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Author Topic: The frog boat  (Read 16082 times)

RRV

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Re: The frog boat
« Reply #15 on: August 25, 2015, 03:45:16 PM »
I've never owned an inflatable, but I can tell you that my 9 year old son and I have really enjoyed our 12 foot tin boat.  I power it with either an electric motor or an old 4.5 Merc, and it does really well on lakes. The boy and I have more than adequate room, and we can accommodate one other person if need be. I have it set up with rod holders, a boat seat for me, a portable fish finder, launching wheels, and even a downrigger, so its really functional.  The other advantage is that I can travel with it on top of my SUV, and consequently we've been able to explore some more remote lakes that you might have trouble getting a trailer into. 

I'm sure there are other workable options, and one day I'd like to get a bigger boat, but I believe we'll enjoy our little tinny for many years.
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chomperman

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Re: The frog boat
« Reply #16 on: August 25, 2015, 09:45:59 PM »
Quote from: RRV on August 25, 2015, 03:45:16 PM
I've never owned an inflatable, but I can tell you that my 9 year old son and I have really enjoyed our 12 foot tin boat.  I power it with either an electric motor or an old 4.5 Merc, and it does really well on lakes. The boy and I have more than adequate room, and we can accommodate one other person if need be. I have it set up with rod holders, a boat seat for me, a portable fish finder, launching wheels, and even a downrigger, so its really functional.  The other advantage is that I can travel with it on top of my SUV, and consequently we've been able to explore some more remote lakes that you might have trouble getting a trailer into. 

I'm sure there are other workable options, and one day I'd like to get a bigger boat, but I believe we'll enjoy our little tinny for many years.

Hi what is the model of your boat and how do you carry it on your suv?  I would also like to do that but the Jon boats I have looked at 12 ft are over the weight limits of my roof rack at 150 lbs.
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RRV

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Re: The frog boat
« Reply #17 on: August 26, 2015, 09:05:37 AM »
Quote from: chomperman on August 25, 2015, 09:45:59 PM
Hi what is the model of your boat and how do you carry it on your suv?  I would also like to do that but the Jon boats I have looked at 12 ft are over the weight limits of my roof rack at 150 lbs.

I have an older Springbok. I bought it used a couple of years ago. It has a narrow beam, but I still needed to make a kludgy bracket for my roof racks so they'd be wide enough. I ripped a 2x6 lengthwise and screwed a large eye bolt into the and of each board to give me an anchor point and to stop the boat if it slips. At first I attached the boards to my proper roof rack with tie down straps, but more recently I made a better mounting bracket out of aluminum. I don't know how heavy the boat is, but I doubt it's even 100 lbs -- it's not so heavy I can't load it onto the vehicle myself, although the launching wheels help with the loading.

As you can see, it's not fancy, but it works.



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