Trailering larger boats as permit loads

[captlloyd]

There are some cats and tris that can break-down for hauling.

[Cadence]

If you us a ramp ensure you know where it ends. You don't want to drop the trailer wheels off. Ask me how I know. If you think you're getting close stop.

Irony being it was my ramp. Blew a tire getting it out with the boat off loaded.

[Jammer]

Thanks for all the replies.

Originally Posted by gjordan

Reading your post again, I am really amazed that your state lets non commercial drivers pull a 14 foot wide load. I had an aircraft hanger moved about 10 years ago and at 12 feet (the largest piece) we had to have a lead and trail car with lights and radios, and if it was over 12 foot, we would have had to have a Highway Patrol escort. It is a little scary to think that for $100, a person (no reference to you) that might have never driven anything larger than a Prius could be allowed to pull a 14 foot wide load. It sounds like a recipe for disaster. Just my thoughts. ____Grant.

::shrug:: I don't know whether the law makes sense. I see very, very few large boats on the highways here and most of them are being pulled by professional haulers.

Minnesota roads aren't like those on the east coast. They are less congested and overall there is more clearance and wider shoulders. I myself have driven ag equipment as wide as 21' on county roads although that was when there was still an exemption that allowed ag equipment to overhang the center line without a police escort. 14-16' ag equipment used to be pretty routine fo rme although speeds are limited to 25 mph by the nature of the equipment. The ag exemption is still pretty broad, I've driven trucks over 50,000 gvwr with just a regular driver's license, all perfectly legal.

But I agree it's not for everyone and the wise individual would not try pulling a 12' wide boat without some prior experience and mentorship.

Originally Posted by Colin A

Launching will be the tricky part. I do know a few people who tow over width power boats home for the winter pretty simple. Back when I worked at the marina we towed 9.5' width boats fairly frequently over the road without a permit (not legal but it's hard to tell with a boat). I did pull a permit once for a 12' width houseboat to help someone out. drove to the state office handed them the money they handed me the permit no questions asked about CDL. Here that width at the time required signs on the front and back but did not require an escort.

Here, if I understand correctly, you need the signs over 12' and an escort over 14', which is beyond what you can do without a CDL.

A lot will depend on your comfort with the width what roads you have to drive on and the setup for hauling and launching. My parents had a succession of trailer sailors when I was a kid but the larger ones (24') they used to have the travelift launch and step the mast and left on a mooring most of the year.

::nod::

I would certainly scout the routes ahead of time. I didn't understand the importance of scouting the ramp until these replies started coming in, and I see that now.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Most ramps in the panhandle of Fl that I am familiar with, about the time you would get the boat deep enough to launch it, the trailer will fall off the edge of the ramp, and often that edge is steep enough that you cannot get the trailer back up, and if you get determined enough, you will pull the axle out from under the trailer.
I have done that

I'm going to take a closer look at the ramps on these lakes.

Originally Posted by Cadence

Make sure you have good operational brakes on the trailer so the tail doesn't wag the dog.

Of course. I have driven with electric brakes and surge brakes, and while each has their pros and cons I would be very reluctant to pull anything over 3,000 pounds at highway speed without one or the other.

Originally Posted by Adelie

You are going to be staying on lakes. For me I would not be looking for a serious cruising boat. The only exception is Lk Superior, and even there most coastal boats do just fine.

I'm rethinking the tradeoffs.

Weather on Superior is notorious (I've heard tell that in 1975 a rather large vessel broke up there after encountering 60 knot winds and 25 foot seas) but the real reason I'm looking at bluewater cruisers is longer-term plans to cruise the Caribbean and perhaps beyond. But maybe that will have to be a different boat.

I would suspect that ramp length is going to be the biggest problem ramp launching a fixed keel or rather water depth at the end of the ramp vs what you need to float the boat off.

The boat that most immediately comes to mind for me is the C&C Mega 30. 30' LoA, 8' Beam, 4400lb + trailer. Lifting keel, not a centerboard. Boat can sail with keel partially raised.

MEGA 30 OD (C&C)

Alternatively centerboard boats.

I'm going to scout some of the ramps in person this spring but I think you're probably right that they will be a limiting factor. If I have to depend on a travellift for all the transfers then I may be better off using a commercial hauler, or getting bareboat charters in these places, or exploring these areas some other way.

4 wheel drive a good idea

I have 4wd and use it routinely when I'm pulling a boat out of the water even if it's a smaller one. Pulling a 12,000 cruiser up the ramp I would rig a bridle and tow strap on the front of the tow vehicle and hitch it to another vehicle for assistance, just as a preventative measure.

