Ice-Sled into boat into car-top cargo box project.

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Squidly-Diddly, Dec 27, 2022.

  1. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/sha...6c3VL2gMideLuTHDUqxoC39EQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

    I was going to use the mid-sized 66"x31"x12" model, and wondering about maybe buying two, cutting about 2ft off the sterns, then cutting off the end off one of the sterns, then using that piece to join the two long bows together to make a single unit with about 76" of flat floor, for comfy sleeping and thats about the max I could car-top and still open rear hatch. Maybe the un-cut cutoff stern could be clamped or attached to one of the double-ended bows to become a motor mount or rudder mount, with the addition of plywood stiffener.

    Or just a single 66"x30"x12" on a piece of plywood. Perfect height for covering my 3gal (like 5gal but shorter) buckets which are my go-to for tool and other storage.

    Then they came out the monster in the link! :) Figures out to about 22 cubic feet or about 1400lbs displacement, and more realistic size for proper dingy VS minimalist. A car-top box made of an inverted XL sled on plywood would be about perfect for max sized roof box. I guess I'd lose sleeping coffin feature unless I butchered up two as described above.

    I'd fill the gunnels with shaped wood and some glue and screws, then use door hinges with removable pins on all four sides so it could open in all four ways. Also the Sled could be carried right side up on the plywood and secured with cords through the hinges. A removable row of XL sized pool noodles could be attached to the wood filled gunnels somehow for flotation and bumpers. I'll add some oarlocks somehow.
    I'm thinking a big flat floor would make loading cargo nice and predictable VS the sort of random shapes of factory roof box floors.
    I'm also thinking about adding wheels of some type to the plywood floor, so the Sled/box could be easy to move on dry land or pavement with Sled as roof or bin. Could be little casters, could be big wheels able to roll on dirt.

    Some place in England makes a car-top box/dinghy hybrid but they only sell in UK and Australia and aren't interested in shipping to USA, but I guess I could carry it back as an airline passenger, but not planning any trips overseas.

    Any suggestions for this project? What sized motor would be required to make it plane with 400lbs total weight? (boat, passenger, motor, cargo) How about the 600lbs total?
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2022
  2. kapnD
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    kapnD Senior Member

    Last edited: Dec 29, 2022
  3. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    Sort of, but this new Sled has about double the displacement and about equal to an actual small dingy in a John-boat configuration for $179. I wondering if it some attempt to sell a "We aren't saying its a boat because if we did that would require lots of legal stuff".
     
  4. kapnD
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    kapnD Senior Member

    C0CC33DF-1CBC-45DF-93DE-F0EE682A0C4C.png 980DBBA4-EC53-4BAD-A004-42869EEC83C6.png It’s clearly not designed or intended to be used as a boat, at least one that carries humans.
     
  5. comfisherman
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    comfisherman Senior Member

    Ah the good old jet sleds... I've floated them, even bolted a 4 hp to the back of one. Flexed the beans out of the back and mostly plowed like a barge. Mostly done as a gag in the harbor.

    Some day I'll beef the back to make a transom fit for a 9.9 and make some epoxy coated foam collar in case it doesn't work....

    They are towed behind sleds for ice fisherman and the like all over the cold places of the world. My buddy got one they call a magnum and it's 72 x45 and barely fits in the bed of my truck. It gets used for moving bulky stuff across the frozen landscape behind a snowmobile.
     
  6. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    If I engineer a way to carry the sled right side up on top of the plywood floor by some ropes connecting the door hinges, maybe the big flat plywood would be a good flat-water planning hull. When stopped it would add stability and damp any rolling.
     
  7. BlueBell
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    BlueBell . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _

    But couldn't you engineer it to act as a carry tote while on your roof.
    Bolt them together and you've got a boat.
    Awesome idea Squidly.
    Build it and prove those naysayers wrong.
    Post pictures and/or video, good video, non-amatuer video.
    (Later, you may be interested in a bolt together real boat.)
    Good luck!
     
  8. comfisherman
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    comfisherman Senior Member

    They're not super rigid even with the corrugation. We have a couple mid size ones that we take to a shallow lake and let the kiddos play in. Even their skinny little weight makes them flex. Just something to be mindful of when scheming ideas and uses.
     
  9. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    bolt what to what exactly?
     
  10. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    I'm planning on filling the undersides of the gunnels with something, shaped wood, PVC pipe or half pipe or even aluminum mostly to carry the door hinges. Also, I'm considering a plywood floor/roof for two/three reasons. When a boat's floor it will keep everything high and dry so you aren't sitting in that little bit of water that always gets in when boarding, and would add some stiffness even if not secured to the hull. If its removable the floor could be placed across the gunnels for a handy table surface.

    If secured and the sled is upside down on car top, the wood roof could be used to hang stuff from. I'm a big fan of hanging as a storage strategy. Storage can be as much about surface area as volume or weight.

    They sell extra plastic runner wear strips for the corrugations that come with screws for "leak proof installation". Maybe those will figure into a way to secure plywood floor roof either permanently or easily removable.
     
  11. BlueBell
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    BlueBell . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _

    Part of a real boat bolted to the other part of the real boat.
    It's designed that way, it bolts together, easy storage and transport but still a real boat.
    It's brilliant really, but don't rush into that, put your sled halves together first.
     
  12. Ike
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    Ike Senior Member

    This reminds me of a man I knew back in the 90's. He wanted to make clam shell type cartop carrier that unfolded and became a boat, The two pieces were then bolted together at the midpoint. It could be rowed, or even powered with a very small outboard, or electric trolling motor. He spent a fortune on the molds and eventually had to file for bankruptcy. Wonder what ever happened to the molds and the few he made? Interesting concept, but he spent too much on development and didn't do his market research. I think he never actually sold any.
     
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  13. Barry
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    Barry Senior Member

  14. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    I might have gone down that hole and once did some sketches of a clam-shell runabouts with a pointed bows and square sterns. Either you got an extreme flare on the bow to match the stern or you got semi-triangular "seats" at the stern outside the area where the bow clamshell clams down.

    Then again there is the Cat Clam Concept. Narrow roof box ('Rocket Box") that would un-clam to become a wide shallow Cat hull. While that might be limited to fairly calm waters it might also be very comfy for casual picnic on the water and/or standup casting type use.
     

  15. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    Nice, the old "after you finish your chores you can go fishing" sales ploy. :)
    Looks like if you extended the tow bar a bit you could tow it as a double bin for cargo separation (and still make turns).
     
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