How Do You Stuff Your Stuff

[Chuck08]

Hello All,

I am new to the open bow runabout area of boating, I grew up on pontoons and canoes. Besides some variants in operation and maintenance, I am contemplating storage issues. On pontoons, there are usually more places to store gear; safety gear, toys, fishing gear, coolers, bait, and such. I now have a 19'-6" Marada which has small compartments in the bow seats, cubbies by the operator's seat, a floor locker, rear bench seat with about 6 inches of space below it, and two compartments on either side of the engine. I am working on plans for putting a pedestal seat mount under the removable bow cushion, as well as nuder the cushion over the engine. My plan is to leave the cushions in place while the fiance and her friends are out, but be able to flip up and fish when it's just me and the guys.

As some of you may have experienced, the significant other has already made her plans for the boat, which include many people and materials, while I just want to hit the lake for a cruise and find a good spot to fish, in peace.

Does anyone want to share pictures or ideas on how to effectively use the storage they have, or ideas on how to space save?

 

[airshot]

Welcome to the world of bowriders. I had one years back and experienced the same issues you are. My only solution was to unpack and repack everything I needed depending on whether it was a pleasure cruise or a fishing cruise. I kept my boat on a trailer at home so that was not quite so bad, however still a lot of work. Over time we got tired of it. I then decided to go with a cuddy cabin, best choice for us.....no one wants to ride in the cabin anyway so it becomes a storage place for everything, but that is good as nothing gets blown away or gets wet. The rest of the cockpit is open for guests or more people to fish. Wish I had better solutions for you, but hey...you only have so much space to work with, and if your like me.....to much stuff for the space you have. Good Luck and safe boating

 

[Chuck08]

Thank you for the reply airshot, a plus for the cuddy is that there is always a spot for a porta potty for the ladies.
I guess the easiest solution would be to kick the passengers off and go fishing then.....

 

[SkaterRace]

Seems you and and mis have quite a bit of different is choice for the use case. As airshot mentioned you will likely have to repack the boat every time depending on what you are headed out to do. I would wonder though if you can have rods down the port side. I know in my closed bow that I have a storage area that is about 7' long to fit rods should I want them.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I am new to iboats.com as well, you have found a great site for all types of boating. I find some of the most cramped boats are larger boats such as Cuddy's. The more space we have the more crap we store on a boat we don't need. You have to decide what "you" need on board, no one else. I have a 19' StarCraft bowrider. The previous owner fabricated a small pop out platform at the walkthrough to the bow. It's amazing what an extra foot and a half of bow platform makes. It gives more room when fishing from the bow and I can store my anchor and a small cooler under it. I wish I could post a foto but can't right now. Another thing I do to save space is bring and share only 1 bag cooler on board rather than everyone bringing a small cooler for their lunch etc. Another thing is to discourage my fishing partners from bringing the kitchen sink full of tackle on board. You don't need boxes of Salmon spoons and Spinner Baits to go out for panfish. And no extra rod(s) per person. I have spare rods on board for them in the rod lockers. If they don't like that they can buy their own boats and bring anything they choose to.

 

[Maclin]

You will need to unpack when you get home to make sure it can all dry out then get stored nicely for the next time.

I have a Cuddy, I kind of complained to my brother about it one time, that it was too easy to just throw stuff in and not have to be very efficient about it. His reply was "And that's BAD? lol"

It is nice to be able to do that and go on down the road as it stays put in the Cuddy when towing at speed. With Bow riders you have to think about it a little more and takes a little longer to repack for the trip home.

With the little bow rider I have now it is always day trips and I store some stuff in the tow vehicle and some in the floor locker for the towing part of the day.

 

[Challenger84]

With my Bow-Rider i have a snap on Sunbrella bow cover. With it snapped in place i can use the bow for storage. If i need the space for more people on the lake I remove the cover.

I got a 10 rod holder installed on the wake tower.. gets the fishing poles out of the way and easy to get when you need it.

Solution to your problem..
Get a tower and a bow cover..

 

[robert graham]

5 gallon plastic buckets with handles and lids...magic marker the contents....separate coolers for dry goods, rain gear, food....

 

[Captain Caveman]

There's not much room for storage in my boat. I'd say that 75% of my storage is used for the five life jackets and throwable floatation device - my boat can hold up to 5 people. Everything else is kept to a minimum - boat bag with tape, zip ties, garbage bags, etc. I keep my boat bumpers and spare maps in there and that's about it.

Mrs. Captain Caveman (Captain Cavewoman?!?) understands that going #1 over the side of the boat (or during a swim) is just a part of the deal, if nothing on shore is available.

My best advice is to make sure that things are stored out of the way. Ropes and gear do not belong on the floor of a boat where they become trip hazards. You don't want injuries or passengers going into the drink when it could have been prevented.

 

[keith2k455]

I stow all the fenders, dock lines and life jackets under the bow seats. Big danforth anchor and tube in the ski locker. I also have the bow filler cushions under the bow seats, but figure I need to move those to under the sun pad since I never really use them. I try to stow as much under the bow seats as possible because I think the extra 6 ounces of stuff in the front of the boat will help me get on plane .06 seconds faster...

In reality, I also only bring one cooler for my family and then I only invite one other "set" of people where I also dictate to them what they can and not bring (I forbid milk/cheese on my boat because I have a kid with food allergies). I instruct people to bring one cooler with t-shirts, hats, sunglasses and sunscreen (although I keep plenty of sunscreen) as well as explaining what stops we will make for lunch, snacks and swimming. I'm not playing the back to the dock game because of.....whatever they dream up.

 

[Chuck08]

I'm thinking of keeping 8 PFD's in bow seats 4 to a side, velcro throwable to the wall beside the passenger seat. I have 2 fire extinguishers which I may mount in the footwells up above where my knee would comfortably be in either footwell. Various lengths of rope, simple sets of wrenches, sockets screwdrivers, bimini, spare anchor, fishing nets, and any inflatables will all have to go in the compartments beside the engine. Poles will have to go in ski locker. and paddle(s) will go with the light and line poll under the rear seat.

Any cooler would have to fit between the bow seats/console. I'm dreaming of a custom one with 2 compartments( 1 for catch, 1 for drinks),with a cushion on top.


I grew up on my grandpa's pontoon and if nature ever called you either "railed" it, took a quick dunk, or you swam to shore. Unless there was a mechanical issue the boat didn't dock until either the combined catch limits were met, the bait was gone, or someone from the camp found us and said that grandma had dinner cooking.

I'll make a rule that if someone really "needs" to have more there's room in the water for it.....

 

[airshot]

Review your boating rules in your state. I live in Ohio and was informed by the DNR that life jackets can no longer be stored under seats or inside cabinets while boat has persons onboard. A life jacket for each person of proper size must be worn or within reach by that person without having to open/close a storage device.
I was informed that law is being enforced starting this boating season (2016). When we board my boat this season ea person will have a jacket by their seat. Don't know if other states are adopting this or not but I guess Ohio is.

 

[Chuck08]

Well, that will free up my storage but how to keep them in reach, not in the way, not blowing off, and or worn? I guess if I'm out pulling a tube I'd want everyone wearing one. Thank you for pointing that out airshot.