best cartop boat for baja?

You named the two most popular tin boats down here. Wheels? Some have used them but I feel they're just as much a pain as dragging it across the sand. If you're crossing rocks some kind of removable tire system would be a must. There are a lot of inventive set ups out there. I like a trailer and a rig that will launch it over the sand/cobble stones. But I'm working on old.

a 12' Avon with a 25 hp mariner......

oh, and for the right price it's for sale, with all the goodies! U2U if interested.

I know you said car topper but I really like my Duro Boat and trailer. I think the ones you mentioned may be a heaver quality but this 14 footer should hold up fine and it probably weighs about what a 12' Gregor does.

Man it'd be nice to just back the trailer into the water and launch into a lake.

It's life or death half the time here trying to get through the surf. I have to drop my boat on the beach where the break is and haul my boat down the steep beach and try to find a lull in the sets to get thru.

Man it'd be nice to launch where Russ launches!!

How about a truck topper? Worked great as a shell and no trailer to mess with.



12' Gregor and a 9.9 Yama 4 stroke



I did add some wheels to the side





If I had it to do over I would just purchase a set from Baja Enterprises, he makes a kit thats a no brainer.

1992 - 14' Lund with full transom.
15 Hp long shaft, 2 stroke.
Eide manual boat loader.
No problem !!

With the boat loader, you may as well haul a 14' as a 12' and the bigger boat makes a ton of difference in stability and comfort. The full transom is hard to find in a small tin boat but really makes the boat more seaworthy in waves, following seas or when launching/retrieving in the surf.

I find that most launches are slightly downhill from where the sand gets soft and I can easily pull the boat 20'-40' to the water. When retrieveing, I use a rope tied to the bumper to haul the boat up to firm ground for loading. Or if you have a buddy; 2 people can easily care it.

Frank that was our favorite spot in BOLA,La Gringa,many good times we had there.


[Edited on 7-11-2010 by baitcast]


[Edited on 7-11-2010 by baitcast]

we now have a 15 foot welded aluminum boat

the 9.9 hp four stroke engine is too small for outside the bay
but works good for our needs

i'd get a 25hp

remember when the wind comes up
you need to get in FAST
25 hp is the way to go

susan skiied behind a 15 footer with a 25hp last year

of course the weight of mounting and unmounting
a bigger motor is a pain

remember...a small boat is very dangerous on the sea of cortez
you must only go out when its flat
and stay closer to shore
no 30 miles out stuff

but...
the dorado are normally only a mile from shore
most of the time too
they just aren't the "big dogs"

a boat on a trip south will really MAKE your vacation
things look WAY different from the water

edit:
oh yea we put a hydrofoil on the motor
HIGHLY suggested $50
you plane WAY faster and increase your speed


[Edited on 7-12-2010 by Bob and Susan]

Got one on my wish list

One of the best things about fishing the Cortez is there are lots of islands up and down the coast and for the tin boat people this is great.

I always made sure I was never to far from one,any island always has a lee side,any port in a storm,I spent the better part of a nite waiting out a westerly on Smith island,a long nite you bet waiting on the east side under the cone.

Fished Carmen in a 12' Porta-Bote and a 6hp kicker but I wouldn,t suggest you do it
Rob

On the "hydrofoil"--------I had one for years on both my 14' tin boat with a 15 hp Johnson 2-stroke, and on my 35hp Mercury 2-stroke on my 13' Boston Whaler---------took both of them off and like the way they handled without wayyyy better. Never put them on again.

Yes, you get on plane faster with one, but the top speed on both my boats was pretty remarkably CUT with the hydrofoils on. It's all a tradeoff, but I prefer the straight engine, no hydrofoil. If you are somewhat overloaded, then the hydrofoil does help you get on plane, even sometimes making the difference of whether you get on plane, or not. I try to NEVER overload my tin boat on the SOC-----it is hairy enough when the waves come up with just me in the boat.

As for the boat going nuts when you take you hand off the tiller-----could you just tighten up the collar on the engine so that it will just steam straight along with your hands on, or off, the tiller?? Works for me. I like my tiller a little "stiff" anyway, to avoid just the situation you described in the above post.

Barry

Oh boy do I !!!!!!!! I have ended up in the drink more often than I care to admit, for just the reasons you state-----one of the reasons I almost always have another boat along with me, OR I STAY SEATED 100% of the time, or crawl around & forward (if nobody is watching).

Barry

On the 15 hp Johnson----a "Dole Fin"

On the 35 hp Mercury----a "Sting Ray"

Both are one piece, and both are about 18 inches across and about 1 inch think. Both came on the used engines when I bought them. I began to wonder when most other folks with the same setups but no hydrofoils were going faster than me when flat out------took them off, and lo and behold I could keep up with them----that did it for me------no more hydrofoils!!! On the Mercury 35 it actually increased my speed about 4 knots, and rpm's about 500 to take the Sting Ray off.

For me, seeing is believing-------I have no idea if they were "put on wrong" or not, but they looked good to me, and I had them on both engines for many years before I took them off. To me their advantages are outweighed by their disadvantages.

