Coming to think about towing a boat, how big does the boat need to be towed? A common question that people ask when it comes to boat towing. In order to be in a position to answer this question adequately and correctly, we need to understand what the term trailer means because without the right context,”trailering” may take different meanings and directions.

Boat towing

For towing a boat to be successful, there is a lot of information that one must know. For instance, the information of the boat and the size must be well known. The truck used to tow the boat? Licenses required hauling? What are the safety considerations?

The legal width

Legality demands accuracy. In that case anything which is below 8.5 feet wide does not require a permit. However, anything wider than that requires a special permit.  Getting towing permits to towboats having a width of more than 8.5 feet is problematic and a nightmare.

Interstate boat towing

The laws depend or vary from state to state. Before deciding on moving your boat on a different state, first find out on compliance and regulations of that state.  You might be required to have a wider load permit to haul a boat that has narrow width restrictions. The regulations in each state are put in place to protect yourself and other road users as well.

Licensing

Different states have different set rules on towing and it is good to talk to licensing department before you tow your boat.Licensing can further be categorized into commercial and noncommercial.

Commercial licenses

Generally, a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is a requirement in all states for boat towing. The endorsements for this license recommend that the heavy vehicle not exceeding 10,000Ibs. The recommendations also may vary from states to states. For instance, in Alaska the score is 26,000Ibs.

Noncommercial licenses

For this you will need a full driver’slicense for substantial vehicle towing including the boats. This will allow you to tow boats weighing more than 750kgs. The noncommercial license furthers narrows down to;

Class A license: this allows you to trailer vehicles and boats not exceeding 10,000ibsUsing a truck weighing 4000ibs or more.

Class B license

This allows you to tow vehicles and boats not exceeding 9000ibs on trucks having 4000ibs or more.

In most of the states of US, the towing laws are very common, what the towing laws are in California for the vehicle owners? Read to learn more.