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What are the rules for trailering a boat from out-of-state into Cali?


KTM_FortyThree

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I was reading another topic about having to remove your drain plug for inspection in Cali, and that leads me to think, "What else don't I know?"

I am planning a trip to the Stockton, CA area (I live in Oregon) in the end of June. I read recently about the mussels they have in CA, but I didn't realize that there was an inspection I had to go thru.

I assume they will inspect at the border where they check for produce items. Is that correct? What do I need to do to pass their inspection?

I'm sure glad to know about this before driving for 4 hours to the CA/OR border!

K

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I just drove home from Lake Mead in Nevada back to California. They just take a quick glance at your hull and exhaust. It's not a big deal, and it doesn't take that long. You shouldn't have a problem as long as you wipe down your boat after you pull it out of the water.

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Main thing is to pull your plug and have a clean looking well maintained boat and it shouldn't be a problem.

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I drive from Reno to California all the time to go boating. At the bug check station is where they check my boat. Make sure you have a wrench or have removed the rear plug from the boat. That plug has to come out before you can go any further. I didn't have a wrench the first time and I couldn't go through until they found a wrench and removed the plug. That created quite the backup on interstate 80! They could care less about the middle plug.

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make sure there are no bananas, oranges or kiwi fruit in your bilge.

Is this a new program? We go to Shasta from Oregon several times a year & haven't encountered anyone wanting to look at our mussels.

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Speed Limit when trailering in CA is 55 MPH.

Yeah, I can verify that one for you. You're waving a huge red flag to them if you go through the Shasta curves at 80 pulling a boat, not sure why. Whistling.gif Stick to 60ish & you'll be fine, but watch those Shasta curves, lots of speed traps through there all the way down through Redding.

I'm not sure where in Oregon you're from, but they haven't stopped us for the fruit inspection on Hwy. 97 at Doris in probably 8-9 years. We were never stopped to inspect the boat last year either. Budget cuts were what I assumed, but all passenger vehicles (RVs too) don't have to stop on that highway & haven't had to in a very long time. I think that they may still be stopping people on the I-5 corridor & I'm pretty sure that they were stopping people on the highway that runs from Eureka up to Grants Pass when we went north through there the other day, but I haven't been through the I-5 section in so long that I can't say for sure.

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DFG Inspection

Definately don't got much above 60 or you'll be sorry, it sucks to go only 60 but I rather spend the $ on gas instead of a chickazz ticket. Don't be surpised if launch ramps whenever do inspections so IMHO remove all plugs and make sure the bilge is 100% dry. I'm not sure what to do about the ballast tanks though. I can tell you that unless I turn on the drain switch while going up the launch ramp there is significant amount of water still in the tanks, mainly the center tank.

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Speed Limit when trailering in CA is 55 MPH.

...and you have to stay in the right 2 lanes

Please.

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I have a suggestion for the ballast tanks. Fill them up at the beginning of the day when you launch. Then don't drain them until your out of the park. No issues with putting mussels back in the water. Make sure your in a big open area with no drains and by the time the water drys up what ever is in the water will die. Crazy.gif

I'm not really being serious but if things get stupid I will probably do this. Won't be good for the trailer though, but neither would 2000 lbs of lead. Frustrated.gif

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I have a suggestion for the ballast tanks. Fill them up at the beginning of the day when you launch. Then don't drain them until your out of the park. No issues with putting mussels back in the water. Make sure your in a big open area with no drains and by the time the water drys up what ever is in the water will die. Crazy.gif

I'm not really being serious but if things get stupid I will probably do this. Won't be good for the trailer though, but neither would 2000 lbs of lead. Frustrated.gif

I don't think the concern is putting them back into the water you just left, but of going to another lake and spreading the mussels to that lake or other waterways.

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Speed Limit when trailering in CA is 55 MPH.

...and you have to stay in the right 2 lanes

Please.

He's right! All vehicles with a trailer must stay in the right two lanes.

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I have a suggestion for the ballast tanks. Fill them up at the beginning of the day when you launch. Then don't drain them until your out of the park. No issues with putting mussels back in the water. Make sure your in a big open area with no drains and by the time the water drys up what ever is in the water will die. Crazy.gif

I'm not really being serious but if things get stupid I will probably do this. Won't be good for the trailer though, but neither would 2000 lbs of lead. Frustrated.gif

I don't think the concern is putting them back into the water you just left, but of going to another lake and spreading the mussels to that lake or other waterways.

