9 or 11-footer Hauled in Pick-up Truck Bed

[GoneFishing]

Q1: can a Boston Whaler 9-footer or 11-footer be transported in the bed of a pick-up truck [and launched into the water and later loaded from the water]?

Q2: would transporting a 9-footer or 11-footer in a pick-up truck bed be considered unusual?

Give me advice on how to use the pick-up truck to move the boat.

Give me other ideas on how to move the boat.

BACKSTORY
Rather that keep angling from shore, I have decided to get a small boat or a very small boat like a Boston Whaler 9-footer or 11-footer. Their weight should be sufficiently light that I could toss them into the bed of a pickup truck and avoid having to use a boat trailer. Also, without the trailer I might be able to to have easier access to some spots where I want to go angling, which will be in the saltwater of the Atlantic Intracoastal Water Way around Miami and in the Florida Keys.

Hauling the boat in the pick-up truck bed seems very doable to me. I regularly lift weights, so the idea [of moving the boats by myself from the truck to the water and then back to the truck] seems [that the weight of these boats would be] light enough for me [to be able to do this].

[Moderator’s note: The order of the sentences in this post was changed to bring the actual questions you asked to the top, a change regularly done so readers to not havre to read several paragraphs to get to the actual questions being asked. Some parts of sentences in a lengthy account of the motivation to buy a Boston Whaler 9-footer or 11-footer were deleted as not necessary to answer the questions. A number of sentences were augmented to improve the clarity of expression, particularly to aid search engines more accurately grasp the topic and improve the results of searches looking for information on the topic. Question about the forum itself are not permitted in the boating forums, and several have been deleted in follow-up posts. Questions related to the forum can be posted in the forum INTRODUCTION TO THE FORUM SOFTWARE. An existing thread there explains routine changes made to article. See

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[jimh]

Assuming you are serious, my comments are as follows:

Q1: can a Boston Whaler 9-footer or 11-footer be transported in the bed of a pick-up truck and launched into the water and later loaded from the water?

I am sure it could be done, but I think your assessment of the lack of difficulty or relative ease in doing this fails to consider some problems.

The first problem is the weight of just the hull. A 9-footer is 165-lbs and an 11-footer is about 250-lbs. A large object like a boat hull is not particularly easy for anyone to carry around due to the size and weight. You would have to be extraordinarily fit and agile to pick these boats up and move them by yourself.

The second problem is how the boat is to be put into the water. I suspect that you think you will always have a nice sandy beach, and you will set the boat down at the water's edge and slide it into the water. Good luck with that. A Unibond hull is not designed to dragged across any sort of abrasive surface. Sure, some wet sand is permissible now and then, but that would be when the boat is already afloat and just the bow is resting on the wet sand.

Another problem is once you use your Herculean strength to get the boat in the water, you will now have to load the boat with all the necessary gear for getting on the water. The USCG wants you to have a minimum set of gear like personal floatation devices, throwable floatation device, emergency visual signals, horn, anchor, and so on. Then there is the tackle for angling--rods, nets, bait bucket. Having the boat on a trailer with all that gear already aboard and launching from a ramp would be so much easier.

[jimh]

Give me other ideas on how to move the boat.

Buy a trailer. Use the trailer to move the boat.

[Jefecinco]

Will an outboard motor be used to propel the boat?

[GoneFishing]

Will an outboard motor be used to propel the boat?

[I am t]hinking of adding a tiny 2.5-HP engine clamped-on for easy travel and oars as secondary.

Thanks for the responses.

[GoneFishing]

Give me other ideas on how to move the boat.

Buy a trailer. Use the trailer to move the boat.

I had mentioned why I wanted to avoid a trailer.

[jimh]

Give me other ideas on how to move the boat.

Buy a trailer. Use the trailer to move the boat.

I had mentioned why I wanted to avoid a trailer.

I know you thought your method would be better than a trailer. That is why I pointed out to you all the problems with your method that you seemed unaware. When you solicit “other ideas” you may not get advice that reinforces your plan.

[jimh]

[I am t]hinking of adding…oars as secondary [propulsion].

I recommend you try rowing a 9-footer or 11-footer before counting on using oars as a means of propulsion over any distance more than about 100-yards. Boats designed to be rowed generally will be long and thin and very lightweight, which are three characteristics not found in 9-foot and 11-foot tenders.

