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Random Quote: its easier to seek forgivness than ask permission
I tow my Scout 151 Dorado with a Nissan Altima sedan. Apart from taking the boat home from the dealer (on the Friday before Labor Day), all my towing consisted in very short trips from my community parking area to my community boat ramp. My Altima (2007 model, 2.5S, 6-speed manual) has a declared tow capacity of 1000 lbs, and this weight limit was a constraint for my choice of boat. Are there other forum members who tow their (small) boat with a sedan? My experience so far is that the car is having no trouble at all. My technique will benefit from experience, however .
My guess is that your boat, motor, and trailer combination are in excess of your vehicles towing capacity. That being said, and assuming you don't plan to upgrade your tow vehicle, the general common sense issues apply. Drive much slower as the brakes are not designed to stop that heavy of a load. Keep further away from the vehicle in front of you for the same reason. Being a manual transmission, shift later than you normally would, and don't tow in 6th gear to help keep the transmission from overheating. Watch for dips or imperfections in the driving surface. Dips, potholes, etc. can cause a vehicle that is heavily overweighted to loose control. If you are towing any distance keep an eye on your temp and pressure guages, you could damage the transmission or excessively wear breaks. Make sure your car tires are inflated to the maximum vehicle manufacturer specs, and the trailer tires are also inflated to maximum specs. If you are not towing very far and are not on highways, or hilly terrain, you may get the impression that the car does a good job of towing. But longer distances, steeper grades, and accelerating, etc. will take their toll on any vehicle, so you may need to perform more frequent maintenance.
I'm sure your pretty significantly over the 1000 lb rating. The boat's dry weight is listed at 640 lbs, so by the time you add fuel, battery, and the engine with associated rigging, you've got 1000 lbs without the trailer and gear. FWD vehicles are more adversely affected by overloading because the extra weight on the rear non-driving wheels reduces traction, as well as steering response and braking. Given the size of the boat, I doubt the trailer has brakes, so you're going to have to stop all that with the cars brakes. As long as you're making very short trips and the traction at your ramp is adequate you can get away with it, but I'd sure be wary of longer trips and high speeds.
I remember when I was a kid, my grandfather would tow his 25ft boat with twin 150s with his cadilac whenever a storm was in the gulf and he had to get it from the camp... I guess if you think about it, it has the same wheelbase as a large SUV with a big v8.. some cars are made to handle towing.
I couldnt imagine you little scout being much heavier than a pair of wave runners, whichi are towed by cars all the time around here.
You will have to prematurely replace you clutch, struts, and brakes, but if you are willing to do that then I wouldn't think it is such a big deal. I would avoid having a full carload too. Perhaps have your friends/family meet you at the ramp. Keep the car as light as possible, take it easy, and you should be alright (assuming your ramp isn't very steep/slippery.
Just my two cents though....
-Tim
__________________ 22' Grady White TarReel Fishing
It seems that all of you are advocating common sense measures.
The clutch is my major concern too. The ramp is only 400m or so from the boat parking spot. It is a nice long concrete ramp, and after the first two attempts I can pull the boat out keeping the engine speed under 2000 rpm, so I am somewhat optimistic about the clutch.
I have always been careful about inflating the car tires. I am proud of getting 35 miles per gallon on my Altima in mixed driving (not much city driving, admittedly), and proper tire inflation is important for that. Ditto for braking distances, and I understand that one needs to anticipate braking further.
I do not tow the boat with family in the car---they meet at the ramp.
I am certainly wary of long trips at high speed---I expect one trip a year to the dealer for maintenance (maybe 15 miles) and maybe one long trip a year (150 miles each way).
I appreciate the total weight warning. The dry boat is 640lbs, the engine is 196lbs, the trailer is 200lbs. (This last number is suspect, because it is verbal communication from the dealer.) That makes 1,036lbs. Add fuel, oil, battery, an extra trailer weight allowance, and the very little gear I have, and I expect to be within 20% of the nominal car rating.
I hope to post a follow-up report. Any other comments will be welcome.
Towing with a sedan 
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