Interstate Towing

RobMcClain

RobMcClain

Member
We just finished towing our boat east, from Nevada to South Carolina. En route we passed through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. In total we entered 8 different states. Before we left we had the boat inspected for any tag-along aquatic invasive species (AIS). As our home waters of Lake Mead are generally ground zero in the battle against AIS we wanted to be sure we were not going to be responsible for spreading them elsewhere. As we have found in the past, our boat was determined to be clean and passed inspection with flying colors.

Getting this inspection done in advance, prior to leaving Nevada, was recommended by both the local Power Squadron and the Nevada Department of Waterways. It was thought that having a clean inspection report in hand might simplify entry into various states since we understood many are now stopping trailerable boats at their borders for inspection purposes because they don't want to risk the invasion of new unwanted species. This makes complete sense to me and seems a very responsible approach. Getting an inspection is little price to pay to keep our waters as clean as possible.

With this said, none of the 8 states I mentioned had any sort of entry or launch requirements. No signs, no stopping, no inspections, nothing... Just launch and enjoy their waters - and I guess hopefully don't bring along anything. When I asked about AIS at marinas, I was generally looked at with a blank stare. I know Utah has inspection requirements, and I believe some northern states do as well but I don't know which ones. I was shocked to find nothing going south. It was as if we had never left Nevada.

I am curious, what states do have inspection requirements? What are people finding?? I know things might change as summer approaches, but perhaps it would be useful to use this post as a place to keep a running list of which states require AIS inspections and then update it as things change. Just a thought....

Again, for what it's worth we found the following states currently have no vessel inspection requirements for AIS: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina

The one state we have found that does: Utah

Rob
 
Most of our trips have been the southern route--and we have only been stopped at the Calif. border. There is the question at Lake Powell if we have been in the water which would be contaminated. So Far Florida waters are not contaminated.

Even with Calif. inspection program (which in our experience only looks at the bottom of the boat--and is not effective, since the invasive species are more likely to be in bilge water), there are not at least 23 sites of invasive species in Calif. We have had inspectors look at the bottom of the boat for over 10 minutes and never look in the bilge or anywhere inside of the boat.

As careful as those of us are who care are--there are others who don't care, and unfortunately the species will increase. It is accepted in many of the central US states that the species are there, and there is nothing which will be done to stop further spread by recreational vessels.

Basically the inspection programs have been a failure. The inspections are not adequate, and the organisms can be in a larval stage and completely missed. The inspectors don't really look in the right places.

One other factor is that most of the Southern and Central Eastern states have water links via the ICW and river/canal systems--and there is no way to police that.
 
When we went into Lake Powell last year, they looked everything over, closely... even the anchor and rode. We have been stopped in Wyoming and Washington state for inspections, but not as comprehensive as LP.
 
Montana and Idaho have inspections. When in Yellowstone park, WY, you will receive a thorough inspection prior to receiving your boating permit, even if you have just been inspected by one of the state next to Yellowstone.

Our first inspection last year was about 5 miles east of Cheyenne, Wyoming in a rather strong thunderstorm with hail. It wasn't a lot of fun.
 
In addition to Montana and Idaho, I think Oregon has an inspection (when you cross into the state by road).

It's probably a losing battle, but it's nice if people at least try.

On the other hand, I've found that some of the (well-meaning) inspectors don't really have a good handle on how various boats are built, where they might harbor water (or not), etc. Then again, I've had Coast Guard officials demand that I beach a 30' sailboat with a 6' draft :wink: so it's not limited to "non water" folks.

Powell was the most thorough of the inspections.
 
Discovery":15hn4z1l said:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57666137-90/inspection-lake-mussel-mussels.html.csp Adult Quagga mussels have been found as the water levels receded.
Click to expand...

Too late--Powell was pretty good about asking, but someone--or several people brought boats in. The first invasive species were found at Lake Mead in January of 2007. Lake Powell has had some for at least 2 years--and this documents that once they are started, there is no way to stop them in that body of water. Too bad--hopefully they will not do a lot of damage.
 
Glad to see this thread. I'm planning on towing my CD22 out to the PNW (to cruise the San Juans) from Wisconsin this summer. I don't think I'll do any boating along the way until Lake Courdeline, but I might.... Once done in the PNW, I'll either head back through Yellowstone SP and the Badlands, or possibly down to Arizona and back from there. (In which case I may spend a few days on Lake Powel.) As you can see I may be going through a lot of different states. Are these inspections folks are talking about time consuming? Is there anything I can do in advance to prepare? Also, are there any special permits required to boat without a local registration? (I'm registered in Wisconsin, and don't plan on being anywhere more than a week.) Any local knowledge to save some time along the way would be appreciated! Thanks. Colby
 
I believe that the invasive species that they look for at the inspections are only fresh water species. If you go from fresh to salt, those little suckers die.

