Launching from remote sites
Posted: 05 Nov 2019, 12:07
OK, so I have just joined this forum and I am not quite sure whether this section is the right place for my question.
Having been a big boater for many, many years, both on inland waterways and the sea, I feel I would like to access some more remote areas which are just not doable with a big boat.
My tender has therefore been upgraded to exploring. I have a Zodiac Cadet 310 with wooden floor and will be using a Tohatsu 9.8 hp to go with it. This is now a little heavier than first anticipated but using a smaller and lighter outboard would probably not get me on the plane.
So the question is how to get this gear into the water launching from rough sites without killing myself?
Being also a deer stalker, I often use what is known as a wildfowlers sled to load the carcass on to and to drag the sled with the carcass out of the bush, woods, moor etc. to a place I can get my car to. These sleds are made from relatively tough plastic and because of their flat bottom construction, glide pretty effortlessly over any rough ground, over any mud and water without bogging down like wheels would. Wildfowlers use them to transport their gear like decoys, guns etc into the marshes i.e. they float like a small boat too.
Now my question here is; does anyone here have any experience of using these sleds for transporting their outboard and/or boat over rough ground to access the water? Personally, I see no reason why it should not work and be better than either wheels or manhandling gear. I also suppose that their size would enable them to be transported inside some inflatables on the floor as a sort of „floor tray“.
Having been a big boater for many, many years, both on inland waterways and the sea, I feel I would like to access some more remote areas which are just not doable with a big boat.
My tender has therefore been upgraded to exploring. I have a Zodiac Cadet 310 with wooden floor and will be using a Tohatsu 9.8 hp to go with it. This is now a little heavier than first anticipated but using a smaller and lighter outboard would probably not get me on the plane.
So the question is how to get this gear into the water launching from rough sites without killing myself?
Being also a deer stalker, I often use what is known as a wildfowlers sled to load the carcass on to and to drag the sled with the carcass out of the bush, woods, moor etc. to a place I can get my car to. These sleds are made from relatively tough plastic and because of their flat bottom construction, glide pretty effortlessly over any rough ground, over any mud and water without bogging down like wheels would. Wildfowlers use them to transport their gear like decoys, guns etc into the marshes i.e. they float like a small boat too.
Now my question here is; does anyone here have any experience of using these sleds for transporting their outboard and/or boat over rough ground to access the water? Personally, I see no reason why it should not work and be better than either wheels or manhandling gear. I also suppose that their size would enable them to be transported inside some inflatables on the floor as a sort of „floor tray“.