BajaNomad - What boat do you tow to Baja?

What boat do you tow to Baja?

tripledigitken - 9-23-2007 at 04:20 PM

All the talk of trailering in another thread has led me to this question.

What size, weight, & beam of boat do you trailer to Baja?
A couple of Nomads have mentioned 10,000-13,000# boat and trailer that they tow into Baja. Jeez those are getting to be a big trailerable boat. What are those monsters?

Please share your wisdom regarding hauling boats. I am about to purchase a 20'-21' fishing boat that will follow us down to Baja in a few years, so the topic is of interest to me and I'm sure to others as well. :yes:

Thanks,

Ken

Hook - 9-23-2007 at 04:42 PM

Boats that size that are still an 8-6 beam are likely Skip 26s and Blackman Billfishers with a diesel and an I/O. Towed wet and with a triple axle steel trailer, you might be between 10-11k. I havent heard anything going at 13k unless it is a 9-6 beam..........and that would NOT be fun to tow.

Maybe there is an Albemarle that is an 8-6 beam; not real sure.

tripledigitken - 9-23-2007 at 05:20 PM

Hook,

The 26' Blackman I've seen on occasion being towed, it weighs around #6600's, with trailer and misc. may push 8500's. You're right it is a 8'6" beam. They look pretty big on Mex 1!

Let's hear about those tripleaxle 13000# ones!

Ken

I just looked up the Albemarle 268 (their biggest towable) and it weighs in at 7500#s with a 8'6" beam.

[Edited on 9-24-2007 by tripledigitken]

Paulina - 9-23-2007 at 05:41 PM

22' Paceno Panga, on an EZ Loader trailer with 15" wheels & 2 spares.

We beach launch her in Bahia de Los Angeles and in Punta Banda.

P<*)))><

Roberto - 9-23-2007 at 05:57 PM

I'm the kook towing the (almost) 13,000 lb boat to Baja and Mainland Mexico.

It's a 28' Albemarle (280XF), 9'6" beam, and it weighs that including the trailer, with 280 gallons of diesel onboard.

In reality, it's not all that hard to do, as long as you have the right equipment. I have a F350 diesel, and when I did this for a living, it was still a dually. :lol:

The trailer is a triple-axle, 18,000lb rated trailer, with hydro-vac brakes, and carries the load without breaking a sweat. In fact, if you have the torque to get it going, the brakes to stop it, and the weight distribution to eliminate any wiggling, it tows like a dream.

Nowadays, I sold my place in Bahia, so I am no longer a frequent traveller of Mex 1 with large loads. What I do, and I know people will scream, but I do a lot of my heavy-duty towing at night. The truck has the right lights, I'm in no rush, and I can see things coming a LONG way away. Plus, there's less traffic and the truckers that ARE on the road are professional drivers, not gringo nutters in MH caravans.

Now THAT'S something to be worried about.

The boat needs a ramp to launch. Or, a friendly local with a tractor will also work. :wow:

But, I will tell you this. Once you are in situ, having that kind of nautical transportation - I mean you can go ANYWHERE.

Here is a (lousy quality) picture of the behemoth attached to the beast, ready for a trip.

[Edited on 9-24-2007 by Roberto]

Hook - 9-23-2007 at 07:15 PM

Nothing like an F350 to make a large boat seem smallish. :biggrin:

BajaBruno - 9-23-2007 at 08:40 PM

I guess an Ocean 63' sportfisher would be nice, too, but out of all the larger and smaller boats I've taken to Baja, the one I like best is the 20' Bayrunner Baja with a Honda 4 stroke. Light, fast, easy to launch, easy on fuel, easy to tow, and easy to clean.

I like Paulina's boat, too. Pangas are an excellent option, as thousands of Mexicans can attest, though I'd opt for a center console and a T-top.

BajaWarrior - 9-24-2007 at 05:16 AM

We tow a 20' flatbed triple axle Baja approved/rated/tested car hauler trailer. It tows very straight and even though it is long I don't even know its there after a while.

It will haul our toys easily and recently we have been hauling building materials down to our new house in Baja. This coming weekend we're hauling 72 sheets of 12' drywall on it.

And while this post is about boats and their trailers, I haul two three seater jet ski's and their trailers aboard this trailer with still room for two ATV's.

Pictured here is only one Jet ski but three quads. Photo courtesy of SHARI in Bahia Asuncion.

[Edited on 9-24-2007 by BajaWarrior]

[Edited on 9-24-2007 by BajaWarrior]

warriorload.jpg - 40kB

NICE BOATS

Norm - 9-24-2007 at 05:34 AM

WE TOW A VERY NICE CAROLINA CLASSIC ~26" INBOARD DIESEL, WITH A PETERBUILT HAULER -435 CAT , 13 SPEED !!!!
WILL ADD PHOTO WHEN I HAVE TIME !!!! IBEAM THREE AXEL TRAILER !! GETTING CLOSE TO THAT TIME AGAN !! !!

