According to the latest stats, 95 percent of the boats on the water in the US are ‘towable.’
If you’re looking to buy a towable boat, you should probably learn how towing works ahead of time. In doing so, you can ensure that you don’t buy the wrong kind of towing equipment for your boat.
This post will provide you with an essential guide to towing boats. Whether you need to tow your boat over land or water, these tips will help you do things the right way.
Let’s begin!
Is Your Vehicle Capable?
If you want to tow your boat on land, you need to verify whether your vehicle is strong enough to tow a boat.
You can figure this out by reviewing the manual for your car. In there, you will need to look for something known as the ‘Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR).’
This is a figure that essentially determines how much weight your car can carry. So, this figure includes the car itself, the people in the car, items in the trunk, and anything you’re towing.
Once you know what this figure is, you can then cross-reference it with the weight of your boat and tow trailer. Note that you might also want to come up with a rough estimate for everything else that will be in the car.
If your car isn’t strong enough, you might want to rent out a truck whenever you’re towing your boat. You can find an appropriate truck by Googling ‘best trucks for boat towing.’
Invest in a Suitable Tow Trailer
Once you’ve done the above, you will also need to invest in a tow trailer.
This isn’t that hard to do, as you will just need to find one big enough for your boat.
If you’re thinking of buying a second-hand tow trailer, you should consider replacing the wheels. You might even want to replace the part that connects the trailer and the car.
What About Towing on Water?
If your engine fails, you might need to tow your boat while it is still on the water.
Now, most of the time, the coastguard will help you, and they’ll have the equipment required for the job.
That said, you should keep some ‘nylon anchor rope’ just in case you can’t reach the coastguard. Using this, another civilian boat should be able to tow you to shore.
If you want to minimize the odds of engine failure, you should conduct thorough checks before each journey.
Furthermore, you should also consider investing in a ‘marine fuel water separator.’
This item will prevent water and other contaminants from getting into your fuel supply. This is critical, as these things can often degrade your engine to the point where it no longer works.
If you’d like to learn more about marine fuel water separators, go here for additional information.
Do You Understand the Basics of Towing Boats?
In this post, we’ve covered some of the basics you need to be aware of when towing boats.
If you’re worried about doing things the wrong way, you might want to go to a specialist store that sells boats. They will have experts on hand that’ll help you figure out which approach works best for you.
Make sure you visit our blog to see some of the latest posts we’ve published!