The List, I had made some comments last fall based on my euphoria of having just purchased a trailerable boat a tad over width. Based on the comments from the previous owner and dealer's experience about towing without permits I was not planning on obtaining a permit as it only 11" over width and towed much better than my 40' goose neck car-hauler (no excuse). I know, I know... the driver is responsible for the load and I do not wish to abuse my driving privileges or endanger other motorists. I bow to the off list comments and experience of many members that have encouraged me to investigate the consequences of being stopped and would like to report on my findings. The boat is 29' 10" and 9"5" wide ( 8'6" permissible in most states and Canada) with a dry weight of roughly 4800 lbs on a 1200lb Float-On aluminum trailer. I pull with a Dodge 2500 series diesel and estimate each axle weights for the trailer of 2700 lbs with 400 lbs on the tongue. The combination is 59' overall length and within axle weight limits for our state (13,000). I am not required to have a CDL and the regulations are in the Michigan Vehicle Code. The permit is issued by the Michigan Dept of Transportation (MDOT) and one-time or annual permits are available. I have to say that sorting out every detail for a privately owned vehicle Vs a commercial vehicle is difficult even for the MDOT staff at times. My fee for the annual permit based on my birthday was prorated at $50 and is good until my birthday in Oct of 09. Violations are considered a "Civil Infraction" and the fines are variable. The permit is good for state trunk lines/highways only and if you plan on county or local transits they recommend that you contact them directly, this seems more related to overweight restrictions than over width. States vary with hauling restrictions. For my load in Michigan I need orange flags posted in the front and rear corners of the load, no signage or flashers are required. I can haul during daylight although many states do not restrict the hours for this size of load. No hauling is permitted on weekends with a grace period before and after the holidays applies in many states like MI. You are also required to stop at all weigh stations. Permit Services are available and greatly reduce the frustration of obtaining the necessary permits for multi state transits for a fee. One service quoted $15 per state for their service plus the state permit which varies but usually reasonable for a one time transit. Insurance for coverage and liability per AAA of MI if ticketed for a violation was not an issue and would be covered. I have not confirmed with Boat US any consequences of not having a permit as they insure the boat and trailer, I agree ignorance is no excuse. Now, with what I have learned would I choose a smaller boat given the added hassle? Well, we have a whole lot of boat with a MC30... can take it home with me to tinker when I want and some cruising options I hadn't considered with a larger boat... Lake Powell or Mead are on the list now. I have learned so much from these lists (Great Loop, T&T, Powercatamaran and Passagemaking-under-power) and feel that it was my obligation to follow up on this subject. I would be glad to share further on this subject if anyone wants to contact me off list. I have ONE question from my wife and cruising partner as she wants to know why I read all these lists and don't have time to clean out the cat litter box anymore. Anyone have a recommendation on a 12V hair dryer? I did search Google and EBay with only a couple of choices that seemed quite cheaply made. Now if this was a sophisticated piece of marine electronics or even a way of keeping the beer colder I would consider another thread on generators, inverters and the likes. We have no generator and no current inverter of sufficient power to operate one but a great solar system when the sun is shining. Cutting her hair very short is not an option and the boat doesn't go fast enough to blow it dry! No need to go through all the math, amp hrs calculations and battery options just the best 12V hair dryer anyone has found please. Yes, I did get a permit for Michigan. Sorry for the long post. Tom & Connie Rogers ( Tom R) Cats Away (MC30) Oscoda, MI tomlrogers@gmail.com 810 287-8397