Alan - 9-24-2007 at 06:45 AM

I tow a 23' Seaswirl Striperwith an 8'6" beam and even then it seems the trailer tires are paint to paint 90% of the time. I couldn't imagine towing anything wider. The best advice I would offer is to ensure that you have 10 ply tires and a couple of spares.

Buenaventura [320x200].jpg - 44kB

Mexrick - 9-24-2007 at 09:15 AM

Makes my little 15' Baja Bayrunner with a 30 hp HOnda 4-stroke look like a newborn. I might be small but I can go fishing... and that;s the bottom line!!!

tripledigitken - 9-24-2007 at 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roberto
I'm the kook towing the (almost) 13,000 lb boat to Baja and Mainland Mexico.

It's a 28' Albemarle (280XF), 9'6" beam, and it weighs that including the trailer, with 280 gallons of diesel onboard.

In reality, it's not all that hard to do, as long as you have the right equipment. I have a F350 diesel, and when I did this for a living, it was still a dually. :lol:

Now THAT'S something to be worried about.

The boat needs a ramp to launch. Or, a friendly local with a tractor will also work. :wow:

[Edited on 9-24-2007 by Roberto]

Roberto,

A beautiful boat you have there! You can loose 1500#'s by not hauling with the boat full of diesel.

Wouldn't opt for the driving by night theory myself, but if it works for you go head on.

Hope you don't mind the questions, here goes:

Do you have air conditioning in the cabin? Might be nice to have in summer.

What trailer tires do you use?

Does you truck have airbags?

What is cruise on your boat and WOT, and the respective fuel burns?

Thanks

You are winner in the biggest trailer boat so far.

BajaWarrior - 9-24-2007 at 05:42 PM

Great rig Roberto!

Let me check my wish list, ah yes, there it is, a nearly identical picture of your truck and boat combo...

Minnow - 9-24-2007 at 05:55 PM

Chuck, from what I hear you will be able to put it in your new garage. :lol:

It will look much nicer than that Bayrunner I bought off of you too.

I am still freaking on your Point Loma seafood comment. Best place in the world to eat fresh fish IMO. I can't believe you are not more of a hard core fisherman.

Alan - 9-24-2007 at 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexrick
Makes my little 15' Baja Bayrunner with a 30 hp HOnda 4-stroke look like a newborn. I might be small but I can go fishing... and that;s the bottom line!!!

You can also fish a lot of areas that I can't!

Roberto - 9-24-2007 at 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tripledigitken
A beautiful boat you have there! You can loose 1500#'s by not hauling with the boat full of diesel.

Yes, and now that diesel is cheaper in Mexico I would not do it. However, I have towed down many times when this was not the case.

Quote:

Originally posted by tripledigitken
Do you have air conditioning in the cabin? Might be nice to have in summer.

Yes.

Quote:

Originally posted by tripledigitken
What trailer tires do you use?

I plead the fifth on that one. :lol:

check the other thread.

Quote:

Originally posted by tripledigitken
Does you truck have airbags?

Nope. Not necessary. The trailer is perfectly balanced and able to carry the boat, and as a consequence tongue weight is well within the capability of a one-ton truck. Doesn't even squat!

Quote:

Originally posted by tripledigitken
What is cruise on your boat and WOT, and the respective fuel burns?

Max speed is around 30 knots. Boat is most efficient around 20 knots, and gets 1.7NMG at that speed. If heavily loaded can go down to 1.5, if lightly loaded I have gotten 2.0. WOT = about 1.2NMPG (best case).

Since you're all making admiring comments about the boat, let me tell you this. The hull shape on this boat is perfect - I can run it at 20 knots all day long, in really rough seas, and the boat just cuts through the water. Into the weather, in following seas, in the trough, across the waves, doesn't matter. It fishes three people great, four very well. I'm talking SoCal offshore style fishing here. It competes with the best battlewagons in terms of handling rough seas, and much better than many.

[Edited on 9-25-2007 by Roberto]

BajaWarrior - 9-25-2007 at 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Minnow
Chuck, from what I hear you will be able to put it in your new garage. :lol:

Yes the garage/house is coming along nicely. Hauling 72 sheets of 12' drywall this weekend and all the kitchen cabinets. I do love to fish, just backing off a bit for this time in my life. Besides, the shore fishing for Corvina in front of my house is the best around, no boat needed.

I'll get another boat one day, and it will be another Bayrunner, great all around boat. For now, trolling behind one of my jet ski's or kayak or shore fishing.

