Westerly Centaur - Weight for road towing

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tarik

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Hi Guys,



Could someone please tell me the weight of the Centaur I need to tow her back from the Boat yard. The trailer weighs 700 kg.

What sort of towing vehicle would be useful.



as always


Many thanks


David
 
At the risk of disappointing you, I would say a centaur is too heavy to tow by road using any normal vehicle. You'll need to get a lorry with a hiab and shift her that way, I would think.

This is based on my own experiences of towing an albin vega- design weight of 2.3t as opposed to the centaur's 3t. Boats are always heavier than designed, and design weight probably won't include any of the gear onboard e.g. the mast.

For reference, the most anybody can tow using a normal license and vehicle with overrun brakes on the trailer is 3.5t. To do this you need a defender, disco, range rover, trooper, patrol, or one of the larger shoguns. A hilux or l200 is not rated for this,nor are the series landrovers. I also think there are a few vans that can do it.
 
tarik said:
Could someone please tell me the weight of the Centaur I need to tow her back from the Boat yard. The trailer weighs 700 kg.
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Officially 6,700 lb as built. That's completely empty; yours will certainly be more.

What sort of towing vehicle would be useful.
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Since 6,700lb is 3,040kg you need to be able to tow at least 3,740kg and probably significantly more. My similarly sized boat has a cruising weight of a ton greater than empty.

Parkers has a list of cars which can tow 3,500kg at http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/owning/2013/may/guide-to-towing-capacity/ so a start woul dbe to check each of these. Note that unless you have had a licence since before 1st January 1997 you'll need to pass a further test to tow anything that heavy: https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car has the details.
 
The regulations on size (rather than weight) are a bit confusing. You are allowed fairly large overhangs as well as the trailer's a-frame, on top of the length restriction.

To sum up, though, it is clearly illegal to tow a Centaur on a 700kg trailer using a conventional licence/hitch/brakes/vehicle. I would vote for a hi ab, easy peasy when you have bilge keels.
 
vyv_cox said:
The maximum trailer width for any towing vehicle is 2.55 metres. The maximum length is 7 metres for a trailer towed by a vehicle weighing up to 3.5 tonnes (3,500 kilograms).
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There is an exception to the length restriction for trailers designed specially to carry a single indivisible load. This covers glider trailers, for example, though the police sometimes "forget" it and at one point the British Gliding Association had to get a letter from the DoT which pilots could show to sceptical cops if pulled over. From memory there is a similar exemption for width, though there is a point at which you need a police escort.

Looks like towing a Centaur with a car is either illegal or very close to it.
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Agreed.
 
ghostlymoron said:
A Transit van can tow quite a weight, I'm told. I'm thinking of hiring one for my own towing exploits. Quite cheap to hire as well.
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Varies a lot depending on model. A front wheel drive version is less than 2t IIRC; the double-wheeled rear drive versions with larger engines are much more capable.
 
In that case, you'll need a 3.5 tonne lorry to pull your trailer which you can hire and drive on a car license (if you're an oldie).
 
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You can't tow her legally as will be too heavy so all depends on how much of a risk taker you are! We towed an early Halcyon 27 on a SBS twin axle trailer rated for all up weight of 4700kg(was a very old model from the 1970s but in fantastic condition) with a Discovery from Edinburgh to Largs easily.Boat should of weighed about 3000kg but was over 4000kg when lifted and that was with all equipment striped out!.So a Land Rover Discovery can do it but if involved in an accident or pulled by police then wallet and liecence will take a beating.To stay on right side of law dig deep and pay a boat transporter to do it
 
We were talking about putting it on a wagon, weren't we?

For towing you'll need to use a tachograph
A tachograph is required where the maximum gross weight of the combination is over 3500kg or the towing vehicle's maximum gross TRAIN weight (not Gross Vehicle Weight) is over 3500kg whichever is the smaller.

It is unusual for the Gross Train Weight of any vehicle to not be greater than the Gross Vehicle Weight. Assuming the GTW of the towing vehicle is more than 3500kg (see the vehicle's VIN plate), you will need a tachograph.
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Plus the trailer needs vacuum brakes
3500kgs trailer weight fitted with standard over run brakes
8500kgs trailer weight fitted with vacuum braking system restricted to 40mph
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and you need C1 +E on your licence.
 
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Lakesailor said:
We were talking about putting it on a wagon, weren't we?
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Pulling behind, I thought. Though I remember reading about someone who ha bought an old lorry just to bring their boat home from lift-out every winter - low running costs and much less than boatyard fees. Of course you have to have a fairly big drive ...

For towing you'll need to use a tachograph
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Only if done for hire or reward or carrying commercial goods.

http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/tachographs/tachographs.aspx

plus the trailer needs vacuum brakes
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Can you suggest a reliable source of information on brakes for big trailers? I'm only finding smaller stuff ...

and you need C1 +E on your licence.
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Unless issued before 1/1/97, in which you are fine up to 8.25t total weight.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Only if done for hire or reward or carrying commercial goods.

http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/tachographs/tachographs.aspx
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Yes. You are correct
Exemptions

Note that the existing list of exemptions continues to apply. These include:

Vehicles (and trailers) undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, and new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service.

Vehicles used for non-commercial carriage of goods for personal use.

Vehicles towing mobile fixed equipment such as generators and compressors. (This would not apply if the equipment was mounted on a trailer which was also capable of carrying goods).

Drivers are also exempt from the EC drivers' hours and tachograph rules when engaged in the following operations in the UK. However, they may in some circumstances be required to keep records to comply with UK Domestic Drivers' Hours Rules:

Agricultural, horticultural, forestry or fishery undertakings using vehicles for carrying goods within a 50km radius of the place where the vehicle is normally kept.

Vehicles used for carrying live animals to local markets and vice versa and from markets to local slaughterhouses.

Vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of not more than 7500 kg carrying material and equipment for the driver's use in the course of his work within a 50km (31 miles) radius of the place where the vehicle is normally based, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver's main activity.

(The DETR have advised us that where a trailer is being towed, the combined plated weight of vehicle and trailer should not exceed 7500kg for this exemption to apply.)
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It may be that these are not new. However the Gov web site ( https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/exemptions-from-eu-law ) says that a vehicle doesn't come under EU law if

5. Exemptions from EU law

Some types of vehicle are exempt from EU rules. This means that they come under GB Domestic rules in the UK.

The main types of vehicle that are exempt include:

Blah

Blah

- non-commercial vehicles under 7.5 tonnes - for example a person moving house or goods carried by a non-profit making group or registered charity
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