Any comments?

Boris
 
Colby, we've experienced two inspections, both of which were very thorough. One was at Lake Powell and the other was the preemptive one before our road trip. In both cases inspectors looked very methodically at the boat, motor, trailer, anchor and line, etc. They used mirrors and really took some time to look in crevices and feel surfaces. Despite this effort, both inspections only took about 20 minutes and the inspectors were nice and very informative. Granted, these inspections may not be able to prevent the eventual spread of species, but any delay in their spread is appreciated and I would rather see these inspections than have officials simply throw their hands up and do nothing.

We had our most recent Inspection done in advance of leaving Nevada because of our proximity to Lake Mead. Authorities in other states may or may not have accepted the findings, who knows. Worst case is we simply would have had another inspection - no big deal. And I suspect no meaningful time loss as long as we passed. If inspectors do find something then it can be more time consuming and cost the owner to have a hot water pressure wash. I have never seen or experienced this but it is my understanding of what is required, and I believe the boat can't be moved till it the wash is done. Maybe someone else can confirm or clarify this...

My thought for this thread is just as a heads-up for folks as to what we might anticipate as we cross various state boundaries. Eventually Mary and I will be towing our boat from Virginia to New York, and later back to Nevada on a northern route and I have now idea if we'll encounter inspection requirements.

Rob
 
To answer Boris's question for Calif. Fish and Game:
If a boat has been in saltwater, there is little risk of it transporting live freshwater mussels (though it can transport other invasive species). A conservative estimate of the lethal salt concentration for mussels is 10 to 15 parts per thousand (ppt), so realistically, anything above 10 ppt should kill Quagga/Zebra mussels. The average ocean salinity is 35 ppt. What is currently unknown is the time duration necessary for the salt to kill the mussels.
Click to expand...

To answer Colby's question: There is nothing you can do to prepare except to avoid waters where the muscles are located. A sticker from one state may not be honored in another state. Usually inspections we have had were about 5 minutes--the longest was 5 minutes. We did not encounter any from the PNW down to Powell. Powell recently for us has been asking questions as to where the boat has been and when. Powell you will get a permit for 7 days or a season--we usually get the season. I believe that you will have to have a permit for Yellowstone Lake also.

NO way that one can "spend a few days" on Lake Powell--plan on at a week minimum to get the feeling for the place!

As for the PNW--go on up to Canada and at Least the Gulf Islands--if possible up to Prince Louise Inlet…Take your time and enjoy--some fantastic places to explore.
 
Thanks Bob. I'd love to spend more time in all these areas...but while I'm semi-retired with the summers free, my wife still works, and I'm planning this around her vacation time too! :-) As for Lake Powel, I've already done a 4 night house boat vacation out there some time ago with my late wife and young twins....plus I spent a lot of "land" time in the area. :-) But I know there is still so much more to see! Just reason to go back again later! ;-)
 
Here is our experience from last summer:


We just went through this process when we towed our CD22 from Wisconsin to Blaine, WA. We had the boat in our slip in Sturgeon Bay, WI for about a month. When we pulled the boat out, the Wisconsin DNR had a voluntary "wash down" station with two college kids doing the wash downs. Our CD22 was quite covered in weeds and zebra mussels ( we have a cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan with piles of dead zebra mussels shells lining the shore) - more than normal. They took about 30 minutes washing the boat with hot water.

We took the boat home and did another pressure wash of the top sides and a bit of the bottom. The boat sat in our driveway for 2 weeks before we left. On the way into Montana they had a mandatory boat inspection stop. Pulled in expecting all to be good. Very nice college kid did the inspection and was very excited to find a couple dead zebra mussels (first time they ever saw them on a boat). This prompted him to have to call his boss to see if we would need to leave the boat there and have a second team do an inspection. We explained that we would not put the boat in the water in Montana. The boss instructed him to do another wash down and they nicely said we could leave but to stop in Idaho for another inspection.

On the way to Idaho they called us on the phone to see when we would be at the inspection station. When we arrived they had the college kid plus 3 other "higher level" guys ready to see the problem boat. They spent about 5 minutes inspecting the hull and came back to the truck and asked if we always kept the hull so clean. Gave us the thumbs up and off we went.