I think what NV boarder was getting at was just never off load your ballast in any water body thus eliminating the risk of contaminating the lake with the residual water left in the tank. Good solution, if you never need to off load ballast while on the water; wouldn't work for me since I have an XTi and offten switch from wake to ski. I only have one sac though and it is easily accessible; when I get home from known infested water I just pull up the sac and drain it completely and let it dry.

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I'll drive up in the left lane (mainly I-5 north) in the left lane during the areas of rough road unless other vehicles are there. I just hate to have the boat bouncing on the crap for roads we have.

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Can you put something in the tanks that will sterilize them? If so, you might be able to put a quick connect on one of the lines to the tank (ideally one easy to get to) & put that in the tank each time (I'm wondering if a capful of bleach or some other household chemical would do it). I'd check with whatever agency that has jurisdiction on that one to see if there's a loop-hole on that.

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Can you put something in the tanks that will sterilize them? If so, you might be able to put a quick connect on one of the lines to the tank (ideally one easy to get to) & put that in the tank each time (I'm wondering if a capful of bleach or some other household chemical would do it). I'd check with whatever agency that has jurisdiction on that one to see if there's a loop-hole on that.

Yes Chlorine (Bleach) ratio 1 / 10 It's on somewhere on the DWG website.

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Found this on another thread here, tells you what you can do with the ballast tank.

Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

I'm not sure I'd want to put bleach in the ballast tanks. Actually, I don't trust bleach that close to the frickin boat. Just what I need is to end up with some kind of accident & have a big bleach burn out on my carpet.

Here is what my State (Utah) recommends for ballast tanks...

An effective mussel-killing solution — for each ballast tank — is two gallons of a 200 parts per million

(ppm) solution of potassium chloride (KCL). Despite the fact that it will kill mussels, this solution is

harmless to humans and to the environment. It also has extremely low corrosion characteristics and has

been used in the oil well drilling industry for decades due to these characteristics A chloride

concentration of 250 ppm is allowable for drinking water and the solution is below that level.

Potassium chloride salt crystals are used in water softener systems; people drink and bath in such

water. Conservative estimates of potassium and chloride concentration in Lake Powell with usage as

indicated above, indicate concentrations of 1 part per trillion. That is far below possible environmental

harm. In fact, KCL solution was used in Virginia to completely kill all zebra mussels in a quarry. “In

dramatic contrast, other aquatic wildlife including turtles, fishes, aquatic insects, and snails continue to

thrive in the quarry.”

Potassium chloride (KCL) solutions in concentrations of 200 ppm can be made by thoroughly mixing

one teaspoon of dry KCL salt crystals in two gallons of water. KCL salt crystals are available at stores

such as Home Depot and water softener suppliers. Morton Salt Company offers KCL in 40-pound

bags. Do NOT use any other kind of salt or solution. Potassium chloride premixed solutions are

available from suppliers to the oil well drilling industry; a Salt Lake City dealer has indicated

willingness to do so. KCL is mined in Moab and is also available in the Uintah Basin. The solution can

be provided in larger quantities, such as drums, that may be suitable for marinas and others providing

boat maintenance services.

The above text came from an article from the Utah Division of Wildlife

Hope that helps, and pass it on!

-Jared

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I would look into that then. It wouldn't be too hard to rig up a quick connect for a line into each tank at the tank, the biggest challenge would be to make sure that it isn't too restrictive in nature. Best would be to find the overflow line for each tank & put the quick connect on that line. Keep a funnel & your chemical solution handy, you're golden. If you leave a little water in each tank (drain them on the water, but don't drain them coming up the ramp), it will wash around the tank on the way home to sterilize it. I can't imagine that that wouldn't take care of the problem.

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FYI

On my way home from work tonight Fish and Game were conducting boat inspections at the Cottonwood scales between Red Bluff and Redding (Northbound I-5). It looked like 10-15 Game Warden trucks at the scales with a couple parked on the side of I-5 to stop the people who failed to pull their boats into the scales (they had one guy with an aluminum boat pulled over just past the scales). Not sure what they inspect. I live 5 minutes from Bridge Bay and have yet to be inspected.

Be safe this weekend.

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