A folding travel trailer on top of a 28' pontoon boat.

[Parasympathetic]

By "raised deck" they mean like a bass boat front and rear fishing decks which are usually at or very near level with the gunwale. A pontoon boat without a rail would be flat across deck height and even with the gunwale. They write tickets here every day for people riding in the front or rear seats of bass boats or crappie boats while underway......because they are at or above the level of the gunwale without a rail.

Everybody here knows that you can't sit OUTSIDE of the rail while underway on a pontoon........same deal. It stands to reason that if you can't sit in a chair on a raised deck without a rail while underway, then you damn sure can't stand and or walk around under the same conditions. Besides, it also says "or any other place where there may be a chance of falling overboard". Wouldn't that be a flat pontoon deck without a rail?

And no, I'm not gonna look up the statutes to back up the OFFICIAL MISSOURI PUBLICATION. But I can assure you that the State of Missouri is not in the habit of producing false publications just to back up my statements. Matter of fact, the current Governor is probably not happy with my political activism against his policies.

As with all public safety, statutes are written to allow the regulating powers a broad interpretation and thus ENFORCEMENT of the regulations. And I've seen completely different enforcement of boating regulations in states with a lot of coastal area like Florida vs one that is land-locked like Missouri.

*edited for spelling

[GregF]

OK so if Ron lives in Mo he may not be able to do this unless he puts in a 6" high rail. That sounds safe Ha!

Personally I think I would be in court looking for the definition of a raised deck on a pontoon boat. Perhaps it would apply to that flying bridge he has but since there is nothing below the deck on a pontoon, how can the deck be raised and raised above what.

Florida doesn't have any such rule so we are 1 and 1 with 48 states to go.

I don't disagree with your sentiment and nobody rides in the front of my boat in spite of an 8" high rail up there, which would make it legal on Mo.

I like looking up obscure laws. Maybe I will look this up for you if they are online.

[GregF]

That was too easy

306.126. 1. The operator of a motorboat shall not allow any person to ride or sit on the gunwales, decking over the bow, railing, top of seat back or decking over the back of the motorboat while under way, unless such person is inboard of adequate guards or railing provided on the motorboat to prevent a passenger from being lost overboard. As used in this section, the term "adequate guards or railing" means guards or railings having a height parameter of at least six inches but not more than eighteen inches. Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that passengers or other persons aboard a motorboat cannot occupy the decking over the bow of the boat to moor it to a mooring buoy or to cast off from such a buoy, or for any other necessary purpose. The provisions of this section shall not apply to vessels propelled by sail.

If you are not riding on the deck "over the bow" or "over the back" you are legal, rail or not.
The word "raised" does not appear. That is why I do not like to trust "handbooks". My wife tried to beat a traffic ticket with the DMV drivers handbook and got laughed out of court, after paying the fine. It was pointed out they are not law.

[Parasympathetic]

You've just proved my point. You're just not reading it correctly.

I don't care what your interpretation of the law is, all I care about is how the water patrol interprets the law.

Again, go to any state and park some people on the outside of the rail on your pontoon, front or back, I don't care.........then drive your toon in front of the Water Patrol and see what happens. If he doesn't have any rails, then that's essentially what's happening.

Since you're an expert in the law I will defer to you and you can regurgitate your advise to the OP.
This is a waste of time.

[RonKMiller]

There's plenty or work boats around here with no railings, haven't seen any recreational vessels without them though. I'd make some phone calls to make sure you will be compliant in your state.

That's good advice, and I will. Thank you.

My guess is that work boats - especially since they are commercial in nature probably come under a whole different set of laws with OSHA, etc. and may have different requirements. They may indeed be more lax or more stringent - but the only way to know for sure is to check with my local authorities. They're the ones doing the licensing. I would be shocked if they regulated WHAT you carry on top the deck, (especially if it is a private water craft) as long as it can be demonstrated that it is secured properly and doesn't present a hazard to other boaters.

I actually like the idea of having railing around the deck for safety reasons - and I couldn't see any reason why the railing has to be PERMANENTLY secured to the deck. It could be as simple as some stanchions with locking pins through the tubes that secure the railing after the trailer is loaded. There's all kinds of fasteners designed especially for this purpose - as simple as this hitch pin:

hitch pin.jpg (19.95 KiB) Viewed 14731 times

[RonKMiller]

I remember watching a video from a fella in either Aust. or NZ that did just this, may have been a youtube, do a search there and see what you come up with using camper/pontoon as search words.

Not exactly what I'm thinking about, but entertaining none the less!

