For many people owning your own boat is the ultimate dream; sailing your own private boat wherever and whenever is about as idyllic as it gets. However, keen sailors, jet skiers and fishers will know that unless you plan to only frequent one body of water, you will need to be able to transport your vessel – although not a difficult feat, there are some key points to remember. 
 
Your first consideration should be whether or not you are legally allowed to tow your boat, and the laws vary from country to country. (In France, for example, all drivers must ensure they carry spare lights for their trailer at all times.) Depending on your driving licence you may be limited to the amount of weight that you can tow, and there are limits to how wide a boat you can take on public roads. Some countries require separate insurance for your trailer. Trailers should be inspected thoroughly before being used, especially if they have been sitting unused for long periods of time, and you must ensure that breaks, tyres and lights are all in working order. When towing a heavy trailer the car will become much less responsive, with accelerating and decelerating speeds heavily compromised, so drivers should always take care to avoid breaking hard or changing lanes at the very last minute. 
 
Finally you need to choose a suitable towing car for your boat. Most cars have a maximum tow weight listed by the manufacturer – based on the weight that a car can pull up a relatively steep incline – as well as a max train weight. These weights should never be exceeded, however you also need to ensure that you can control and bring you trailer to a stop once it is moving. The heavier the trailer and lighter the car, the greater the risk of jack knifing, so an unbaked trailer should never exceed 50% of the cars kerb weight, and a braked trailer should not exceed 85%.
 
Four Wheel Drive is not essential when towing, but it is desirable as a trailer will change the weight distribution of a car, reducing the grip of the front wheels. While this is not usually a problem driving on roads, when launching or recovering a boat on a slippery launch ramp it is much more important. With this in mind The Nissan Armada is one of the heavier tow cars on the market, with 9,000lb towing capacity. On the other end of the scale the Jaguar XF is only heavy enough to tow lighter trailers, but has enough power to do so with ease and comfort. As a rear wheel drive it offers better grip than most two wheel cars and its diesel engine gives it better towing power at lower revs. In between the two extremes there are countless options from the BMW X5 to the Land Rover Discovery, with a ‘Tow Assist’ optional add on.

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