Pelican Predator mini boats
John
I'm planning on purchasing a mini bass boat for pond fishing
this season. I need to transport it it the back of my pickup. Most of
the pontoon style mini boats can fit in the truck bed, however I have
my eye on the Pelican Predator 103 or DLX. Can anyone tell me if these
hulls fit in the bed of a full size truck? Many thanks.
J
Joe Haubenreich
The Bass Hunter mini-pontoon boat I now have, with a beam of 48 inches
across the gunwales, wedges snugly between the wheel wells of a small pickup
like my old Nissan. Of course, it fits easily in a full-size pickup bed with
plenty of room to spare..
The Pelican Predator 103 has a 61"-inch beam, and although that is across
the gunwales and the modified v-hull means it takes up less room at rest
across the truck bed, you're right to question whether it will go in easily.
I can't answer that question.
Are you planning to ever use this by yourself, or always with a buddy who
can help you load the boat onto your pickup?
You may be able to square your body to the boat, plant your feet firmly, and
lift one end of it easily, but it's not nearly as easy when you're off to
one side trying to hold up the front of the boat at about head height, and
dragging the boat up a ramp so that you can rest it on the tailgate of your
pickup. This is pretty tough to do with a 100-pound Bass Hunter. I bet the
165-pound Pelican Predator 103 is even harder for a single person to load.
Another advantage of the Bass Hunter is that the battery isn't in a battery
box. When I have to lift it myself, I can lighten the load considerably by
removing the batter. In the Pelican, the battery is in a compartment. You
can still remove it, of course, but you'll be tempted to try loading with
the battery in place.
Consider finding a small, used trailer that you can use to transport your
boat. I've seen them for sale around $100 -- considerably cheaper than the
doctor visits, CAT scans, lab work, etc. that you'll pay when you throw your
back out.
Joe
--------------------
"John" <johns...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fb7cf6ed-0ef3-4a4e...@d62g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
John
>
> news:fb7cf6ed-0ef3-4a4e...@d62g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Hi all,
> > I'm planning on purchasing a mini bass boat for pond fishing
> > this season. I need to transport it it the back of my pickup. Most of
> > the pontoon style mini boats can fit in the truck bed, however I have
> > my eye on the Pelican Predator 103 or DLX. Can anyone tell me if these
> > hulls fit in the bed of a full size truck? Many thanks.
> > J
Thanks so much for your insight Joe. Sounds like I will be fishing
with a buddy by default. I had considered the battery compartment a
plus, that much less clutter, but I definitely see your point about
lightening the load.
Thanks again.
Bob La Londe
Mini boat trailers can be had pretty cheap.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5002
Put bearing buddies on it when you assemble it.
--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com
Bob La Londe
news:fr1u38$fbs$1...@registered.motzarella.org...
Actually any small utility trailer will work. Just assemble the hubs with
water proof wheel bearing grease and put bearing buddies on as I mentioned
before. The one I gave the link for was setup for a small boat, but a small
flatbead would work just as well for such a light boat, and is available
cheaper.
Da Chief
install a small atv winch in the front of your truck bed (along with
necessary accessories to make it all work). And then again, you might
consider a simple pulley arrangement on the trailer that would give you
greater leverage/power when dragging the boat aboard.
Shelby Foles srf...@bellsouth.net
If you auto reply, you'd better get "the heck" outta my email address first.
Jim Laumann
wrote:
Is there some overwelming reason you want to spend a chunk of money
on that heavy of a small boat?
You should be able to pick a up 10-12-14' v hull or jon boat for
$200+/-.
To that you can add a couple clamp on folding seats and a tiller
TM, sonar and you're all set.
Mine (12' v hull) fits nicely in the back of the PU, I can load /
unload by myself (2 is easier).
Granted it's not as pretty - but it fishes nicely and a lot less $$$.
Jim
mka...@comcast.net
Hi John:
I just purchased the Predator DLX. It's not going to fit very well in
your pickup truck and it's quite heavy, so it definitely cannot be
handled by one person. However, I love it. It's got an aerated live
well built in and the battery compartment is very accessible. It
would be easy to take your battery in and out. The only thing I don't
like is that the electrical outlets from the battery are all female,
so you'll need the male connector to hook up your battery. I have not
been able to find a male connector that is designed to be the plug-in
end. I think the standard set-up is the other way around. So, I
ended up buying the $21 connector that Pelican sells (I'm sure that
was the idea, but it's a pain). I'm looking at either a small utility
trailer 4' x 8' or a very small boat trailer for it. I'm having a
hard time though knowing whether a standard 12' -14' boat trailer
designed for a V-hull fishing boat will fit this tri-hull design that
is only 10' long. If anyone has had success with this please let me
know. Mike