Loading and unloading at a boat ramp with a small car

[teezy]

I am currently looking into buying my first boat - a power boat between 16-20 feet long. Specifically i have been looking at a 17 foot Hurricane deck boat that weights ~1,400 pounds.

My problem is that I do not have a truck or SUV. My wife and I own a Honda Civic and a Toyota Avalon. The Toyoyta Avalon has a 200 HP v-6 engine that is rated for a towing capacity of 2,000 pounds.

I am only 1/4 of a mile from a shallow-sloped concrete boat ramp at my neighborhood's boat park, and I am not concerned with towing the boat... I should never need to take it more than 1/4 mile at 20-25 MPH.

​I am however concerned about my Avalon being able to load and unload a boat successfully on a boat ramp.

Does anyone have any experience loading and unloading a boat with a car vs a truck? If we had to buy a truck as well as a boat, I am not sure that my wife and I would be able to proceed.

What would the maximum size / weight of a boat be that I could easily load and unload? Could I go up to or even exceed the 2,000 lb tow rating, since i wont be moving any significant distance, or should i aim for something well under the 2,000 lbs?

Thank you for any advice!!

 

[kjsAZ]

If it's rated for 2000lbs you can tow that much with it. The tow rating is even for more stressful use than you plan to do going 20-25mph only. Retrieving the boat may be an issue depending on the ramp as you may not have sufficient traction. But that's something only you can figure out.
Be aware that a 1400lbs boat is the dry weight o the boat. Ad gas and some stuff you "need" and you are already adding up. Then add the trailer which for a 17ft boat adds at least 800lbs if not more to the bill and you are well beyond what your Avalon is rated for. That will ruin your transmission pretty quick not to even talk about pulling the boat out.....

 

[oldjeep]

There is no way that a 17ft deck boat on the trailer weighs 1400lbs.

 

[kjsAZ]

Just checked their website. They don't have a 17ft any more but the 18ft has a wet weight of ~4500lbs and you have to add the trailer.....

 

[ssobol]

...Then add the trailer which for a 17ft boat adds at least 800lbs if not more to the bill ....

The aluminum trailer for my 22 foot boat weighs 660#. An AL trailer for a 17 foot boat will weigh around 400#.

 

[64osby]

Double check the weight on your deck boat. An aluminum boat or a small fiberglass runabout would be more suited to the Avalon.

Keep your eye out for an old truck or Suburban if you want a bigger boat.

 

[midcarolina]

IMO you will likely never be happy if you choose a boat you settle for due to your tow vehicle limitations..........I would set my budget for the boat then negotiate a lower price, then take the saving and find a old beater truck.......after all you are only towing a 1/4 mile, heck do you have enough property that you can justify a compact tractor...............

 

[Captain Ollie West]

IMO you will likely never be happy if you choose a boat you settle for due to your tow vehicle limitations..........I would set my budget for the boat then negotiate a lower price, then take the saving and find a old beater truck.......after all you are only towing a 1/4 mile, heck do you have enough property that you can justify a compact tractor...............

Time for a truck. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, After all if you break down, you will have no more than 1/4 mile to walk. Keep an eye on Craigslist.

 

[White90GT]

Yeah, I don't think I would want to try to use a front wheel drive car to pull a 17' boat in/out of the water. I have towed with an old 90 Mustang GT before and it worked well enough for me to haul it a couple hundred miles into the Texas hill country and hit some lakes there. However, that was a V8 car and rear wheel drive. We still had to get someone to stand on the tongue of the trailer as I pulled it out of the water to keep some extra weight on the rear wheels for traction. I towed the same boat with an 90 Ford Ranger with 2.9 liter V6 motor and a 5 speed. It pulled pretty well too, but it also was light in the rear and needed some weight on the back tires to get the boat up out of the water. The boat is a 17' 97 Chris Craft with 4.3 V6. A guess at the weight loaded with trailer would be around 3200 lbs or so. It "feels" about the same as my 18' car hauler trailer with my 2800 lbs mustang race car on it.

 

[Powersct]

I have a 17' Aquasport /Johnson 70 on an aluminum Magic Loader (bunk) that I tow and launch with a Volvo 850 with no problem. I have a similar situation in that the launch is close by. The only real problem is that I have to back the rear wheels into the salt water about 6 inches as the ramp is shallow. I am repairing the truck now to avoid the salt damage to the car going forward. If I were launching in freshwater I wouldn't bother until I needed the truck for winter.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Yeah, I don't think I would want to try to use a front wheel drive car to pull a 17' boat in/out of the water. I have towed with an old 90 Mustang GT before and it worked well enough for me to haul it a couple hundred miles into the Texas hill country and hit some lakes there. However, that was a V8 car and rear wheel drive. We still had to get someone to stand on the tongue of the trailer as I pulled it out of the water to keep some extra weight on the rear wheels for traction. I towed the same boat with an 90 Ford Ranger with 2.9 liter V6 motor and a 5 speed. It pulled pretty well too, but it also was light in the rear and needed some weight on the back tires to get the boat up out of the water. .

You have it backwards. Front wheal drive is better for boat retrieving that rear wheal drive as you have engine pressing on the frond wheels.
4WD is obviously the best.

My friend uses FWD Honda Oddysay to pull his heavy sailboat with no problems whatsoever. I used to use AWD Subaru to pull my 17 feet boat with great ease. The car was totalled and I replaced it with 4WD RAV4.

One doesn't need to have a truck for boating.