On a more positive note, when we're at either Bay in San Diego and I ask of my wife which boat she likes, she always points to the Flybridge models, things are looking up...

SBSRF - 9-25-2007 at 06:36 AM

A 26ft Blackman behind a 1 ton Dodge with a 4 wheel pop-up.

[Edited on 9-25-2007 by SBSRF]

[Edited on 9-25-2007 by SBSRF]

web 2.JPG - 19kB

SBSRF - 9-25-2007 at 06:47 AM

Underway around Catavina

the rig Catavina.JPG - 19kB

Alan - 9-25-2007 at 07:00 AM

SBSRF

That makes your one-ton look like a Tacoma.

SBSRF - 9-25-2007 at 07:07 AM

Or a Tonka Toy

ElFaro - 9-25-2007 at 01:13 PM

To me this is an interesting discussion because there are many different options on how one fishes in Baja. For many people there are only two options...either I fish in my own boat or I don't fish at all. For others like myself I took a look at all the options available to me and looked at the upside and downside of each. Since I tow a toy hauler down, that eliminates towing a large boat right off the bat. What I have done is try to make my fishing experience as versatile as possible given the rig I have imposed on myself. My wife and I have kayaks tied to the top of our truck shell. We also
carry a rolled up 12' Achilles inflatable boat with a 15hp 2-stroke Evinride stored in the truck bed.
Here are my options...After parking and setting up the toy hauler:
1. I can shorefish by driving to wherever part of the coast I wish (the most limited coverage).
2. We can drive to wherever and launch the kayaks and paddle around (a little wider coverage).
3. Drive to a location, setup the inflatable, and launch from the shore of my choosing (5-10 mile coverage in either direction).
4. Hire a panga to take us out fishing to channels or nearby islands (5-20 mile coverage).
5. Hire a super cruiser (5-25 mile coverage).
6. Stay shoreside and don't fish at all.
Upside:
Everything is easy to haul down and back.
Don't have to setup kayaks or inflatable unless we want to. All are locked and stored out of the way.
Many options to pick from based on fishing conditions.
Can go virtually anyware to fish (not constrained by launching limits of towed boat).
Can stay in my own trailer and not depend on the whims of hotels, vacancies, room cleanliness, etc.
Both trailer and truck serve multiple purposes. Towed boat serves only one purpose (fishing) and if that can't be done your stuck just towing it around.
Panga / Super cruiser hire advantages - locals know areas of best fishing, most have radios, they all know where each other is while fishing, I speak spanish so a good rappor with the capt. goes a long way with them in that they will put in the extra effort to help you get fish.
I can check the fish count the day before going out with the pangas and if the fishing was bad I don't have to commit $s for the next day.
When you tow down a large boat you are virtually compelled to fish because of the effort, expense, and breakdown risk committed to get there regardless of fishing conditions.
Low expense / overhead - Can afford to lose the kayaks or inflatable, no large towed boat expence / maintenance commitment only pay as I fish with pangas / cruiser.
Downside:
Inflatable setup/teardown can involve some labor.
Some labor to get kayaks/inflatable to launch sites on remote beaches (e.g. Laguna Manuela).

SBSRF - 9-26-2007 at 08:34 AM

Inflatible camping can be great

[Edited on 9-26-2007 by SBSRF]

INFLATABLE CAMPING.jpg - 26kB

chris - 9-26-2007 at 11:17 AM

This rig set up looks ideal. Like your thought process an agree. I'm unable to store anything where I live and go infrequently enough that it's not worth outside storage (yet). I hope to get there. Panga and simple hotel fit my lifestyle so far but I hope to move to your set up....someday. Looks fantastic...

Minnow - 9-26-2007 at 11:36 AM

Great posts All. You folks are living the baja dream.

steviecroc - 9-27-2007 at 04:41 AM

4baja - 9-27-2007 at 06:23 AM

22 foot cc

Islandtrip136.jpg - 37kB

SBSRF - 9-27-2007 at 07:03 AM

Nice ride, gotta love the "T" top.

lots of fun fishing in baja

lancesmith - 9-27-2007 at 04:31 PM

14' almar 60hp prop engine center console tow?

bajabum - 9-27-2007 at 05:43 PM

My experience over the last 25 years has been that a 19-21 ft bayrunner, klamath,gregor are the absolute best for trailering down into Baja. They are light, launchable at most of the ramps (if thats what you want to call them!) and can get you to the prime fishing grounds from Ensenada to Loretto (thats the area I fish) and handle the water conditions semi comfortably. Next best is probably a 15 ft model of the above which can be car/truck/trailer topped, beach launced any where and get you to the fishing grounds in most areas. A little less comfy and you have to pay attention to the water/weather conditions a little colser bur still very fishable.