Boat Dolly

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PK142FISH

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Hi All,

I have moved my 14 foot row boat to a lake where it will stay near water's edge. It is about 20 feet from the edge of the water. It is kind of awkward and heavy to drag down over a gravel shoreline especially by myself. I really don't want to scrape up the bottom to much getting it to the water. I was curious if anybody has a homemade boat dolly or store bought dolly that they use for these occasions. I have attached a picture of my boat so you can get a visual on the boat. I look forward to pics and any information as to the best and most efficient transport for short distances. Also, if anyone has advice on how to build one, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks
PK
 

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I don't have any links to it but one of the neater small/compact dolly setups I've seen involved sliding a board up inside each rear handle. The board fit through the handle snugly, so it kept it tight against the transom. When resting on the dolly wheels, the bottom of the boat was the height of the wheels off the ground. Then he said he lifted the front of the boat and pulled it by hand to the water.
 
This may help - I think this is what JM was talking about

https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=29584&p=305025&hilit=jon+boat+dolly
 
Sure looks like the simplest solution. I make up PVC dollies for my kayaks, but they don't have stern handles to utilize.

There is also a clamp-on dolly made that I used many years ago.
You'd have to check out the weight restrictions to see if your boat would be OK.
A larger version is made by Garlick, but costs about double.
regards, richg99

https://www.discountramps.com/boat-dolly/p/BOAT-DOLLY/?CID=PSC-PLA-Google-BOAT-DOLLY-canoe-and-kayak-trailers-dollies&st-t=google-canoe-and-kayak-trailers-dollies&vt-pti=140150599222&vt-k=&vt-m=&CAWELAID=820562990000010309&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=23056040902&CATCI=pla-140150599222&gclid=CjwKEAjw9OG4BRDJzY3jrMng4iQSJABddor154Th-Yfou9XaWp__MjEN6PKVQFCpO_NLskIXQxrEsxoCaxXw_wcB

boat-dolly__2.jpg
 
When I got a small 10' jon it came with something similar to one of these:

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You flip the boat over and slide it on over the transom. The wheel base if kind of narrow but it gets the gob done. The other link may be better though just because of the tires. I could only imagine how much easier it would be to roll the pneumatic tires over the gravel than the solid lawnmower type.

$40 at amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Boat-Canoe-Transom-1-Person-Dolly/dp/B004JKSHSE
 
also look at "baja" style launch wheels...we used the transom style for a while, but the you are lifting all the weight of the boat and accessories, at the bow...or your going back to get your stuff and carrying it seperately.
The Baja style wheels are installed at the boat's loaded center of gravity...we could lift the front of the boat , literally with two fingers!!

It involves some fabrication, as the "turf style tires" plug into sockets on the side of the boat. There is a commercial kit available on line ? maybe "baja boat wheels"...we looked at the pics and sourced the square aluminum tubing on line www.onlinemetals.com" and had a local welding shop do a bit of tig welding....makes launching a 12 ft Valco with 20hp Johnson and all the gear a one-man gig!!
 
Good point Dizzy.... If weight is an issue, then putting the wheels amidships is way better. All of my kayak carts are positioned in the middle of the yak, for the very reason that Dizzy pointed out. I am old, and clumsy, I need all the help I can get. Ha Ha richg99
 
I'll include some pics of mine. My use is a little bit different as I use it to wheel the boat from the truck to the ramp. Therefore, I needed something to support the back end of the boat when in the truck bed as well. Lashing on each side of the rear to each handle holds it on and another from eye bolts on each side and over the boat holds the front end up. Easy enough to build and super cheap. Just wheel it into the water, remove front strap and unclip the two on the rear, then go. It ended up floating too, so no worries about sinking and losing it. Also makes loading back on easy too as you don't have to hold it up while fastening the straps. Don't need a proper boat ramp either, which ended up being a benefit for me.

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Yeah it wasn't too difficult as the dimensions were governed by the bed of my truck and the bed extender I made to support the back end. Can't beat solutions with nominal cost thanks to scrap materials. You'll notice that the pictures didn't include some of the things I mentioned like the eye screws for straps. I just put the structure together and adapted what I needed to work better. Other things I've done include a motor lock for my clamp on outboard, a rod holder, and a bait tray. The only problem I wasn't able to fix was that I was sold a 9.9 outboard that turned out to be a mislabeled 15, which I quickly found out won't work on a 1232.
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I'm not sure, but, I've seen many posts where guys have taken 9.9 motors and, with a throttle plate or carb change, made them into 15s.

Perhaps the same can be done in reverse.

richg99
 
Yeah I'm sure it can be done, but to intentionally reduce the output would completely contradict my philosophy on engines, haha. When I bought the motor, I tested it with the 1232 on my small pond. I had water coming over the gunwale at half throttle on not even 90° turns. That was terrifying, so my solution about a year ago was a bigger boat. I got a welded 14' (40" or 42"?) Xpress. It could use some more juice now, but after flipping the smaller boat I'm just fine with rolling low and slow. I've got a buddy with a spare 9.5 that I'm thinking about pairing with the 12' and getting rid of it since I now have 8', 10', 12', 14', and 16' tins and don't need all of them.
 

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