Launched the boat in Blaine, WA - the next day the Washington DNR called on the phone wondering if we had launched and where. Told him that Idaho gave us a thumbs up and also now in saltwater and he said have a nice trip.

I was very impressed on the cooperation between the states and glad to see it.

I was certainly embarrassed that we even had a dead zebra mussel on the hull but I also didn't realize that other states did not have our problem. We have trillions of dead zebra mussels shells on the shore lines, just figured this problem was all over (maybe just not as bad). Our problems came from the ocean ships dumping their hull water into our great lakes.

So, next time I will double triple check the bottom before we leave Washington and head to our next destination. I don't care about any fines, I care about other folks waters and certainly don't want to add/start a problem.
 
The irony of all these wash downs and dead muscle shells, is that the larvae would more likely be in a bait tank or in some small water in the bilge--were these ares of the boat checked? Where I could see a problem in the newer C Dories, are where there are permeant floors, which cannot be accessed, but where in some boats water can collect.
 
Thanks Robert. I'll more than likely be talking to you closer to summertime about your experience, and once I have a better idea of my cruising itinerary! Doesn't sound like I should have any problems with the inspections, as you know my boat is on the trailer when not in use. And I don't think I'll be hitting any lakes on the way out. (Although I expect I'll have several hours on the local lakes once the ice is out before heading west..if the ice is out before June... :-) Colby
 
So what readily available chemical would kill larval forms of mussels (bi-valves) in the bilge without harming your boat?

(Assuming you can't just dump ALL the water onto dry ground to kill them.)

Bleach? (sodium hypo-chlorite)

Copper Sulfate Solution?

Some form of insecticide?

TSP (tri-sodium phosphate)?

anti-freeze (ethylene glycol)?

concentrated salt solution?

alum? (aluminum sulfate)

moth balls? (ortho-dichloro benzene)

vodka? (ethyl alcohol) (Bottle the result and put it on the shelf next to the tequila with the worm.)

Electric Current? (New secondary use for the de-fibrillator in your bug-out bag.)

Etc., etc., ………….. (some mentioned just for fun!)

Most of these shouldn't be eventually dumped into a lake or ocean eventually, either! :wink

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":l8eijdjw said:
So what readily available chemical would kill larval forms of mussels (bi-valves) in the bilge without harming your boat?
Click to expand...

Army corp of engineers gives the following suggestions:

Saturated solution iodized salt for 30 minutes

Ethanol 50%, 2 minutes or multiple flooding rinses

Lysol, or similar as sold, undiluted for 2 minutes or multiple flooding rinses

5% bleach, 3oz per 5 gallons of water for one hour. (Probably the bleach is the cheapest and most effective).

Also drying for 2 weeks, steam or freezing.

"All field equipment must then be cleaned by soaking, dipping in, or scrubbing with, one of the disinfectant solutions listed. If one of these approaches is not possible, the equipment should ideally be steam-cleaned or at least rinsed with water (hot and/or high pressure if possible) and allowed to dry completely before next use."
 
The USACE list Bob references is good, with the caveat that bleach is pretty hard on aluminum, although at that dilution, it woild take many, many treatments to do significant damage. One treatment is not going to seriously damage aluminum alloys, but repetitive use may do so. The iodized salt treatment or the alcohol probably are the least harmful to aluminum. A saturated salt solution requires a helacious quantity of salt, about 1/3 the weight of the water, IIRC. Salt is cheap, and rock salt grade is good enough. I doubt it needs to be iodized.

These mussels are really bad news, and their larvae easily transported in small quantities of water.
 
Thought I'd resurrect this thread as I will be towing thru a lot of different states in march and April this coming year. And seems like more states are getting serious with boat inspections. I know from personal experience that there is at least one anal inspector in Cody Wyoming, and unfortunately, I will be passing through that state again. (But a different area, so hopefully that was a local issue.) To my knowledge Wisconsin and Iowa do not have any inspections, but at least in Wisconsin I think you can get in trouble if your seen towing a boat trailer with water vines hanging all over it. I just got a reply from the DOT secretary in New Mexico that they do not do any inspections (but be sure that your lights and other safety equipment are up to par.) Anyway, specifically looking for any information about inspections towing thru Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. And what requirements might exist for launching in Arizona and California. (From past experience in the last two years, I know Utah was inspecting at the launch ramps, but not along the highway.) Thanks. Colby
 
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