Gulfstream too wide to trailer?
- Thread starter IwanaBrich
- Start date
It has a 9' 3" beam. It is not too wide to trailer, but, as Elyse said, check to see if a permit is needed. It most likely is. Requirements vary from sate to state.
yes you probably need a permit.. We are supposed to have one in VA also for anything over 8'6".. However, I have towed a 23' Gulfstream, a 27 Sailfish and currently a 30' Marlin all over VA and NC for the past 15 years without one and never had a problem and I have been stopped numerous times for lights.. Never did a cop mention anything about being overwidth..
I to toe my Gulfstream all around MD and down to NC. Just make sure your not "Hot Rodding" or driving in a dangerous fashion and the cops will usually leave you alone!
IwanaBrich said:
You're only 4" over limit at the transom. Check DMV as some states allow oversize trailering on weekends.
I tried to find the info on NYS DOT and I could not find an answer. Honestly, I'm not worried about getting a ticket from a cop, (don't beat me up here) but most cops aren't A--H----s. As long as you aren't diving nuts, they won't bother with you. However God forbid I got into an accident...my fault or otherwise. I'm afraid some slick lawyer will nail me, cause my boat was 9" too wide. I really like the Gulfstream, but I don't understand nor can I find what I have to do to trailer a boat thats 9" too wide.
Try the Bureau Of Motor Vehicles or State Police. I would forget looking on-line and talk to a real person on the phone.
Anything over 8'6" wide is oversize and requires a permit. The permit is a royal PIA saying you must tow during daylight hours and not on Sunday (not sure about Saturday). Now if the local authorities bust your stones about it is another thing. At 9" over I don't see anyone harassing you as long as you drive sanely but some areas were cracking down. NC was enforcing the widths for a while probably for $ but in Florida I never heard of someone getting in trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
Anything over 8'6" wide is oversize and requires a permit. The permit is a royal PIA saying you must tow during daylight hours and not on Sunday (not sure about Saturday). Now if the local authorities bust your stones about it is another thing. At 9" over I don't see anyone harassing you as long as you drive sanely but some areas were cracking down. NC was enforcing the widths for a while probably for $ but in Florida I never heard of someone getting in trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
Anything over 8'6" wide is oversize and requires a permit. The permit is a royal PIA saying you must tow during daylight hours and not on Sunday (not sure about Saturday). Now if the local authorities bust your stones about it is another thing. At 9" over I don't see anyone harassing you as long as you drive sanely but some areas were cracking down. NC was enforcing the widths for a while probably for $ but in Florida I never heard of someone getting in trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
I tow my Sailfish twice a year without a permit and never had any issues. If you get in an accident and the other person involved knows you were over sized and didn't have a permit you're in for some trouble.
Cushion came home!
Yo Ho magicalbill! How's it going! A comment you made last week about never seeing a cushion blow out of the boat, prompted me to share this one with you all. (the thread was about towing with the curtains on, up, down?) Last year on the way home from Apalachicola way after dark one of my hard luck buddies had neglected to put one of my custom cushions back in the cabin where he had gotten it from. In the dark I had not noticed that the cushion had not been stowed. Well about 15 miles up the road the darn thing blew out of the boat unseen as we crossed one of the bridges over a tributary (Whiskey George) that runs into the bay. The next day as I cleaned up the boat I noticed that I was a cushion short. I knew what had happened and was mad with myself for not checking behind my hapless buddy. I wrote the cushion off as a lesson learned and knew that it was gone forever. Just prior to our first offshore trip this year, I had went over to touch base with my longtime friend and first mate "One Eyed John" who was not home. When I knocked on his door I noticed that there on his front porch in a pile of sporting gear was a Grady cushion. I instantly recognized it as the cushion that had been missing for ten months. A quick call to John's cell phone revealed that he had found the cushion still laying on that bridge two weeks after that fishing trip. To him it was just another piece of roadkill that he happened to pickup on his way to St. George Island on a surf fishing trip with his wife. Like you said you will never see it blow out but, mine miraculously came home like a long lost dog! 8)
Yo Ho magicalbill! How's it going! A comment you made last week about never seeing a cushion blow out of the boat, prompted me to share this one with you all. (the thread was about towing with the curtains on, up, down?) Last year on the way home from Apalachicola way after dark one of my hard luck buddies had neglected to put one of my custom cushions back in the cabin where he had gotten it from. In the dark I had not noticed that the cushion had not been stowed. Well about 15 miles up the road the darn thing blew out of the boat unseen as we crossed one of the bridges over a tributary (Whiskey George) that runs into the bay. The next day as I cleaned up the boat I noticed that I was a cushion short. I knew what had happened and was mad with myself for not checking behind my hapless buddy. I wrote the cushion off as a lesson learned and knew that it was gone forever. Just prior to our first offshore trip this year, I had went over to touch base with my longtime friend and first mate "One Eyed John" who was not home. When I knocked on his door I noticed that there on his front porch in a pile of sporting gear was a Grady cushion. I instantly recognized it as the cushion that had been missing for ten months. A quick call to John's cell phone revealed that he had found the cushion still laying on that bridge two weeks after that fishing trip. To him it was just another piece of roadkill that he happened to pickup on his way to St. George Island on a surf fishing trip with his wife. Like you said you will never see it blow out but, mine miraculously came home like a long lost dog! 8)
JUMPINJACK..great story! Who would've ever thought? Did the cushion clean up OK after being on the side of the road and out in the weather all that time?
IwanaBrich..What it will most likely come to is a personal decision you'll have to make concerning the permit. Tow without it and avoid the hassles of acquiring one, most likely not getting stopped..Or wade thru the red tape and be safe. How much do you plan to tow? if your like Grog and tow a couple times a year, it might be OK not to mess with it.
IwanaBrich..What it will most likely come to is a personal decision you'll have to make concerning the permit. Tow without it and avoid the hassles of acquiring one, most likely not getting stopped..Or wade thru the red tape and be safe. How much do you plan to tow? if your like Grog and tow a couple times a year, it might be OK not to mess with it.
magicabill
After reading all the post this was the only one I could comment on and
I needed to add to my number.
I'm a long way from 1000.
After reading all the post this was the only one I could comment on and
I needed to add to my number.
I'm a long way from 1000.
magicalbill, yes sir! the cushion was incredibly unscathed. It was high and dry on that solid concrete and by some miracle I think all the passerbys except for my opportunistic buddy must have thought it was a styrofoam ice chest lid. I still can't believe that I got it back. I cussed the poor fellow that took it out of the cabin for many months! Hey Voyager when you coming home? The noose is tightening on the Gulf. I fear this Tropical # 1 may be the death knell! Everyone is catching the heck out of everything because all the fish have fled northeast to shallow water. One Eyed John caught a 45# Blue Fin Tuna just south of Indian Pass last week! It is a fishing free for all! 8)
As stated in this thread, drive like you got some sense and it should not be an issue. I've hauled boats back & forth from SC to The Keys since the mid 80's without incident. Don't draw attention to yourself by haulin azz and such. You should be good to go. I mean think about. If everyone with a Gulfstream had to get a permit everytime to get to the water, well you get my drift. Tight Lines.