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Can anyone recommend me a "mini boat"?

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music321

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I'm going to get myself a boat at some point, though probably not this season.  I have a canoe for the smallest of water.  I'd like to get a power boat for lakes, salt marshes, and ideally, long island sound as well, but only a few hundred yards offshore.
 
The following criteria must be met:
 
I need to be able to tow this and retrieve it from a boat launch with a sedan.  Towing will be fine given the car's towing capacity.  Driving up a slippery boat ramp might be another matter.  So, I would like to keep a trailer, boat, engine, and misc. stuff (fire extinguisher, etc.) under 500 lbs.
 
It needs to be buoyant if swamped.  
 
What type of boat should I be looking at?  A 12 ft rowboat, such as a 12' Lund WC seems pretty basic.  I don't know if the freeboard (or lack thereof) or 15" transom height would be enough.  I've seen 12' skiffs that look essentially the same, just with high bows.  I did consider some sort of scanoo, but it seems the rowboat might be better.
 
Speed isn't an issue.  I'll mostly go alone, but would want to sit down, and I would ideally like to take one or two people on board.  Really, going at 3 mph would be fine.  Towing a kayak full of camping supplies would be a bonus.  What's the smallest outboard I could get away with?  Could I have a really low pitch 2.5 hp?  Depending on the boat, a 9.9hp might be a lot of weight on the back.  Frankly, I don't know how important it is to get on plane. Just using the boat, even if a planing hull as a displacement boat, might be an option.   If I am in the sound, I'd have to deal with minor current, as I would have to if solo in a nearby slow-moving river. 
 
If I could make a 2.5hp work on a 12' rowboat, it would be ideal.  This might burn out the engine, though.  A 4hp or 6hp would weigh 60lbs, so might not be that bad.  A 9.9 weighs 100, so things would get back heavy.  I'd also like to troll at about 2 mph, perhaps less.
 
I have a tandem canoe in addition to my solo, and have mounted a trolling motor.  I'm not happy with the results.  In order to get decent run time, I need a LOT of battery weight.  I've considered adding a 2.5hp engine to this, but it just seems unsteady.  It was bad enough with the trolling motor.
 
Ideas on all this?  Thanks.
 
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They say get about 75% of the rated HP or better.   

 

Row boat is fine.  I have a 14ft regular grumman rowboat I push with a 2 stroke 8hp evinrude.  It goes 15-20mph or so.  Never really clocked it.  IT gets on plane fine.  Sometimes 2 people and camping gear, the other person has to go to the bow to get the nose down to start planning.   I has worked for about 4 years.  I am either upgrading the boat, or getting a 15hp motor.

 

Sedan is a very loose term....   I used to use a 1987 dodge omni to tow a 16ft sailboat to a gravel launch in the hudson river.  Concrete would just be that easier.

 

lots of 25hp or so fishing skiffs you could tow with most sedans for sale on craigslist.

 

IF going new, look at trackers guide Deep V 14.  On a budget, get a 9.9 motor on the right sale.   Otherwise get a 15 or 20hp outboard for it.

 

A 3hp would be nice for that canoe, if you can register it.

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26 mins ago, salt deficient said:

They say get about 75% of the rated HP or better.   

 

Row boat is fine.  I have a 14ft regular grumman rowboat I push with a 2 stroke 8hp evinrude.  It goes 15-20mph or so.  Never really clocked it.  IT gets on plane fine.  Sometimes 2 people and camping gear, the other person has to go to the bow to get the nose down to start planning.   I has worked for about 4 years.  I am either upgrading the boat, or getting a 15hp motor.

 

Sedan is a very loose term....   I used to use a 1987 dodge omni to tow a 16ft sailboat to a gravel launch in the hudson river.  Concrete would just be that easier.

 

lots of 25hp or so fishing skiffs you could tow with most sedans for sale on craigslist.

 

IF going new, look at trackers guide Deep V 14.  On a budget, get a 9.9 motor on the right sale.   Otherwise get a 15 or 20hp outboard for it.

 

A 3hp would be nice for that canoe, if you can register it.

Thanks for the reply.  I actually have the canoe registered, since I used the trolling motor on it.  The trolling motor is 15 lbs.  A 30 lb 4 stroke would be pretty heavy on the side.  

