Does anyone know where to get a trailer for these?

13 minutes ago, Seth_M said:

Does anyone know where to get a trailer for these?

Most people get a regular 4'x8' trailer from places like Harbor Freight and use that with a few mods.

hey guys anyone interested in an online tournament? a guy on "pelican bass raider & bass hunter style boats", facebook page has set one up on tourneyx. it is listed on tourneyx as, nothin' but toads, you can fish from pelican style boats, kayaks, jon boats or from the bank. everyone is welcome

Just bought my Sportsman 8' Friday locally, and I have to admit - this is a pretty doggone fun little boat. I have had a couple of good kayaks over the last 3 years (started with a Field and Stream Eagle Talon and upgraded to a Vibe Sea Ghost 110), but my butt would fall asleep and my back would hurt in both of them after only about an hour on the water. Not ideal for a full day of fishing, to say the least.

 

This Sportsman is GREAT for what I want. Fits right in the back of my '07 Tundra Crewmax with no problem at all and is fairly easy for me to deal with, BUT I have a question for you guys.

 

I'm often by myself fishing, and kayaks are easy to throw around and to put carts under. I have a C-Tug cart that I could use with a little modification with the Sportsman, but for the 3 or 4 feet that I have to drag it out of the water to the truck, I need to find what's best to put on the edges of the back of the pontoons to keep from scratching the hound out of it. I put 3 layers of Gorilla tape on it Sunday after church on the maiden voyage, but you can see it got shredded in a hurry, and that's after only about 5 feet from the landing to the back of the truck.

 

Could I get 3M 3200 Adhesive to put on some stainless steel strips to bend around the edges to keep from scratching so badly? Or what other recommendations might you have? I am FOR SURE open for any suggestions. I bought this boat because it's 2/3 of the price of my Vibe, and I want to sell both my kayaks now that I have this boat. I just don't want to scratch it so badly.

 

2 pics show what's going on it soon, and 2 of them show the Gorilla tape in place after dragging just a few feet.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! This thread is INCREDIBLY helpful and very addictive.

 

Barry

-----------

 

Jeremiah 29:11-13 / John 3:16

What about a yoga mat?

43 minutes ago, J Francho said:

What about a yoga mat?

That's possible, I guess, but it might be a little clumsy getting it underneath the boat.

I meant drag the boat across the mat.

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

What about a yoga mat?

BUT the Harbor Freight antifatigue mats I have in the boat covering the ridges in the floor might now serve a double purpose - I could pull them out and put them under it thanks to your idea. I have the smooth parts up in the boat - I could put them down and slide the boat over the rougher, slicker bottom.

30 minutes ago, Bassmobile said:

This might fit your needs....?

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/keelshield-keel-guard?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&affcode_c=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6-GdseaM4gIVm7fACh0q1wSIEAYYASABEgJwF_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I sure appreciate the link. I have seen that material, but wow - that’s 1/4 to 1/2 the price of the boat itself.

1 hour ago, Bassmobile said:

No problem on the link.  I knew it was expensive but just thought I would throw it out there for you.  I have never used it before, would definitely need to know before purchasing if it would solve the issue.  

What if you made some type of two plank ramp system, maybe out of 2 x 6 boards, that you could back your truck up to the boat ramp and slide into the water out of the back of your truck, kinda like when motorcycles are in the back of a truck.  You could lower and pull it back in the truck with a rope.  Just another idea....

True. I’m going to try one thing first - I realized I had some big truck weatherstripping in the trash. I’m going to see if Gorilla taping a 12” strip over the back pontoon edges will stay on there a while. It’s at least 3” wide, and if it stays on it’ll be worth fooling with.

On 5/7/2019 at 8:38 AM, mrstangblb said:

Could I get 3M 3200 Adhesive to put on some stainless steel strips to bend around the edges to keep from scratching so badly? Or what other recommendations might you have?

I'm not sure where you're trying to launch.  As for myself I avoid the launch ramp. Most of the areas I fish have some grassy or sandy area next to or in the vicinity of the ramp. If that's an option for you, I'd go with that. I keep my Raider in the water at home. However I still take it other places. My property is sloped so getting the boat to the truck is an up hill battle. To overcome that problem I started dragging it up the hill with my riding mower. The bottom for my raider is handling it just fine. It slides easily over the grass with out scratching it up, even with my gear still in it.  

2 hours ago, Hi-Powered Red Neck said:

I'm not sure where you're trying to launch.  As for myself I avoid the launch ramp. Most of the areas I fish have some grassy or sandy area next to or in the vicinity of the ramp. If that's an option for you, I'd go with that. I keep my Raider in the water at home. However I still take it other places. My property is sloped so getting the boat to the truck is an up hill battle. To overcome that problem I started dragging it up the hill with my riding mower. The bottom for my raider is handling it just fine. It slides easily over the grass with out scratching it up, even with my gear still in it.  

