To get the boat you want may mean travelling hundreds or even thousands of miles so consider first what the boat is going to be used for. Ask yourself how and what transport will be needed to get it home to the place where it will be moored. If it is a small boat (about 20’), is it on its own trailer and is this included in the price? Are you are experienced enough to tow something like this possibly weighing in excess of 1 ton? Make sure the trailer in a serviceable condition and roadworthy. If it has been lying around while the boat has been in the water, it is essential that the brakes, bearings and electrics and a spare wheel are fully working and all legal. Make sure the trailer number plate corresponds to that of the towing vehicle. Always carry your toolbox and the usual spares. You may even need a few sand bags to balance the boat for travelling.

Check that there is insurance cover and if you are a member, does your AA or RAC membership cover you for such a trip. Plan your trip so it can be done preferably in daylight, and with a co driver, the last thing you want is to do is break down on a motorway or a country lane on a dark wet and windy night. Take it easy, don’t go speeding and if you are pulling in somewhere, don’t forget the length of the combined vehicle and load. Also bear in mind you will use a lot more fuel when towing so make sure you have plenty of fuel for the trip or least know where there is a garage. If you are going to a boatyard, tell them when you expect to arrive to be sure they haven’t locked the gates, Make sure they have a launching slipway and check with them the best time of the tide to put the boat, in also find out where the trailer has to go after you float the boat. Some boatyards will not allow trailers to live in their yards. Watch how far your vehicle goes in the water, make sure your handbrake is ok, your towing vehicle is not a boat but it can easily float away. Be very careful and always keep fore and aft lines on the boat you are launching so it can be kept under control when it floats off the trailer and make sure that the rudder, propeller or outboard motor tilted or not will clear when the boat is released.

Consider all the above points and you should have a pretty pain free trip from previous owner to your new moorings. When you get the new boat launched and if you are inexperienced, it is always as well to get some assistance. There are generally lots of willing helpers in most boatyards and you won’t be made to look stupid doing the job properly.

Bigger motor boats and some larger sailing boats are generally delivered on low loaders or actually driven or sailed to their new home by experienced and charted crew. Like I said earlier, you really need to know what you are doing before you cast off especially if you have just won the lottery and just been out and bought a new gleaming 40 footer.

Unless you have the financial means to employ a skipper it is really essential that you do a course or several. To be reasonably proficient and able to take a boat out to do some serious sailing or motor cruising you really need to do a Competent Crew, Day Skipper Theory and Practical, Coastal Skipper Theory and Practical, Power Boat 1, Power Boat 2, First Aid, Engine Maintenance and a VHF Radio certificated course. These courses are run through The RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and will teach you all you need to know to go to sea safely. They will even give you a certificate after you pass their exams to prove you can do it. If you ever want to rent a boat to, for example, sail around the Greek Isles, they will ask for certificates of proficiency before the will let you near one of their boats. Gone are the days when you could just say “I’ve been sailing for years” and they would accept your word. Not any more, boats can be deadly in the wrong hands.

Author: A Shea

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