Hi Everyone,
In planning both the costings and practicalities when purchasing either a X or an M, I have a couple of points which I am sure other newcomers to owning a trailer sailer will come accross. Would appreciate any advice from the more experienced;
1 Towing vehicle: At the moment my existing vehicle is not strong enough and I have 2 options. Obviously my first option is to get a new car, this will add considerable cost to buying a new boat and wondered what low cost vehicles other members have used? My company van (Toyota Hiace) is now coming up for replacement in the next 18 months, could always get a new van with a tow hook, however I beleive if the tow weight of the van + trailer exceeds 2500KG I will need to fit a tachograph. Is this correct?
2. Storing the boat + trailer on the drive: Have measured my drive and yes the boat + traler will both fit just, but until a Mac is purchased I will not know for sure if I can actually move it into position at our house. If the worst comes to the worst what are peoples experiences of Dry Storage?
Have looked through the excellent us site Macgregor Sailors, but that site mostly has contributions from owners in the states where they generally have bigger drives and bigger cars.
Would be interested in any suggestions.
thanks
Andy
Wed, 28/10/2009 - 2:49pm
#1
Considerations for Newbies
I understand from my accountant that if a company-owned van is used for private purposes, even once, just for half an hour, it attracts a £3000 flat rate tax charge.
I have heard, and you would need to check, that tachographs and driving time restrictions apply only to vehicles used in the course of trade, and not to leisure use. This sounds right when you think of the large camper vans that you see towing small cars, where it must be quite unlikely that they are subject to commercial driver rules.
The solution may be to buy the van in your own name and let the company use it and pay you for the use. Obviously the payments would be part of your taxable income.
Please don't take my advice on any of this, as I am not qualified to give it. However, you might consider these points to be suggestions for further enquiry.
Jon (editor)
Hi Andrew,i bought a 26x this time last year and found my car was too weak,and my drive was too steep! the mac grounded out at the stern becaus she was too low.
The neighbours got used to her on the road outside the house for six months,and i eventualy found a fairly cheap mooring and boat club in scotland after months on the phone and net.
I bought a ford explorer on an r plate,they are about one to two grand and are fantastic at towing macs,4 litre petrol,you wont even feel the boat.yes bad on petrol,but i only use her for boat related activities,so its not such a big deal,also e sure allow me to insure 2 cars with them both with full no claims.
best wishes will
Thnks Jon and Will for tking the time to reply,
Certainly food for thought.
Andrew,
I latterly kept my boat and trailer on a caravan storage facitity (there were quiet a few boats amongst the caravans) as we are an hour or so from the nearest slipway, though previous to this I used a pontoon mooring during the season with storage in the boatyard over winter.
Another advantage over keeping the boat on a drive is that the caravan storage facilities generally have excellent security with double slectronic gates and high fences!
Regarding a towing vehicle, as you will launch and recover on slipways, the higher the axles the better and on steeper slipways 4WD is advisable.
Cheers
Morris
This website has got lots of info about the UK towing laws:-
http://www.ntta.co.uk/
The law covers lots of things including driving licence type and other stuff as well. Make sure you comply with all the rules and especially make sure your tow vehicle manufacturer's recommended towing max is enough to tow the boat, trailer and contents (this could easily be say 1800kg or more).
A van is highly unlikely to meet this requirement. Even some of the smaller 4 x 4s aren't rated to tow this weight. (But you don't need a tractor - there are some quite nice vehicles at cheap prices).
I use my Ford Maverick to tow the boat and go to the shops. My wife drives the proper car.
Mike
A wise man considering these things before buying a boat. Not like us. We went out for a day and came back with one.
We were lucky enough to scrape by on all counts... the axle graunches a little when going down the drive, it sometimes takes me a few goes to get her in, and in hindsight praps we should have indulged in a little deliberation. We were saved by the fact that we can line up straight out from the kerb... a sort of odd roundabout-island thing in front of our house makes up for the tight entrance. Bear in mind these trailers don't turn quickly on reversing. Had we lived a few doors up we would have been properly kippered. A boat by me not skippered.. summer season scutled, and further wailing and gnashing of teeth.
As to the car, we run a toyota previa, which looks a bit puffy compared to all the muscle wagons lined up at the rallies, and it is a measly 2.4l. (and automatic) However, we've slipped in a few pretty awkward spots without grief, and it is quite easy to forget there's a yacht following you when out n about, till you hit 65 on a motorway and the car starts to get seasick. I haven't heard of anyone else breaching that speed without similar queasiness so I guess it's all good. The previ is rated at 1700 for a braked load, so I'd prefer to avoid being weighed by any annal traffic taxman as I guess loaded up we may be a few grams over.
Hope this helps!
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is.
Two important points...
- Beware that if the "seasick" is a sideways movement on the trailer, that is very dangerous. Reduce your speed very gently without breaking, because if you insist on speeding or if you hit the breaks the sideways movement can become out of control...
- Move all the weight you can from the boat to the car (water, food, gear...). The car must be always heavier than the boat.
Cheers
Jose
Cheers
Jose
http://arianeoveleiro.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone for some fantastic information.