[fno]

I had oars for our 11' tender cuz it was for floods around the house and the engine was too deep for the water. Had to row 150' and it sucked. When the oars rotted out they went into the burn pile. Rowing an 11' Whaler is a pain in the ass.

[Todd]

GoneFishing,

You may have considered this and decided against it but your use sounds best served by a fishing kayak. I had one some years ago for use on lakes and rivers and was able to move it on and off a roof rack on our Honda van as well as into and out of the water quite efficiently. It had detachable wheels for hauling it short distances to the water without damaging the bottom. These craft are very readily available new and used, I bought mine for about $2,500 and sold it for $1,500 when it was no longer used. I did not have one but a small electric motor was an option, I found paddling worked just fine. Just a thought...

Todd

[frontier]

Consider a 9' Boston Whaler Squall. Amazing rowboat and fairly easy to load in a pickup. 2 sets of molded in oarlock sockets so you can row from the bow seat if needed, Tracks very well because of the keel. Glides well with each stroke. Weight about 125 to 140 pounds. Will take a small outboard also. Not as stable as an 11' Whaler tender, but near as stable as a 9' Whaler tender. We've had several Squalls over the years and they are fun and safe to row.

[GoneFishing]

Consider a 9' Boston Whaler Squall. Amazing rowboat and fairly easy to load in a pickup. 2 sets of molded in oarlock sockets so you can row from the bow seat if needed, Tracks very well because of the keel. Glides well with each stroke. Weight about 125 to 140 pounds. Will take a small outboard also. Not as stable as an 11' Whaler tender, but near as stable as a 9' Whaler tender. We've had several Squalls over the years and they are fun and safe to row.

Excellent! Wanted to hear it from someone with the experience. Thank you.

I appreciate everyone’s response. Thank you guys.

[jimh]

The SQUALL has a much different hull than the Boston Whaler TENDER series.

The TENDER series were noted for their load carrying capacity and remarkably good roll stability. The typical customer would be someone who needed a small boat to get out to his larger boat on a mooring. Their attractiveness has now been just about entirely supplanted by inflatable boats, which have even better roll stability, are lighter, and much more easily transported.

The SQUALL hull without the center board lowered is essentially a round chine boat with a somewhat rounded bottom and no ballast, and it will tend to have the typical poor roll stability of round bottom boats that do not employ hull ballast to lower their center of gravity. However, by all accounts, a SQUALL is a much better boat for rowing than the TENDER hull.

However, the SQUALL hull for some reason seems particularly prone to have water ingress. Reports of the hull of a SQUALL which originally weighed about 125-lbs having increased very greatly due to absorption of water to over 400-lbs are, to borrow a phrase, legendary. Perhaps it was due to the large opening in the hull for the center board.

See
ALASKAN SQUALL
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetac ... age67.html
In 2002 the hull starting weight was 484-lbs at the beginning of the passive hull drying process.

Alaskan Squall--19-years of drying out
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6509
In the 2021 report, the hull weight was 167-lbs, and yearly decreases were becoming asymptotic.

The final outcome was a bit sad as reported earlier in 2024:

Alaskan Squall-- The End
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... 051#p47051

Particularly of note is the comment contained in the Alaskan Squall saga that to move the boat from its initial location to indoors in a garage took four men--and that is four Alaskan men, not puny "Sensitive New-Age Guys."

[MarkCz]

I also agree with the other poster who suggested getting a fishing kayak. With a bed extender for your pickup truck you can carry a 14 ft kayak with ease. The kayaks have much less hull above the water and will get blown around less than a 9 or 11 ft Boston whaler. The only downside is you can only take yourself but if it's just you then a kayak would be my suggestion. Watch some of the John skinner and Elias kayak fishing videos on YouTube and you will get a good idea of what it's like. You can probably buy a used Hobby pedal drive kayak that uses underwater fins for propulsion for about 1500 dollars. Having your hands free to fish while keeping the kayak moving by pedaling is a huge help when fishing, especially if it gets breezy.

[GoneFishing]

I am going to consider getting a fishing-kayak. Many others [in some unspecified source] say [a fishing kayak] is the easier route [than some other unspecified approach] . [A fishing kayak to me] seems much less of a hassle [that some unspecified method].

Honestly, I wanted [to purchase a Boston Whaler 9-foot or 11-foot TENDER] for their “unsinkable” trait.