Carrying A Small Aluminum Boat

Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
717
Location
Upper Michigan
My wife and I have a small aluminum boat. Can't say the length cuz it's buried by snow; but it fits in the bed of my f150 and is a good fit for the 2 of us if that makes sense. Think "duck boat" size. It's a V' hull, and it's impractical to carry in my pickup since I have a bunk/homemade truck vault in the back of it. I been thinking of a better way to transport, but trailers are a little pricey and I believe I've heard with those boats you want to carry upside down to avoid stress on the spine. It's light enough we could probably put it on roof racks of our escape, but I'm leary of being tied off securely. I've thought about buying a cheap harbor freight trailer and modifying to what I need.

What do you guys use for carrying these? Is the upside down thing true?
 

Rich M

WKR
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
Messages
5,102
Location
Orlando
Upside thing is NOT TRUE.

It just car tops easier upside down. Probably a 12 ft, weighs about 100-125#. I got one.

To topper it - get a decent rack and it'll go up easy enough. Rope from "front bumper" to nose of boat, rope from "back bumper" to the handles on the transom. Use a 2 inch strap across the middle, thru the open back seat doors of the esacpe. Snug it up but don't damage the boat or carry rack. Shut the doors. Won't go anywhere.

The front line should be a rope - a nylon strap will vibrate more and hum you to death. Tie the rope and then pull the boat back to make it tight...

Trailer for this boat doesn't have to be too sturdy, HF will work, so will a utility trailer. A used longer trailer can be used as well - say a 14 or 16 ft boat trailer, can cut the tongue down or just use it as is.

I like the 12 ft aluminum better than a kayak. An electric trolling motor will work well as will a 3-15 hp outboard. Most have max ratings of 6-10 hp. A 10 will push it great.
 

FLATHEAD

WKR
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Messages
2,297
Craigslist/Boat trailer.
I need one myself. I have 2 kayaks and a rack I made that fits on my Gheenoe boat trailer.
I'm tired of switching back and forth. Need one dedicated for my kayaks that i can leave
the rack on the trailer.
Sometimes I use my Gheenoe, sometimes my Yaks.
 
OP
C
Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
717
Location
Upper Michigan
Upside thing is NOT TRUE.

It just car tops easier upside down. Probably a 12 ft, weighs about 100-125#. I got one.

To topper it - get a decent rack and it'll go up easy enough. Rope from "front bumper" to nose of boat, rope from "back bumper" to the handles on the transom. Use a 2 inch strap across the middle, thru the open back seat doors of the esacpe. Snug it up but don't damage the boat or carry rack. Shut the doors. Won't go anywhere.

The front line should be a rope - a nylon strap will vibrate more and hum you to death. Tie the rope and then pull the boat back to make it tight...

Trailer for this boat doesn't have to be too sturdy, HF will work, so will a utility trailer. A used longer trailer can be used as well - say a 14 or 16 ft boat trailer, can cut the tongue down or just use it as is.

I like the 12 ft aluminum better than a kayak. An electric trolling motor will work well as will a 3-15 hp outboard. Most have max ratings of 6-10 hp. A 10 will push it great.
Right on, I have a soft topper but I forgot I have one of the removable racks and hitch mounts for a canoe. I'm thinking maybe I'll just weld an extender on the horizontal piece, and save the cash I'd dump on a trailer. Thanks for the idea.
 

Superdoo

WKR
Joined
Feb 21, 2020
Messages
1,007
Location
ND
I had one these boats. I had a boat trailer for it too. The ideas above are sound and would be just fine. I'll add that having the boat trailer made life really easy. I was able to store extra camping stuff in the boat, which helped alleviate space concerns in the bed of the truck and obviously being able to back it right in the water and go is really nice.
The trailer also makes moving the boat around on land really easy too.
 

mcseal2

WKR
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
2,671
I have a wide 10ft V bottom. It only weighs about 60lbs so it's pretty easy to throw in a pick-up bed. I mostly use it on a creek a few miles from my house a friend owns land along. I tie it in the back of my UTV and drive right onto a gravel bar to launch it from. I have a Tanaka 3.2hp outboard that weighs about 20lbs. With that, a gallon of gas, and my fishing gear my daughters and I are set for an afternoon of fun. They collect shells and play on the gravel bars while I catch a few catfish.

Not sure this helps at all, I was just curious about the ideas and it got me thinking it's about the right time of year to get the kids to the creek.
 
OP
C
Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
717
Location
Upper Michigan
I have a wide 10ft V bottom. It only weighs about 60lbs so it's pretty easy to throw in a pick-up bed. I mostly use it on a creek a few miles from my house a friend owns land along. I tie it in the back of my UTV and drive right onto a gravel bar to launch it from. I have a Tanaka 3.2hp outboard that weighs about 20lbs. With that, a gallon of gas, and my fishing gear my daughters and I are set for an afternoon of fun. They collect shells and play on the gravel bars while I catch a few catfish.

Not sure this helps at all, I was just curious about the ideas and it got me thinking it's about the right time of year to get the kids to the creek.
I'd be all for just throwing it in the bed, if I don't have my homemade truck vault in there. Downside is I'd have to take it out everytime, and realistically I'd talk myself out of doing it. I still gotta remember to go register my boat so I can put my little trolling motor on it. We made it work in a canoe for awhile but the bottom was smooth so we just spun constantly if we didn't have two anchors down and it was a hassle to pass gear back and forth. This size is about right for the two of us and it's lighter than my old town canoe.
 

Latest posts

Featured Video

Stats

Threads
319,627
Messages
3,352,534
Members
74,475
Latest member
Patw
Top