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HITTING THE ROAD – SAIL BOAT TRANSPORT
from: So you have a sail boat or are thinking of getting one. One issue sometimes forgotten is how do you transport it from point A to point B? Sail boat transport is not always easy.Some boats are remarkably easily to move from place to place. These are called trailerable sail boats. As far as sail boat transport goes, loading, unloading and even finding the means to do so is easy. They are loaded on a trailer, driven to their destination and launched off a ramp.
Other sail boats do not fit this category. They cannot leave the harbor without being lifted by crane or lift. This is usually due to overall size or keel configuration. In some racing boats, for instance, the keel permits trailering from one race site or event to the next but prohibits launch-ramping or makes it difficult. Fortunately, other racers can be loaded upon the top of a vehicle, folding down into a small portable package for easy sail boat transport. At the end of the journey, they are off-loaded, unfolded, reassembled and sailed off. This is not exactly a trailerable sail boat, but it does make your car or any other type of vehicle used a type of accessible sail boat transport.
If you do have a trailerable boat, or even any sail boat you can place on your vehicle, remember there are rules and regulations concerning taking it on the road. Sail boat transport regulations are not universal. They vary from state to state in the United States and from province to province in Canada. They are enforceable by the ministries and departments of transportation. The maximum height of a beam allowed can vary from eight feet to eight feet six inches. These beam restrictions affect the greatest amount of trailerable boats – the multi-hulls. These include catamarans and trimarans with their folding Amas or outrigger. If your beam is obviously excessive it may be worth your while to purchase a permit to haul it. The problem here, however, is a different permit may be required for each state or province you plan to trailer across.
Another restriction placed upon sail boat transport is weight. How much does your sail boat weigh? This is a concern in terms of the legal requirement for trailer brakes. The minimum, as in the case of beam height, varies. In one jurisdiction the installment of brakes is mandatory when the load exceeds 1,000 pounds; in another the minimum requirement is 10,000 pounds before brakes need be in place. Some sail boat trailerable experts recommend the minimum a sail boat should weigh before breaks are put in place is 3,000 pounds.
These are significant factors to consider when purchasing a sail boat. The lines may be beautiful, the boat may be fast, durable and everything you have every dreamed of, but can it be transported anywhere?
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