Considering buying a 17 ft (or so) tinny. Concerned about to

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richg99

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My "boat van" is a 2007 Toyota Sienna Van. Max towing weight is 3500 lbs.

What would a 17 or 18 ft bass boat style tinny with a 115 to 150 hp motor weigh, loaded for fishing?

thanks richg99
 
richg99 said:
My "boat van" is a 2007 Toyota Sienna Van. Max towing weight is 3500 lbs.

What would a 17 or 18 ft bass boat style tinny with a 115 to 150 hp motor weigh, loaded for fishing?

thanks richg99

Not sure on the exact weight, but you should be well below 3500 lbs. I have a 17 foot Cajun bass boat with a 150 and its under 2000 lbs, and its fibreglass. Just take it easy up hills if you feel a strain. My buddy melted his transmission being careless.


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I run a bass rigged Starcraft Mariner 180, with a 90 hp Evinrude, 2 large batteries and 17 gallon gas tank. Fully loaded on trailer gassed up and all fishing gear its about 2,000 lbs. Although I tow it mostly with 350 Cu inch suburban, I have also towed it with a 4.3 6 cylinder Jimmy, and a 6.2 Diesel Blazer, All are equipped with a class III frame mounted hitch. I have had this boat for almost 30 years and am familiar with its handling characteristics. I way prefer the Suburban for hauling this rig, especially in the hills. And the Suburban is rated to 8500 lbs. With the Suburban, I have also towed a horse trailer with two horses in it (total weight about 4,000 lbs) but thought that was about max capacity. I wouldn't even try that with the other two vehicles.

Then there is the consideration of braking. Neither of these trailers has trailer brakes, so the car carries the full load. You can go up on your trailer weight if the trailer is brake-equipped.

Then there is the issue of transmission overheat when towing loads, addressed with an oversized tranny cooler.

Bottom line, with over 40 years towing tinnies (as well as bigger trailers up to 18 wheeler rigs) under my belt: in my mind - safety and comfort considering - a rough rule of thumb is to take the rated towing capacity and halve it for the actual weight of what you are going to tow. YMMV

So will your van pull a boat rig that weighs about half its rated towing capacity? Probably, but you'll want to be patient on hills and overtaking, etc. IMO you are getting close to safe max. Hope this helps.
 
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
800 lbs would be my guess on dry weight for a 17ft aluminum boat with 115HP 4 stroke. Plus trailer; fuel, trigging....probably ~1300
My 16' hull alone weighs 750-pounds without the motor. That's a full deep hull (16-degree deadrise) with full floor, raised bow deck with hatches, tackle locker storage down the sides, and finished splashwell.

A 150hp 4-stroke can easily max 450-pounds, a trailer for an 18' hull easily 500-600-pounds as a guess.
 
Rich, what boat do you have in mind? I looked online at the dry weights of an equipped 17' Xpress bass boat with a 90hp 4stroke and it was about 1300 pounds. It is listed as having a 18 gallon tank which would be an additional 100 or so pounds full at 6lbs/gal. Plus a trailer you are probably at about 2k lbs.
 
Just as a reference, my 1752 Weldbilt is 380lb dry. That's .080 aluminum. My 40 ETEC weighs in at 232 lb, and the trailer is 225 lb. With two batteries and 6 gallons of fuel I'm just over 1,000 lb.
 
I would stay at or below half of the tow rating on your van. I noticed you live in houston, as do i. Depending on where you haul to, here around houston you should be alright towing for the most part if you stay at half of your rated capacity, with the O/D turned off. If you go out to lake houston or livingston its relatively flat terrain. If you haul out to somerville and hit the hills, you are definently going to feel it, even towing at half of the rated capacity.
 
Huston and most of Texas does not have hills or mountains. Maybe a boat ramp but that's a first gear slow pull. You should not have any problems maxing out or stretching your van capacity if the aerodynamic drag is that of a bass boat. But honestly why are you wanting a heavy tank? To keep up with the jones on the Texas bass lakes? 150 hp? Why? I also wanted a bigger boat than my 16 so I bought an 18. I love it! My dog and wife love it! It weighs 545 lbs, Evenrude 48 special weighs 180 lbs. add a bunch of stuff and it's still 1/3 the weight you are talking. It runs out at 33 mph and cruises at 28 sipping gas. It cuts the boat wakes and chop because of its size. It sips tow gas as well. Those big heavy boats get launched and cruise to a cove and stop. Most don't run 15 miles on a trip because fuel eats them alive. Stay light and economical my freind and enjoy some miles on the lakes vs making a B-line to a fishing spot. I had a 70mph boat. It cruised at 50. That was nice when I out ran thunderstorms but besides that I never miss the monstrosity. You have thunderstorms....I know you liked your last new boat and there is nothing wrong with new. If I was buying new I'd find a center or side console that I can stand and drive. Power it with the Yamaha f70. That's a bitchin motor that is super light. Bass boats are butt ugly and every redneck has one. Put that f70 on somthing cool like a Klamath or a Lund/alumicraft copy if you think they have a better floor plan for you.
https://klamathboats.com
 
Oh, I am not looking for a big clunker. I am mostly happy with my 50 hp powered 16 ft. G3. I'd like to have some built-ins (live well; storage; rod lockers). I'd like a bit more width, too.

I know that I can build the lockers, etc., but have reached the point in age and life that I don't want to waste the time to do so. At 77, I want to fish, not build.

Looked at a nice 16 footer today, with a 40 hp 4 cycle. Unfortunately, it was only rated for three people. Even with a larger engine, it was still only rated for 3.

While I mostly fish by myself, I want the option to take my son and grandkids out from time to time.

I have the information that I need for the towing issues.

thanks, guys.

richg99
 
Speak of the devil... This just popped up on my local Craigslist. I'll survey it and drag it to Tucson if it's for you. https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/boa/6134137481.html
 

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