[aliddell]

I have a 95 Ford 350 Powerstroke and have pulled: Venture 24 from CA to FL and back and sailed the Keys (great fun). Also towed a Parker 24 to Sea of Cortez. Three times hauled my 26 foot trawler from Montana to Anacortes, WA. One trawler trip was from Anacortes to AK. In addition, hauled backhoe plus eq. to and from MT to AZ and back.Same with Ford 5000 + eq. Powerstroke has 450K and still going strong. Get a good truck.

Met a couple in Anacortes that had a Pacific Seacraft (under 30'). They were from the midwest and they had just finished a trip to BC and were derigging to head home. They had been to Sea of Cortez, Great Lakes and Florida. Sounds like a perfect boat for what you are planning.

Good luck and have fun!

[Boatguy30]

The annual permits for boats are generally only to 10'

Over 12' in many states you need an escort.

Many inland lake ramps are built to a Corps of Engineers standard and are actually quite deep. I have hauled 5' draft to a trailer and know of some ramps that can handle 6 or 7' with a very long tongue extension

[valhalla360]

Go back and reconfirm the permit limits (get it in writing so when you go back to do it for real and they tell you no or the cop pulls you over, you have something to hang your hat on). I'll give you 10-1 odds, it's not as simple as you are making out particularly over 10-12' beam. I see 10' beam boats fairly regularly without the wide load signs and I'm betting no permits. They likely are just risking it knowing most cops won't be interested as they aren't noticeably wider than normal.

This sounds like a perfect situation for a folding trimaran. They are designed to be trailered and typically have shallow draft making them practical to launch from a ramp and also typically have masts that can be raised and lowered without a crane. With no ballast, weight isn't a big deal trailering and without the fixed keel, they aren't so top heavy like typical monohull cruisers.

If I'm wrong and you can go up to 14' without permit complications, some of the smaller catamarans are an option. We bought our Gemini in Minnesota and had her trucked home (with wide load permits and a chase car). She is dead on at 14' as we had to check because over 14' made a big difference. Compared to a 34' tri or monohull, you will have far more room. The downside is without engineering a way to raise the mast, you will need crane to do so.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Jammer

. . . I'm rethinking the tradeoffs.

Weather on Superior is notorious (I've heard tell that in 1975 a rather large vessel broke up there after encountering 60 knot winds and 25 foot seas) but the real reason I'm looking at bluewater cruisers is longer-term plans to cruise the Caribbean and perhaps beyond. But maybe that will have to be a different boat.

I'm going to scout some of the ramps in person this spring but I think you're probably right that they will be a limiting factor. If I have to depend on a travellift for all the transfers then I may be better off using a commercial hauler, or getting bareboat charters in these places, or exploring these areas some other way.

Edmund Fitzgerald. I was a kid in the twin cities when that happened. Thing is Superior is bad mostly in the off season, such as November when EF went down. During the summer the odds are much better. Like being on the ocean, it can get you any time but your odds are better during certain periods.

Getting a cruising boat for lake sailing seems like a stretch. Too many people start down the cruising path and then walk away before going offshore. Having a cruising boat inland puts you in a costly position if your life plans change: you can sell it at a loss there, pay good money to have it hauled back to a coast and sell it there, or spend time and some money doing it yourself.

[Captain Bucknut]

Here's a couple pennies worth.....

We have a 1986 Catalina 25 with a swing keel. She draws just a bit under 3' with the keel up and 5' fully extended. My TV is a 2004 Chevy Tahoe 5.3L V8 with tow package and 4WD. The trailer has electronic brakes and has a second tongue that extends out an additional 8' for ramps with shallower waters. She is listed at 4,550 lbs displacement with the keel weighing in at 1,900 lbs. When trailering she sits at 11' 10" and her beam is 8', requiring extra lighting (sidemarkers and a rear light bar) on the trailer. Height and width are good things to know when hauling over the road for obvious reasons. Boats are expensive enough without have to pay for repairing an awning at the gas station.

She pulls like a dream over the road with a Class III hitch with tortion bars to help distribute the load.

Stepping the mast can be done with one person in light conditions and is a breeze with 2. No more than 20 minutes up or down. A 9.9 HP 4 stroke outboard is plenty of muscle to maneuver in even a stiff breeze and chop. Some nice features are the pop-top that gives +/- 6'6'' of head room, v-birth forward, starboard and port bunks and a berth in the stern. Plenty of storage space for weekend and 2-3 week trips They are used in many different conditions from small lakes, to the Great Lakes and coastal cruising. Quite a few have made short crossing from FL to the Bahamas. You should be able to find one from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on condition and with or without trailer.

Check them out online CATALINA 25 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

The Catalina 25 is a great cruising boat for the length of time you are looking at. Being a camper you'll find it's very similar in that regard especially with the Catalina 25.