 

The "sedan" is a toyota automatic.  It's a good car, but it's not a pickup.  I wonder how much I could pull up a launch ramp. 

 

Did you feel that you were under control on the roads with that setup?  I'd be afraid I'd jackknife with that sort of load.

 

Would the deep v be the way to go, or might a jon boat be better?

Edited by music321
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There’s no such thing as “one boat that does it all” but from what you are describing an aluminum V hull in the 12’ to 14’ range will suit your needs pretty well. Back when I was a kid, and much skinnier, I had a 14’ aluminum skiff which moved really well with a 9.9 hp 2 stroke motor. Today, I’d put a 15 or 20 hp 4 stroke on that same hull. The hull itself only weighs 200 or so pounds so pretty much any vehicle with a trailer hitch can tow it.  The nice thing about aluminum hulls is that they are extremely durable and don’t require much in the way of maintenance. A freshwater rinse, if you feel like it, is about all you can do to maintain a “tin boat.” Aluminum hulls have gotten substantially more expensive since I got my first one but they are easy to find used. It’ll last you pretty much forever with minimal care. Starcraft, Duranautic, Lund, Alumacraft, Crestliner are all good brands to look for. People argue over riveted vs welded hulls. I’ve owned both and never had problems with either construction method. Good luck in your search.

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My good buddy had a 13 ft Boston Whaler that he just loved as his first power boat. Took it out on Long Island Sound in good weather, and no reason this could not be used on lakes or rivers, might want to look into. He had it for 5 years and sold it for what he paid for it. Not to difficult to trailer or offload/onload either. 

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I looked at the Whaler 13, and it would be a great boat.  Maybe in ten years I'll have one.  Right now I don't want to get a different car, so I have to keep towing weight low.

 

As suggested, a Deep-V 14' with a high thrust 9.9HP engine might be the best, though I don't know if I could get the idle low enough to troll.

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Trailering with any vehicle.  IT's not the motor, it's the brakes.....   

 

IF you're concerned about jackknifing, you can install brakes on any size trailer and any vehicle.    I have a 5x10 utility I put electric brakes on it.  My aluminum fishing boat trailer does not have brakes.   My 15ft grumman with a 50hp had brakes on it, many would think it wouldn't need it.

 

Another option might be a pull brake trailer.  The brakes are hydraulic and everything is on the trailer, nothing external to put on the vehicle.

 

Take a peek at the starcraft alaskan.  Carolina skiffs are good too.  The J series has the buoyancy, but it does add a bit more wieght than aluminum maybe 100 or 150lb more.  You'll need a 20hp for that.   The J series doesn't have the nose, or freeboard like some of those bigger aluminum ones do though.  But, its all fiberglass.

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I forgot to mention j I drive like a nut, and I know it.  That's why I have brakes on my trailers.  

 

Also, a huge advantsge these boats have......   huge.

 

The places that are cartop only, places without a launch site,  or no gas outboards, are the places these boats can go.  I got a set of wheels that mount ton the stern.  Fished several really good places cause few go there.

 

Also, I can go up creek where other boats cant.....   there's numerous reasons this style is around.  It's nice that they're cheap too.

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On 2/25/2019 at 2:35 AM, music321 said:

I looked at the Whaler 13, and it would be a great boat.  Maybe in ten years I'll have one.  Right now I don't want to get a different car, so I have to keep towing weight low.

 

As suggested, a Deep-V 14' with a high thrust 9.9HP engine might be the best, though I don't know if I could get the idle low enough to troll.

you can troll with 9.9 hp from 0.5 mph and up.

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The right prop has to be on the right boat.  A high thrust 9.9 wouldn't be as good as a regular 9.9.

 

Most manufacturers have a prop selection app.  Solar prop has one.

 

I needed a faster than standard prop on my 10ft inflatable with an evinrude 8.  Got the right one and use the regular as spare.

 

High thrust usually has a slow but large prop.  Most high thrust also has a different final drive gear ratio too.  

 

Most regular outboards are 2 to 2.5 to 1.  High thrust are 3+ usually.  From my vague memory as a weekender sailboater.....

 

Velocity times volume is thrust.   But it's velocity of the water you push minus the velocity of the boat.

 

You'd probably be in the peak power on a high thrust but only using 6 or 7hp out of the 10 it can push....

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