Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

[JB]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

What kind of vehicle with what sort of drive train is irrelevant. The only things that matter are the tow rating as equipped and the weight of the tow.

When cars were body on frame they were a lot stronger and could safely tow more, even with much lower HP engines.

Boasting about having towed a 32' cruiser with a Yugo (or whatever combo) is terribly misleading and can give newbies an excuse to do something deadly dangerous.

NUMBERS. Decide with numbers, not brands, engines, trannys, etc, etc.

 

[kemer1]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Another avenue you might want to take a look at is something like one of those seadoo jet boats. They're small little 15 or 16 foot long things and pretty light, about 1400 lbs.

http://www.sea-doo.com/showroom/boats/overview/150-speedster.aspx

Just a thought.

 

[Dakota Dave]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

I used to tow a 12' sea king with a 4hp and fishing poles with a 90 CC honda. You should be ablr to find an aluminum boat motor and trailer your car can handle. skip looking at the high horse power boats to start with. the larger the motor the more beefy the hull needs to be. A buddy I fished with had a 15' alumacraft with a 9.9 his tauris towed it quite well.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Dave: I've seen them fishing around Turkey Point with 12 foot flat bottom tinnies. Really though it does get rough out there (even near Port Deposit) and you would do best with a 14-16 vee bottom hull and about 20 HP or more. Whatever the hull will handle. 16 foot aluminum vee hull with a side console and 25 HP engine will be easily towable by the average V6 auto.

That little 15 foot Glastron fiberglass hull weight 700 bare and probably just a little over 1000 with engine, battery, and gas, 1200 with trailer. I have regularly cruised it from Conowingo to Baltimore. Rough ride on the weekend, but do-able.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

What kind of vehicle with what sort of drive train is irrelevant. The only things that matter are the tow rating as equipped and the weight of the tow.

When cars were body on frame they were a lot stronger and could safely tow more, even with much lower HP engines.

Boasting about having towed a 32' cruiser with a Yugo (or whatever combo) is terribly misleading and can give newbies an excuse to do something deadly dangerous.

NUMBERS. Decide with numbers, not brands, engines, trannys, etc, etc.

THIS!!!!


all this other stuff is just chit chat..... the speculation that tow ratings are "mainly because of transmission..... " or any other excuse is just crap..... tow rating is MOSTLY about safety and second to that it is about longevity of the vehicle..... This crap about john boats and 3/4 ton trucks is just that, crap..... Look for a boat of 1000 lbs or under..... sure you can likely get away with towing heavier but understand that you are doing so against the recommendation of the manufacturer.

comparing a flimsy (no offense) modern sheet metal unibody fwd car to 5000 lb rwd 70's sedan is silly.

back in the day as a kid I towed a 12' alum with a 7.5 outboard with a dodge aries junker.... It was great... There is no reason at all you can't tow a boat but getting close to double the rated capacity would be foolish...

 

[GlasV162]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Is that a 2-STROKE I see on that inflatable behind the Prius????

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Another avenue you might want to take a look at is something like one of those seadoo jet boats. They're small little 15 or 16 foot long things and pretty light, about 1400 lbs.

http://www.sea-doo.com/showroom/boats/overview/150-speedster.aspx

Just a thought.

that is pretty much my opinion also! Total weight ready for splashdown is a little under 2000 pounds. Well within the tow rating. (which is 2000 pounds for american drivers, 2500 for canuks, and 3000 pounds in europe, all for the exact same car.) Jetboats are a little heavy though, if you compare it to a similar size outboard equipped boat its going to be a little heavier.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Front wheel drives weak link is the CV Shafts the kinking in them i what kills them. Buy a hovercraft and fly low. lol

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Funny you mentioned this, but when I was a kid growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, our family had an 18' runabout with an 80 hp Evenrude motor. We routinely towed this boat with whatever sedan my father had...Buick, Oldsmobile, etc. Of course cars like the Delta 88 were built like a tank. My father is still alive and I asked him recently what the boat weighed....he thinks it was somewhere around 2200 lbs, including the trailer. This may be pretty accurrate as I do remember helping fold up the front jack and laying the tongue on the garage floor....that's how we stored it so it would fit. Back in that time, no one cared about towing capacity and we towed boats with whatever sedan or station wagon we had. Never had a problem, either. We towed that boat from OH all the way down to Florida one summer vacation...and no problems whatsoever. We towed it to Lake Michigan, Lake Cumberland KY, Lake Erie....you name it. Never had a problem towing or launching or recovering. Ever. Now adays, people wouldn't touch a 2000 lbs load without a 3/4 ton pickup with 4WD that has a towing capacity of 10000 lbs.

The sedans of yesteryear were made out of steel and cast iron, todays sedans are made out of aluminum and plastic... quite a difference.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

The structural components of all but the most expensive modern cars are still made of steel, often higher strength alloys than those of the past. Plastic parts are just decorative and there isn't much aluminum outside of the engine. Manufacturers wanting better crash test ratings have also made modern cars much tougher than they were in the 1980s. Braking and suspension systems are better than those of the 1980s, and in a different league than those of the 1960s. The only advantage that 1960s and 1970s body on frame cars had that is often lacking in their modern counterparts is the ability to use a weight distributing hitch.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Better crash test ratings OFTEN come from making the car CRUSH more easily thus dissipating energy.... this stuff is NOT relevant... IF his car has a tow capacity of 1000 lbs then the ONLY responsible advice is to purchase a boat (boat, motor, trailer, and loaded gear) that weighs 1000 lbs or less

 

[captaindale]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

I have a 2007 Cadillac STS V6; I am looking seriously at the Key West 176 DC; I plan to have a 115 Suzuki on it. Do you think this would work out. Would like to have your thoughts since you have a Key West.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

look up the tow rating of the car and then find the weight of the complete package you plan to tow...... it really is that easy....

 

[jacoboregon]

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

Gotta agree with smoke. Your vehicle has a tow rating. Stay within it. Another thought is: if you have or cause an accident and are above the tow limit you open yourself up to denial of claim by your insurance and a civil suit if someone is hurt.

It seemed to be mentioned more tongue in cheek, but the inflatable boat is actually a great idea. I have a 13' with a 40hp tohatsu and it's good for cruising, fishing, towing tubes, going in the river, lakes, bays and ocean. I use it for crabbing too. You can get a 15' with a 40-50hp if you want more room and still be way under your limit of 1000#. You can get one with a center console too.

Other than that, I also agree that an aluminum would probably fit your present needs better than a fiberglass.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Towing with a sedan - What are my boat options?

check it out but I am sure it will be OK. We have pulled our 17' key west with many different vehicles, sedans to stawags to SUVs, but never with trucks.

I have a 2007 Cadillac STS V6; I am looking seriously at the Key West 176 DC; I plan to have a 115 Suzuki on it. Do you think this would work out. Would like to have your thoughts since you have a Key West.