At Lake Cunningham and Lake Robinson near Greer, SC, the accesses to the landings are concrete and asphalt. I know a fellow that lives on Lake Cunningham, but his back yard is just about straight up. I had a little hard time dragging my kayak through his back yard, so I'd probably have a time sure enough with this boat. 

On 5/7/2019 at 9:38 AM, mrstangblb said:

Could I get 3M 3200 Adhesive to put on some stainless steel strips to bend around the edges to keep from scratching so badly? Or what other recommendations might you have?

Maybe some roll on rhino liner type of coating you find at big box stores?

6 hours ago, Murphy S. Law said:

Maybe some roll on rhino liner type of coating you find at big box stores?

They say that stuff flakes off pretty quickly.

This is a little off the current topic, but I always thought it would be cool to mount a metal or wire "shelf" to the bottom of the seat where you can store a few Plano boxes for easy access. I almost bought a similar boat and still might and I thought that would be a cool mod.

 

That's all.

Dumb question from a new Sun Dolphin Sportsman 8' owner - I bought a Minn Kota C2 40 lb. trolling motor with a 36" shaft to put on the Sportsman. I just looked on the tag that was actually on the boat when I bought it, and it recommends shaft lengths of 42" to 52". Surely I haven't bought the wrong shaft length, right?

 

I haven't even opened the box for the trolling motor yet and haven't measured to see how well it will go on the boat, so I look forward to the expert responses. Thanks as always!

10 minutes ago, mrstangblb said:

Dumb question from a new Sun Dolphin Sportsman 8' owner - I bought a Minn Kota C2 40 lb. trolling motor with a 36" shaft to put on the Sportsman. I just looked on the tag that was actually on the boat when I bought it, and it recommends shaft lengths of 42" to 52". Surely I haven't bought the wrong shaft length, right?

 

I haven't even opened the box for the trolling motor yet and haven't measured to see how well it will go on the boat, so I look forward to the expert responses. Thanks as always!

I see in the manual 36" is correct. Sorry about that.

2 minutes ago, mrstangblb said:

I see in the manual 36" is correct. Sorry about that.

But I do plan to put the trolling motor in the back of the boat where the plate is instead of the front.

And dang - titling a 4' x 8'-7" 100 lb. plastic boat is harder to do here in South Carolina than titling a car! Unbelievable how complicated filling out everything is.

Thanks for this thread and all the great ideas! Usually fish alone and got the 10e because people want to go fishing but you know.... Back of truck hauling and I am over 50 so trying to keep it light. Saw many add wood floors but think I am going to use these instead. I can always use the wood later under it in a module design if necessary.

 

 Any input, experiences etc. Just want to make sure the 1 inch causes no problems etc.  Cant wait to get out on the water, 100 acre lake few miles away.

 

My other question would be the dolly. Was gonna make it simple since I can load off grass by waters edge most lakes here but also saw some say theirs (dolly) was too short (height)? I had planned on 10" castors from HF and 2x10 with eyebolts to strap. Any advice, suggestion are welcome.

 

TIA

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BXRC38F/?coliid=I166TWS4C7TD5I&colid=ZZ24JLUGVUUS&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it. 

50 minutes ago, CrappyMan said:

Thanks for this thread and all the great ideas! Usually fish alone and got the 10e because people want to go fishing but you know.... Back of truck hauling and I am over 50 so trying to keep it light. Saw many add wood floors but think I am going to use these instead. I can always use the wood later under it in a module design if necessary.

 

 Any input, experiences etc. Just want to make sure the 1 inch causes no problems etc.  Cant wait to get out on the water, 100 acre lake few miles away.

 

My other question would be the dolly. Was gonna make it simple since I can load off grass by waters edge most lakes here but also saw some say theirs (dolly) was too short (height)? I had planned on 10" castors from HF and 2x10 with eyebolts to strap. Any advice, suggestion are welcome.

 

TIA

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BXRC38F/?coliid=I166TWS4C7TD5I&colid=ZZ24JLUGVUUS&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it. 

I got the Harbor Freight floor tiles for $7.99 - 20% the other day and they’re great!:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-94635.html

17 hours ago, mrstangblb said:

And dang - titling a 4' x 8'-7" 100 lb. plastic boat is harder to do here in South Carolina than titling a car! Unbelievable how complicated filling out everything is.

Come on up to NY.  Heh...

18 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Come on up to NY.  Heh...

It is a nightmare. Especially if you buy one second hand.

Or doesn't have a hull ID.

On 5/17/2019 at 9:13 AM, J Francho said:

Come on up to NY.  Heh...

I feel sorry for y’all for more than just  boat titling. ? My stepsister and her husband moved out of Highland Mills last year to NC.

Can a person lay down in a bass raider 10e