with no options fitted and no fluids its already at 2890kg. It's not going to come in under 3500kgs with a suitable trailer - even if you ignored the 2.98m beam.
 
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R400

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Is it legal? Probably not? is it feasible, absolutely ,we've towed our MF 805 extensively in Ireland without any problems. The MF must be a bit heavier than the Leader.
Of course wouldn't condone breaking the law, wonder what the penalties would be?
 
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The penalty for getting caught probably very little. The main hassle will be the insistence of the vosa inspector that the rig is not moved, except on the back of a transporter.

I would be more concerned about the penalty should you be Involved in a serious accident. Renowned the vloke who crashed his landrover into a railway line. Threw the book at him cos he hadn't had enough sleep, and that's not actually against the law.
 
Nick_H

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R400 said:
Is it legal? Probably not? is it feasible, absolutely ,we've towed our MF 805 extensively in Ireland without any problems. The MF must be a bit heavier than the Leader.
Of course wouldn't condone breaking the law, wonder what the penalties would be?
Click to expand...

I was stopped at a VOSA checkpoint with a US spec trailer. I'd risked it to transport the boat to have an outboard fitted. I played dumb and they were very friendly and issued a notice of non conformance (can't remember if that's exactly what it was called), and escorted me the short distance home at 30mph max.

They did make it clear though that if I was caught on the road again with the same trailer it would be a £5,000 fine, but that may have been scaremongering. It's probably also the case that they would have been more severe for an overweight trailer, whereas they could see my trailer was safe, just technically non conforming because only two of the four wheels were braked.
 
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I have just put together a boat trailer rig.
The boat is 24ft and brochure says 2500kg weight.
Should have been easy to keep legal I thought as the trailer is 750kg.
However we have found that we have to strip all weighty items off the boat, including tables etc empty the water tank and make sure the fuel tank is well under 1/4 to keep it under the 3500kg at the weigh bridge.
I dont think you will ever get a legal tow out of the 805!
 
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