Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
stacking drift boats.....
It is getting to be that time of year again. Rivers are calling and the temperatures are getting warmer.
Some of you will be doing multiple boat trips over the next few months. When you have multiple boats, you have multiple trailers and multiple vehicles. One of the easiest ways to over come this is to stack a couple, or more boats on one trailer. There is less vehicle spotting expense as fees can be shared for one vehicle and trailer.
One thing you have to be certain of to begin with is whether your trailer can hold the weight of multiple boats. Most trailers can handle two boats, some trailers are built to handle up to six boats. Regardless of how many you stack there are some things you need to think about.
Your boat should have a removable line deck. If not, you can only stack two boats . The boat with the non-removable deck has to go on top. If both boats have non-removable decks than you have to put the top boat on backwards. It is the only way it will ride well. If there are multiple boats, say 4, going on one trailer then the 3rd boat can have a fixed fly deck as the 4th boat will go in backwards.
You will need some sort of padding for the nested ends, we used flotation cushions. Then you need some straps to hold the boats forward on each succeding boat. You can use a rope to tie the boats down over the gunwales, starting at the front, then moving to over the oar locks and then over the back ends. If you use a rope going through the oar locks then have it going from the front tie down to the oar locks and then back to the front. This helps to get the boats tight forward.
We used some heavy ratchet cargo straps and could stack up to six boats at a time.
When stacking make sure your passenger seat is all the way forward. This helps to keep the boats stable. We would put all the oars and what ever equipment we could fit into the bottom boat to keep the weight low. Usually there was enough room for oars, life jackets and other soft stuff in the bottom boat.
Just something to think about now that finances have to be thought out a little better these days. Good boating, wish I could go along. I have to leave for Alaska soon and work for a few months....
Some of you will be doing multiple boat trips over the next few months. When you have multiple boats, you have multiple trailers and multiple vehicles. One of the easiest ways to over come this is to stack a couple, or more boats on one trailer. There is less vehicle spotting expense as fees can be shared for one vehicle and trailer.
One thing you have to be certain of to begin with is whether your trailer can hold the weight of multiple boats. Most trailers can handle two boats, some trailers are built to handle up to six boats. Regardless of how many you stack there are some things you need to think about.
Your boat should have a removable line deck. If not, you can only stack two boats . The boat with the non-removable deck has to go on top. If both boats have non-removable decks than you have to put the top boat on backwards. It is the only way it will ride well. If there are multiple boats, say 4, going on one trailer then the 3rd boat can have a fixed fly deck as the 4th boat will go in backwards.
You will need some sort of padding for the nested ends, we used flotation cushions. Then you need some straps to hold the boats forward on each succeding boat. You can use a rope to tie the boats down over the gunwales, starting at the front, then moving to over the oar locks and then over the back ends. If you use a rope going through the oar locks then have it going from the front tie down to the oar locks and then back to the front. This helps to get the boats tight forward.
We used some heavy ratchet cargo straps and could stack up to six boats at a time.
When stacking make sure your passenger seat is all the way forward. This helps to keep the boats stable. We would put all the oars and what ever equipment we could fit into the bottom boat to keep the weight low. Usually there was enough room for oars, life jackets and other soft stuff in the bottom boat.
Just something to think about now that finances have to be thought out a little better these days. Good boating, wish I could go along. I have to leave for Alaska soon and work for a few months....
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave Z on
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Those must be some strong dudes to lift those babies up there!
Let me ask, cause a buddy of mine and I are thinking of a cross country trip from PA to MT. Would it be hell on our boats if we stacked them on one trailer? Would they get abused badly???
Dave
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Clarke on
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How about the "stinger" option, i.e. using two trailers in tandem and equipping the lead one with a hitch ball to be trailed by the other. Kind of a "freight train" approach, I guess, but I've seen the stinger setup in trailer catalogs.
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Permalink Reply by Herb Jacobsen on
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The "stinger" option works but is not legal in all states. You would have to check the regs in the states you are visiting to see. Some friends of mine used to do it in Washington but they eventually got nailed by the state patrol.
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I brought two boats back from Idaho Falls, ID to Big Rapids, MI. There were no problems. We would stack up to 6 boats on one trailer and haul them from Grant Pass, OR to Stanley, Idaho.. No problems. You just have to secure the boats well and keep all the weight as low as possible.
The boats are first loaded with the first boat half way on the trailer and the back end on the ground. Then we would slide each boat into the next one and secure it forward with straps. We used a long aluminum pipe as a roller on the gunwales.The boats are empty except for the seats and fly line deck. We would store those on the boats floor boards. After all the boats are stacked on the angle one person would work the winch and the others would lift the back ends up and then push forward. Not as hard as it may seem. That is how the boats were made and why the fly line deck is removable.
Sure there can be some damage from the boats against the gunnels and such, when you are loading, but it is usually superficial. The rowers seat usually had stacking chalks on them so the boat would stay nested in the center. Otherwise you have to put some sort of padding on the side to keep the acorn nuts from rubbing a hole. If needed we would use boat cushions or old life jackets.
The picture I have posted with my discussion is of 4 boats stacked. I have been trying to find one of a 6 boat stack. Stacking cuts down on the wear and tear of vehicles and lowers spotting costs, etc.
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I checked all the pictures that are in the photo section for stacking bunks on the rowers seat. The picture of my last Keith Steele boat you can see them on front of the starboard side of the rowers seat. Also on some of the Keith Steele boats in the other pictures you can see the strong back behind the slots for the seat backs. Keith also added a removable post for the rowers seat that added a little more ridgidity to the rowers seat. His stacking boats also had double pipe holders (braces?) for the front seat rather than the one.
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