This guy's rig is more of a barge - and pretty crude when it comes to steering but ya' gotta give him some credit for ingenuity. I don't eat beans out of a can, ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDfSuAtiVkQ

...and who wouldn't want to go four wheeling on - water??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2SJ5IkB ... re=related

[GregF]

If you are not riding "over the bow" or "over the back" you would be legal without a railing.
In fact the way that law is written your kids can sit right up on the bow as long as they are sitting behind a 6" tall bow rail. I do not understand how that makes them safe. There is no specification that says this is more than a single rail either. That explains the 18" maximum but you would still have an 17" gap between the rail and the deck. I am a building inspector and I know how "railing" statutes are written. This is not much of a statute. It has big holes in it (all puns intended).

As for the OP. If you put a meaningful rail (higher than the center of gravity for a child) it would not pass the Mo statute. In fact, depending on how it was interpreted, you could say the typical 24-29" cage on a pontoon boat was not compliant because it is more than 18" tall. That is what happens when you have a poorly written law. I have never seen a boat that had a building code compliant rail. Evidently they think falling off the front of a boat and into the prop is safer than falling off a 3 foot high deck into the grass

[BobL]

Problem solved:

http://www.petstreetmall.com/Dog-Pens-B ... 3824/1373/

[Hersbird]

I think the best way to do this would be to take an older popup with an 8' box, take off the hitch and axle and mount it sideways on the back. Then the door is right, and it makes a sundeck when down only taking up 8 foot of the back at most. Then pops up when parked and the beds hang out over the water still leaving a nice patio to walk out on on the other 16 feet or more of boat. I'd think w/o the hitch and axle a camper that size would weigh less then 1000# and you could find a decient one for under $2000. It may be a problem using public docks to camp at as the beds would make you to wide for the slip, or stick out over the dock, but beached or anchored it would be great. I think an *' popup gets a queen and a twin on the outside beds and can have another twin or queen inside with the benches. Plus a sink and a minifridge, heater and a/c optional.

[RonKMiller]

While I appreciate your input - you've totally missed the point. Any geek could take a camper and simply mount it on a pontoon deck.

I want to be able to roll my trailer on and off the pontoon at will - using it on land OR on the water.

If you've ever slept in a "pop up" in a wind or rain storm... they are worse than a quality tent.

Mine is a hard sided, insulated, weather stripped folding travel trailer. The sidewalls lock in place with four locking clamps when you set it up - which takes all of 30 seconds up or down with the electric ram and gas assisted struts that lifts the walls. A far cry from what you might think of as a "camper." It's a small, light weight fully self contained RV that just happens to be towed - or floated.

I mean, I've got a 32" HDTV and BlueRay DVD player mounted on one wall with remote control - and 90 watts of solar power.

I like my creature comforts.

[Hersbird]

I realize what you were asking, but I think that big of a camper will make the rest of the boat unusable. I have slept in simple Jayco popup in a Yellowstone snowstorm and been quite comfy (along with 8 other family members no less). In my case those hard side popup just don't have the room needed that the tent styles have that end up doubling in size when poped. I think when you say roll it off and on at will, it will turn into a very complicated task that you will end up either leaving it on or off.
I do love this kind of dreaming and planning though, this is how boats, cars, etc. evolve.

[GregF]

Wear your PFDs.

[RonKMiller]

I realize what you were asking, but I think that big of a camper will make the rest of the boat unusable. I have slept in simple Jayco popup in a Yellowstone snowstorm and been quite comfy (along with 8 other family members no less). In my case those hard side popup just don't have the room needed that the tent styles have that end up doubling in size when poped. I think when you say roll it off and on at will, it will turn into a very complicated task that you will end up either leaving it on or off.
I do love this kind of dreaming and planning though, this is how boats, cars, etc. evolve.

A good point, open deck space will be limited to the front only. I had a chance to measure it yesterday in person. The flying bridge mounted in the rear will take up 4 feet, then the trailer 16 feet. That leaves me 7 feet up front with the hitch sticking into part of it. Enough for 4 captains chairs, an oversized umbrella and a small circular table. Enough room to play cards, eat or have cocktails. Too bad there isn't enough room for anyone else to sleep on board (although there would be some room on the bridge) - they'll have to camp on the beach. Darn.

The one really good thing about boating at Lake Powell is the beaches - literally thousands of them sprinkled among 2000 miles of shoreline where you can pull up and have it all to yourself almost any day of the year. I've gone twice in rented houseboats - NEVER again.

[GregF]

The one really good thing about boating at Lake Powell is the beaches - literally thousands of them sprinkled among 2000 miles of shoreline where you can pull up and have it all to yourself almost any day of the year. I've gone twice in rented houseboats - NEVER again.

What's wrong with Lake Powell house boats, We had a great time

[margaritaman]

The one really good thing about boating at Lake Powell is the beaches - literally thousands of them sprinkled among 2000 miles of shoreline where you can pull up and have it all to yourself almost any day of the year. I've gone twice in rented houseboats - NEVER again.

What is wrong with renting the houseboats. I was thinking of doing that!