Day 7, Stuck in the mud! How to take a boat to Mexico.

[JerryInLodi]

The tide was out at 5am and my boat's hull is stuck in the mud. It will be a few hours before I can get out so I thought I'd answer a question posted earlier about taking one's boat to Mexico.

To take your boat to Mexico you need four things:

1. An official DMV copy of your current registration, not a xerox of the registration but the real registration.

2. A one year boat permit issued by the Mexican government, about $33 for boats under 23 feet, $66 for boats from 23 to 29 feet.

3. Mexican fishing licenses for EVERYONE who will be aboard the boat when in the water, even if not fishing. Even if there are no rods in the boat at the time. A one month license is about $33, a one year license $43.

WARNING: If Pesca (Mexican Fish and Game) checks you and you don't have a boat permit or they find unlicensed fishermen on your boat, YOUR boat and all your gear WILL BE CONFISCATED pending outcome of court actions. You fly-in guys. Make sure your hosts have purchased a fishing license for you and you have it on your possession when fishing. Otherwise, if checked by Pesca, all your fishing gear will be confiscated.

4. Boat on-the-water/trailer insurance. This is usually in the form of a rider on your Mexican auto insurance and is based on the total value of both assets. My total package came to $49,000 and the insurance, good for a year, came to $351. The insurance is complete coverage, pl, pd, collision, and comprehensive. It also includes 50 miles towing. The reason it's so inexpensive is that it's subsidized by the Mexican government to encourage Yankee tourists to come south.


The easiest way to get all this stuff is to join Vagabundos Del Mar. The membership is $35 for a year. They have all the forms and can usually turn the entire package around in less than a week. Their office is located in Rio Vista. They also have a huge number of member activities and a great library on Mexico. You can find them at:http://www.vagabundos.com/

The last concern is the condition of the roads south of the border. The trans peninsular highway was finished in 1979. It's been improved slowly every year since with some years being better than others. During wet years pockets of the highway get soft and the heavy single trailer diesel traffic tear it up. Some section is almost always being worked on. When I drove this year it was the best I have ever seen. I was able to drive 50-60 the entire way and only had to slow to 35 or so in very short stretches.

The highway is very narrow. From looking at my trailer wheels on the roadway, I'd guess only ten to eleven feet wide per lane. This is not a problem most of the time since I drive in the center of the road. However, when approaching blind corners or being approached by a tractor trailer, the driver needs to slow way down and make sure he's in his lane and that his trailer wheels are still on the pavement on the right side. Large portions of the highway have absolutely no shoulder. In fact, in some places erosion has worn a one foot drop off right at the end of the pavement. Move six inches too far to the right and you're dragging your trailer axles on the road and your boat and trailer are fishtailing! I saw that more shoulder has been added than in the past and some of the construction I saw on the way down this year was in building more highway shoulder.

Finally, EVERYONE I know obeys this one rule. DON'T DRIVE AT NIGHT. Two main hazards at night are drunks and range cattle. Either one can kill you. Sometimes the desert gets cold at night and the warmest spot for a range cow to lay down is the black surfaced highway. In years past I saw about six carcasses along the side of the road each trip. This year I didn't see any. Maybe Darwin's law has weeded out the worst of the offenders.

As to the drunks, liquor is cheap in Mexico as it is in almost any country with a corrupt government. It keeps the people quiet. Cerveza is drank like bottled water at home. Hard booze in the form of cheap tequila can be bought in plastic gallon jugs for under ten dollars. Try to be off the roads before dark.

[Darian]

Thanks for the info, Jerry.... During my trip to La Paz in June, we saw the result of a head on collision from a left trun in front of on-coming traffic and witnessed a very near miss of a head-on by a bunch of drunks during the day.... Also, I've never been on a stretch of road that had more of those monuments/shrines to past wrecks, before.... Of course, cabi's seem to be afflicted with the same attitude about drinking down there.

I decided to leave the driving to the natives.

[JerryInLodi]

We had a collision here yesterday. A gringo with a cerveza buzz on, mounted on a Harley, broadsided a car comiing out of a side road. I helped load the bike in the back of a pickup. The pilot had a mess of stitches to his face and was told to stay awake and come back in the morning to check for signs of concussion.

So far as far as stupid people tricks, it's: Gringos - 2, Mexicans - 0.