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Trailers and tenders: what to sort out first
Short answer
A road trailer and a tender are the two items owners most often forget to name. Both can do damage on their own, both carry their own paperwork, and both are worth ten minutes before the first tow of the season.
A trailer becomes a vehicle in its own right the moment it leaves the towball. Coupled up, the towing car answers for what the outfit does on the road. Uncoupled, a trailer that rolls across a boatyard into the car behind it, or drops a keel onto a neighbour's topsides, stands alone, and that is the gap most owners never notice until it opens. Anyone who has recovered a boat single handed has pushed a loaded trailer down a slip and felt how little it takes to lose it.
Since December 2021 a driver holding a standard category B licence in Great Britain may tow a trailer without sitting a further test, which surprised a good many owners who had booked one. The plated limits of the towing vehicle and the maximum mass of the trailer still decide what is legal, and they are the two figures to read off the plates rather than guess. Before a long haul, check the age of the tyres rather than the tread, the wheel bearings after a winter of salt water, the lighting board and its wiring, the coupling and safety cable, and the nose weight once the boat is aboard. In Ireland and the Netherlands the thresholds differ, so a trip across the water is worth a look at the local rules.
The tender deserves the same ten minutes. A dinghy used with the mother ship is usually treated differently from one kept ashore and used on its own, and an outboard over a certain size may have to be registered where you keep it. Read the contract instead of assuming: is the trailer named with a value, is the tender named with its outboard, does road transit sit inside the agreed area, and does the tender stay inside the arrangement when it goes ashore for the shopping. Marking hull and outboard with the boat's name and a photograph of both serial numbers costs nothing and settles most ownership questions at a police station.
Worth remembering
Coupled
the towing car answers for the whole outfit
Uncoupled
the trailer stands alone, and so does the liability
The gap opens the moment the towball is free, which is exactly when a loaded trailer is most likely to move.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Does the trailer need to be named separately?
Coupled to the car it rides on the car's motor insurance. Uncoupled it does not, and a trailer that rolls or is left standing on a slip can do real damage. Check that it is named with a value, and check it before the first tow rather than after.
Do I need a separate licence to tow in Great Britain?
Since December 2021 a standard category B licence allows towing without a further test. The plated limits of the towing vehicle and the maximum mass of the trailer still apply, and those are the figures that decide whether an outfit is legal on the road.
Is the tender treated as part of the boat?
Usually only when it is named and used with the mother ship. Kept ashore, run on its own, or fitted with a larger outboard, it tends to be looked at separately. Read what the contract says about it before the season starts, not after a theft.
What should I check on the trailer each spring?
Tyre age rather than tread depth, wheel bearings, the lighting board and its wiring, the coupling and safety cable, the winch strap, and the nose weight with the boat aboard. Salt water and long winters shorten the life of all of them.
Related
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