1976 Trojan

I was looking at buying a boat of around 26 plus feet. I wondered why most were not trailerable. Can larger boats be kept on a trailer or is there a reason not to? Another question, how many hours is alot on a boat engine. I have seen some with 500 hours. Can anyone tell me what to expect for maintance cost?

 

There are people that trailer 25' boats. However, what salesmen usually don't tell you is that the boat is overwidht. That is, you need a special permit to go on the highway legally. Also, even though a pickup can pull the boat, it won't be able to stop safely. 500 hrs on a well maintained engine is not too much. Maintenance is about $700.00 per engine every 100hrs.

 

What is the width limit for trailers ?

a) In the USA
b) In Europe
c) In Australia

 

In the USA the limit is 8'6" without a permit.

 

I'd suggest checking with your ministry of transportation before buying a trailerable boat that might be overwidth. Especially near cities, even a slightly overwide or overheight trailer might be impossible to move around.

Safely towing a 26-plus footer requires a heavy-duty pickup truck (often a dually), separate trailer brakes (and knowledge of how to use them), and in some cases a trucker's licence (Class-A in Ontario, not sure what they're called across the pond).

 

In Europe 2.55 m, I think (At least it's so in Spain!)

 

Sound like if you keep the width less the 2.5 m you should be able to trailer just about anywhere.