 

[kjsAZ]

that's another one of these "truth by sufficient amount of copies" stories on the internet that RWD is the better way to retrieve a boat....
If I look at the ramp and see how many 150 and 250 trucks have a problem to pull out boats of similar weight to mine and then my Admiral pulls up a 3100# + my 200# trailer with a Chevy Equinox Rated for < half of the towing weight of these trucks....... She pulled our last boat which was ~500# over the rating of her mini-van out and I never heard the slightest squeak....

I had a 1500 truck before the Equinox and we always used the Admirals mini-van to go boating because the truck was a pain to retrieve the boat.

 

[P-factor]

First time boater, I've been pulling my 21' Excel cuddy in and out of the water with a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe FWD. It's the smaller V6, 2.7L. I had no problems whatsoever on the 2.5hr drive to the boat's new home nor have I had a single issue pulling it out of the water. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I still feel like the dudes with their dualie pickups give me sideways glances when I pull up. The *only* thing that makes me nervous is backing it in, I take it reeeeealy slow! I'm paranoid about the boat dragging me into the water if I go too fast! Pulling it out I just brake and accel at the same time so it doesn't roll back and then release the brake and off we go, nary a wheel spin or engine struggling to be heard!

 

[kjsAZ]

you might be just a bit above the tow rating on your Santa....... It has a 2800# rating with trailer brakes and I've never seen a 21ft boat which isn't well above that if you add the trailer....... My 17.5ft open bow with trailer is already higher.

 

[bigdee]

that's another one of these "truth by sufficient amount of copies" stories on the internet that RWD is the better way to retrieve a boat....
If I look at the ramp and see how many 150 and 250 trucks have a problem to pull out boats of similar weight to mine and then my Admiral pulls up a 3100# + my 200# trailer with a Chevy Equinox Rated for < half of the towing weight of these trucks....... She pulled our last boat which was ~500# over the rating of her mini-van out and I never heard the slightest squeak....

I had a 1500 truck before the Equinox and we always used the Admirals mini-van to go boating because the truck was a pain to retrieve the boat.

I have to agree with you. My Grand Cherokee will out perform a 1/2 ton pickup hands down on the ramp. When I occasionally use a relatives F-150 to pull out my pontoon I get alot of wheel spin and little traction. The Jeep doesn't spin a bit and I have never had to switch into four-wheel drive either.

 

[oldjeep]

that's another one of these "truth by sufficient amount of copies" stories on the internet that RWD is the better way to retrieve a boat....
If I look at the ramp and see how many 150 and 250 trucks have a problem to pull out boats of similar weight to mine and then my Admiral pulls up a 3100# + my 200# trailer with a Chevy Equinox Rated for < half of the towing weight of these trucks....... She pulled our last boat which was ~500# over the rating of her mini-van out and I never heard the slightest squeak....

I had a 1500 truck before the Equinox and we always used the Admirals mini-van to go boating because the truck was a pain to retrieve the boat.

Sounds odd. Can't say that I've ever had an issue with my 1500 getting enough traction to pull a boat out of the water. I have seen minivans with people perched on the hoods trying to get enough traction to pull a boat out of the water.

 

[bigdee]

Sounds odd. Can't say that I've ever had an issue with my 1500 getting enough traction to pull a boat out of the water. I have seen minivans with people perched on the hoods trying to get enough traction to pull a boat out of the water.

I guess it depends on the ramp. The ramp I use is difficult b/c as soon as you crest the top of the ramp (about30 feet from water) you have to make a 90 degree turn to the left and the trailer is still on the incline. This is where the pickups lose it.

 

[P-factor]

According to "HyundaiNews.com" my santa has a 3200# rating. http://www.hyundainews.com/download/media/documentfile/36945_1_1.aspx I know I'm over when the boat is fueled up and gear on board. I'm exactly at the rating when it's empty, 2600 + 600 trailer. I'm a few hundred yards from the ramp and only 2 miles from the gas station, so I'm OK with that.

 

[gtochris]

First time boater, I've been pulling my 21' Excel cuddy in and out of the water with a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe FWD. It's the smaller V6, 2.7L. I had no problems whatsoever on the 2.5hr drive to the boat's new home nor have I had a single issue pulling it out of the water. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I still feel like the dudes with their dualie pickups give me sideways glances when I pull up. The *only* thing that makes me nervous is backing it in, I take it reeeeealy slow! I'm paranoid about the boat dragging me into the water if I go too fast! Pulling it out I just brake and accel at the same time so it doesn't roll back and then release the brake and off we go, nary a wheel spin or engine struggling to be heard!

If it is anything like my Wellcraft (which made the Excel) I have no idea how you can do that as my 4Runner with nearly 2x the displacement is very taxed pulling on hills my boat.
In Europe though they don't seem to think twice about towing a large "caravan" with an average subcompact cross country...

To the Teezy- Any way you can build in dock rental into your finances? It might be the better option for right now- I'm sure the Avalon 'could' do it- but it might be more of an adventure than you are looking for every time you want to go boating...

 

[kjsAZ]

In Europe though they don't seem to think twice about towing a large "caravan" with an average subcompact cross country...

You would be surprised if you would see the European requirements and specs for vehicles and their tow ratings. The glorious >10k# F150 is rated at 6k# (with trailer brakes only) and 330# maximum tongue weight over there....... Big difference: all trailers there have to have type approval which includes a lot of tough specs and a very important one is the max tongue weight required for stability. 2.5% (1.5-2% typical) instead of the 8-10% here. These "large caravans" are build extremely lightweight compared to the ones build here.