While I don't have that problem, Tom (wife has basically wash and wear hair, thankfully), I think you would be better served by buying an inverter of sufficient wattage to give you a source of 120VAC to run a regular hair dryer (plus any number of other 120VAC devices or appliances). I just checked a hair dryer here and it is rated at 1600 Watts. I believe I would opt for a 2,000 Watt inverter which would deliver up to 1800 (15 Amps at 120VAC) and have a bit of reserve. This is too much to plug into a cigar lighter socket, so should be hardwired to your 12VDC system through a 15 or 20 Amp breaker. Best regards and good luck. Remember that this (and most) advice you ever receive is worth (at best) only what you have paid for it. ** D C "Mac" Macdonald ** * m/v Another Adventure * ** '95 Carver 355 ACMY ** * Grand Lake - Oklahoma * ** USPS & AGLCA (#217) ** * K2GKK -- USAF/retired * ___________________________________ > Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:40:07 -0500 > From: tomlrogers@gmail.com > To: great-loop@lists.samurai.com > Subject: GL: Trailerable Boat Permits > > The List, > > I have ONE question from my wife and cruising partner as she wants to know > why I read all these lists and don't have time to clean out the cat litter > box anymore. Anyone have a recommendation on a 12V hair dryer? I did search > Google and EBay with only a couple of choices that seemed quite cheaply > made. Now if this was a sophisticated piece of marine electronics or even a > way of keeping the beer colder I would consider another thread on > generators, inverters and the likes. We have no generator and no current > inverter of sufficient power to operate one but a great solar system when > the sun is shining. Cutting her hair very short is not an option and the > boat doesn't go fast enough to blow it dry! No need to go through all the > math, amp hrs calculations and battery options just the best 12V hair dryer > anyone has found please. > > > Yes, I did get a permit for Michigan. Sorry for the long post. > > > > Tom & Connie Rogers ( Tom R) > Cats Away (MC30) > Oscoda, MI > > tomlrogers@gmail.com > 810 287-8397

I don't think you can find a 12 vdc hair drier that will work satisfactorily. You say you don't want to go through the calculations, but it would take 100 amps or more at 12 vdc to work well. The power cord would look like jumper cables. Real hair driers are typically 1200 to 1500 watts. Divide by 12 to get the amps. Even if you used an inverter you would need a large battery bank to supply 100+ amps for the 5 or 10 minutes it might take to dry a woman's long hair. 12 vdc coffee pots have the same problem. Depending on the number of cups, it can take them a long time to brew a pot of coffee. Regular (120 vac) coffee pots work well on inverters. They typically use less watts than hair driers and for shorter periods of time. Jim Fidler "Fiddlesticks" >>Anyone have a recommendation on a 12V hair dryer? >>No need to go through all the >> math, amp hrs calculations and battery options just the best 12V hair >> dryer >> anyone has found please.

If you, your wife, SO, first-mate, or dog/cat doesn't need a truly huge hair dryer, we found one my wife was fairly happy with that operated on 1200 watts using a 1500 watt hard-wired inverter on our previous trawler. Whenever we shop for electrical appliances we're going to be using on Sanderling, the first thing we look at is the wattage and then make the calculation to see if it will work with our current 2000 watt inverter. One thing that we both demand in the morning is fresh coffee, and it can take forever to brew coffee using a 12 volt coffee maker; you'd be better off using an old-fashioned percolator and your propane or electric stove. <><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><> Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina MV Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base DeFever 41 Trawler Melbourne, Florida On 3/1/2008 4:01 PM, Jim Fidler wrote: > I don't think you can find a 12 vdc hair drier that will > work satisfactorily. You say you don't want to go > through the calculations, but it would take 100 amps > or more at 12 vdc to work well. The power cord > would look like jumper cables. Real hair driers are > typically 1200 to 1500 watts. Divide by 12 to get > the amps.

Jim is correct but off offer a simple solution: 1. Women will have to either "air dry" their hair like men, or 2. use the energy sucking hair dryer when the genset is running. 3. If no genset, then no hair dryer. (BTW, are there fashion police out on the water when you are on the hook????? We're not going to the prom or a wedding ya know ! ) R. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Fidler" <fidlerjim@earthlink.net> To: "great-loop" <great-loop@lists.samurai.com> Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2008 4:01 PM Subject: Re: GL: 12VDC Hair Dryer (was: RE: Trailerable Boat Permits) >I don't think you can find a 12 vdc hair drier that will > work satisfactorily. You say you don't want to go > through the calculations, but it would take 100 amps > or more at 12 vdc to work well. The power cord > would look like jumper cables. Real hair driers are > typically 1200 to 1500 watts. Divide by 12 to get > the amps. > > Even if you used an inverter you would need a large > battery bank to supply 100+ amps for the 5 or 10 > minutes it might take to dry a woman's long hair.