Is it possible to tow small boat behind TM

How do folks go camping at a lake and use their boat?

I would guess it depends on the boat.

I have a friend with a 32 foot boat. Needless to say, he does not tow it behind a travel trailer. However, he can sleep on the boat.

[mjlaupp]

I have a 12 foot Porta-Bote which can be carried on top of the TV.
http://www.porta-bote.com/
Mike

[Bill]

Originally Posted by mjlaupp

I have a 12 foot Porta-Bote which can be carried on top of the TV.
http://www.porta-bote.com/
Mike

I think RockyMtnRay also bought a folding boat, and wrote quite a bit about his reasons and experiences with it. The Advanced Search tool ought to turn up his posts. I think his was called a FolBot, so search under that term. As I recall, it was part of a discussion on kayaks, so you might search under that term as well.

Bill

Originally Posted by Magdefrau

How do folks go camping at a lake and use their boat?

Some friends of ours have a normal 32 foot travel trailer and I forget what size pontoon boat. The wife drives the truck to pulls the travel trailer and the husband drives the truck to pulls the pontoon.

The wife does not have a job, so if they going somewhere close to home she will take the travel trailer out on Thursday. She spends Thursday night out there getting everything setup. When her husband gets home, she has the pontoon hooked up and ready to go. They bring the pontoon home Sunday evening. She goes out Monday morning and puts everything away and brings the travel trailer home.

He is darn lucky. Unless it is an emergency, my wife does not like to drive when pulling a trailer.

Originally Posted by Magdefrau

How do folks go camping at a lake and use their boat?

We have a SeaEagle canoe. They have larger style boats in all price ranges.
http://www.seaeagle.com

Our small canoe goes in the bicycle trailer, we ride to the lake, inflate the canoe, drop it in and paddle off.

I am considering a light weight boat to carry on TV. I am considering either a canoe or a porta-bote although the second is expensive. For those of you who have tried one or the other or hopefully both, what is your advice? I am considering 12 ft. for both. Or would you rec. 14 ft. porta-bote? Also what size electric motor would you recommend? I appreciate all the info. I have received on these forms. Thank you.

John & Marion

2004 3023
1999 Merc. Mt., AWD, V8, 5L

We are canoeists and almost always carry a canoe or two on top of our TV - a Ford F-150 SuperCrew with a cap, Spring Creek suction cup rack on the cab and Yakima rack mounted on Yakima's bolt through Landing Pads on the cap. Works great.

We also have owned the 8' Porta-Bote since 1993 and use it as a dinghy when cruising on our Catalina 22 or on bareboat charters we don't have to fly to. We had to get the smallest one as it fits folded on the quarter berth in our Catalina. It works fine for DW and I but is tight and has limited freeboard with 3 aboard. It works fine with an electric motor but we generally use a 2.5 horse Mariner outboard (if you go the gas route make certain you get one with neutral - it will be much safer than my direct drive model). Porta-Botes differ from most in that engine size is by weight and not horsepower.

I would never go back to using an inflatable dinghy. We can and have run the Porta-Bote up on rocks and logs without complaint. The only maintenence it has required is to periodically reglue the floatation to the plywood seats - newer models have better floatation and plastic seats. It also rows better than any inflatable and we enjoy rowing around a harbor for an hour or so after being confined onboard for a couple of days. She may be long since out of business but we got a fair price from Penny Brandon of Crystal Lake, Illinois, who we met at a sailboat show. It was drop shipped in a huge baggie from the manufacturer in California. At least in '93 the price difference between the 8, 10 and 12' models was negligible so choose with use and storage factors in mind. - Camp2Canoe