Just my personal experience, of course. I really have no idea of the scientifics of them. All I know is now both boats scream!!! (relatively speaking)

Barry

that's probably why the boat motor companies
dont put them on at the factory

too much screamming

I am sure your 13'4' is heavier than my 16ft clone. It was made at Ensenada Boat Works in 2000. A mold of your hull was lenghtened 3 ft in the middle. No console. Molded in bow bench seat. A center bench seat, and molded in rear seat for me. 2, 6 gallon cans and a deep cycle battery under the cover in front of the transom. A little tail heavy, but still real light. If I put the battery and fuel up front I'd gain a lot of freeboard at the stern, but the longer the electrical and fuel runs, the more chances for problems. I am thinking of downsizing the motor to 20-25 hp to balance it out. Oh, a fat guy in front makes the stearing scary touchy!

[Edited on 7-12-2010 by bajabass]

I'm attaching a picture of my setup that my son took this summer. It uses the same launching wheels as Frank shows in his post on the first page. They were purchased from Baja Enterprises. This is my 4th or 5th year launching with these wheels and we're pretty satisfied.

As you can see the face of this beach is fairly steep and pulling it up is much more difficult without the wheels. The wheels are very wide and don't sink into the sand with our 13'8" boat. Previously I had transom wheels on it which were narrower and required more pushing power (due to wheels sinking) and lifting power (these wheels pass through the center of gravity, allowing you to raise it with very little effort).

But the best thing about them is beaching the boat in the surf without getting any water into the boat. The boat is motored in, shut off, and rowed with wheels on and the bow facing the incoming surf. The boat is rolled backwards through the 'washy' zone with the bow still facing the surf. When the water is so low as to never reach the bottom of the boat it is reversed and rolled up the beach bow first to above the high tide mark.

As all have said a 12' boat is on the smallish side on the cortez and dangerous on the pacific. You would be restricted to fishing the shoreline close to camp on the cortez or the pacific lagoons. I plan to upgrade to a 14'3" gregor this winter as this one is close to 20 years old now.

Our setup includes a trailer rather than carrying on top of the vehicle. But the trailer is constructed for a much larger, heavier boat. It has 12" wheels. Trailers made for these small boats (8" wheels) are not suitable for the washboards and will break down (I learned that early on). The trailer in the picture has been to baja now for 15 years without any failures (yes, the Gonzaga road many times).

A trailer is used instead of car-topping it because we carry things in the boat. The motor rides in the boat rather than on the transom. Empty fuel tanks, rod cases, and boat wheels all ride in the boat, not the camper. Our camper is too small for all of these items.

It's a big subject and much can be said. I hope this helps some.

The wheel's 'axle' is solid aluminum with the last 5 inches cut into a perfect circle. When attaching these wheels in water you guide the axle into the hole all the way to the square part and let it float in the water. Then you push the wheel under water until that arm is vertical. As the wheel is pushed down there is natural force back upwards that helps the axle want to enter the hole ( As Woody Allen would say: "Do we always have to talk about sex?"). Once partially in you rock the tire up and down driving the axle further in. Taking them out is the same process except you push slightly away from the boat and each push drives it further out.

There is nothing that actually binds the wheel to the boat. The buoyancy of the tires provides all the force you need to keep the axle from coming out. Last winter I left the boat below the high tide line and the following morning found the boat floating with both wheels firmly in place. The waves all night weren't able to dislodge the wheels.

Here's a picture of the boat all packed and under way. The wheels sit in milk crates at the very back with the motor inside on a palette between the seats. Near Abreojos.

One of the best things about these small boats is that they make it easy for you to camp at some of the most beautiful spots you can imagine.

Skipjack---------

Is that a PACIFIC galvanised trailer you have there?

If so, that is the exact same trailer I had that disintegrated on me about 3 miles north of Punta Bufeo on the San Felipe to Gonzaga road. Keep a sharp eye on those springs, tho when they break they give no warning that is visible, as far as I could tell. Also, to avoid having the axle twist off and fly out into the desert (like mine did), I suggest that you put some sort of safety chain around the axle near each spring to keep that from happening. Then if one spring breaks, at least your axle remains with you, and you can at least jury rig it and limp home, probably.

Here's hoping that you NEVER have to face the dilemma that I was in with both springs broken and no hope of ever reattaching the axle in the boonies (that we could figure out). I had to just abandon the trailer, putting my boat on top a utility trailer that I had to run to El Centro, Ca to get. It was NOT A GOOD DAY!!! (but a typical 'baja' day)

Barry

Quote:

Originally posted by Barry A. Skipjack--------- Is that a PACIFIC galvanised trailer you have there? Barry

Barry,

You'll be happy to hear that not only has the trailer lasted 15 years but I'm still on the original bearings.

I hope you still respect me (assuming you ever did). I know you can't stop laughing. My mechanic just shakes his head when I tell him. But wait til you see the pictures of the yellowtail.

I used to change the bearings on the old trailer every year.

I attribute my good fortune to:

a. lubing the wheels after every trailer launch.
b. having a lube system where excess grease overflows into the axle. Thus I never break the seals no matter how often I grease it.

bearing buddies

OK, so I'm not going out of here with my cheap Pacific trailer At least with the boat on it. Ok, again. New axle, extra hubs, better springs with back up & mounting hardware. Probably be easier to run it up on the quad trailer.

Sounds like bad karma, Barry.

I carry this guy around on my trailer just to avoid such mishaps.

or maybe just a spare trailer