How to Measure Body Length

Incorrectly measuring your boat's body length means one thing -- you could get less boat for your money than you deserve. Buying a short boat not only removes bragging rights for owning a larger boat, it also indicates how much space you will have for your head while walking and the room within your cabins. Additionally, if you need to buy a boat, you must know what size trailer it requires. Correctly measuring your boat length ensures your boat meets your bragging and usage requirements..

Things You'll Need

  • Tape Measure
  • Assistant
  • Life preserver
  • Truck fitted with wench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Back the trailer of approximate size down the boat ramp.

    • 2

      Latch the wench cable onto the boat's cable ring found at the front of the boat.

    • 3

      Engage the wench, hauling the boat up onto the trailer.

    • 4

      Move the boat to level ground. Boat ramps involve steep angles, so you don't want to work around or measure the boat until you have it on a even ground.

    • 5

      Request your assistant hold one end of the measuring tape along the underside of the boat's bow (front). If the underside of the ship curves upward, don't measure the curve. Instead, hold the measuring tape beyond the curve until you reach the farthest point of the boat.

    • 6

      Align the measuring tape along the center of the boat's underside.

    • 7

      Measure the entire length of the boat all the way to the stern (back).