Greetings All,
Would like to have a boat we can go to both coasts as well as rivers.
When do you need a permit for hauling, and is all states regulated different?
Also any recommendations for choosing a used trailerable boat?  Hoping to
liveaboard parttime.
Thankx
Sheryl

The width of your boat and trailer will be the governing factor. For Interstate highway travel and most of the 48 contiguous states the limit is 8' 6". For some states it is 8' outside of Interstates which is governed by federal law.

I understand that some people run down the highway with 9' or so wide boats and if they ever get caught just pay the fine rather than permit them.

At some point, 12' or so you need an escort, but you won't be trailering that sort of boat with a normal towing vehicle.

YMMV however.

David

Sheryl - I believe that the general rule is that the limit is 8 1/2 ft before you need a permit. And there are several different permit levels and rules depending on the width of the rig. Each state does it separately.

It's kind of a pain to get the needed permits ahead of time but I would advise you to always get them. A very good friend of mine was trailering his over-wide boat and trailer from Florida to Michigan without permits and got stopped in one of the Southern states (don't recall which one). He was forced to leave his boat and trailer?in a toll booth area until he could get the needed permit. It was Saturday and the office he needed to get the permit from was closed until Monday. Because of other circumstances, he was forced to?continue on?to Michigan, then drove down the next week, got the permit, then picked up his boat and trailer and took it to his new home.

I believe you can do some or all of the permitting on-line now. Best to check with the states' DOT.

Tim Behan
36' Monk

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Greetings All,
Would like to have a boat we can go to both coasts as well as rivers.
When do you need a permit for hauling, and is all states regulated different?
Also any recommendations for choosing a used trailerable boat?  Hoping to
liveaboard parttime.
Thankx
Sheryl

As already stated here permits in most states are not required until you go
over 8'6" (102 inches) in beam or over 13'6" in height.  Avoid the
over-height boats at costs.

Permits are usually easy to obtain; most states have on-line system.  Some
do not, California for instance, and you must do it the old fashioned way by
fax to both request and receive.  Some western states make it very easy
where you can obtain all the permits from multiple states on the same page.
One state, Wyoming, requires you to call before entering the state, then
stopping at port of entry for inspection and to purchase your permit.  In
some areas of the county, where toll roads are run by semi-public
authorities, you must obtain an additional permit from them as well as from
the state.  Cost also varies greatly, and you must decide if you want a
single trip permit, or a yearly permit.

We have a 26' Nordic Tug which we tow on a semi-frequent basis. It is
over-width by 12 inches and we usually obtain necessary permits to avoid any
problems with state DOT enforcement.  A couple of other trailer-able boats
to consider as live-aboards are Ranger Tugs (25' LOA, 8'6" beam) or C-Dory,
neither of which need permits to tow.  I towed a Ranger up to Maine a few
weeks ago, thought it was a great little boat.  The more Trailering you do,
the smaller the boat you will probably want.

Please feel free to ask additional towing questions.

Ron Matuska
Morton, IL
Two Far Out NTK26-160

Ron:

Could you tell us the cost for permits for your Nordic Tug and which states you permitted in.

David