"Ante Topic Mimara" ] wrote in message
news:KMYSIKXQ38080.3344444444@anonymous...



I have looked at several web sites that sell boats, and I have
not seen anything much under 27 or 28 feet that looks like what
I was wanting. Almost all of these boats that are smaller than
this, are all open, and do not have anything inside to sleep
on, or eat, or have heads, or anything. If I could find something
like this, I would be happy, but I have not.


There are a number of boats available that are trailerable and have the
features that you say. For example, Bayliner has a "245" model that is 24
feet long, 8-1/2 feet wide (legal limit for towing) and weighs in at about
7000 pounds.

You would need to have a pretty big truck to tow this thing around, but you
could. The cabin is going to be fairly small, but you can sleep in it.

I have seen other boats of similar size. Like someone else suggested, a
boat show would be a good place to look.

If you need to be able to tow this rig yourself you are not going to be able
to go much larger than this. You can move just about anything down the road
if you get the right permits. The larger it is, the more restrictions you
will have.

Last summer I had a houseboat moved from Arizona to Stockton California.
The boat was 16 feet wide and sitting on the trailer it was 15'-4" tall
(that is after I removed the radar arch, bimini, etc.) The hardest part of
the whole process was getting the boat from the water onto the trailer and
then back into the water. As for the permits, the transportation department
of each state ("CalTrans in California, not sure what Arizona calls theirs)
issues the permits, which the truck driver picked up at the point of entry.

For loads that are just slightly over the legal limit the requirement is
just a sign that says "Oversize load". A little bit larger and you need to
get an escort vehicle that follows along behind and carries a sign
"oversized load ahead". Bigger still and you need an escort vehicle up
front. Bigger still and you need police escort.

For my rig, I needed the two escort vehicles. IF we had to venture off the
interstate in California I would have needed two CHP (California Highway
Patrol) vehicles as escorts. When the permits were applied for the width
and height had to be specified, as well as the origin and destination. The
actual route that was allowed was determined by the state. In my case, it
was south to Phoenix, west on I-10 to Los Angeles, north on I-5 to Stockton.
There were portions of the route that could not be traveled after 7 PM due
to construction. The section through Los Angeles could not be traveled
during commute hours. There were two bridges that were under construction
and the truck had to exit the freeway and then get right back on because the
bridge didn't have enough clearance.

Moving my boat was a bitch and I hope I don't have to do that again! I know
people who race hydroplane boats that are wider than 8-1/2 feet and they tow
them all over the place. I assume that they have permits that are good for
long periods of time (my permits were good for 5 days) or they are really
good at filing for permits!

If you don't think that you can be happy on a ~25 foot boat with an 8 foot
beam then my suggestion to you is to buy a boat that you think you will like
on a body of water that you think you would like to spend some time on. If
you get tired of that body of water either sell the boat and buy another or
pay to have the boat moved. A ten foot beam shouldn't be that bad to move.


Rod