A Load of Cartoppers!

A load of cartop boats arrived. 🙂

Easy to topload/unload

Minimal power requirement

Very good fishability

Comfortable

Safe

Durable

These hulls comply with the criteria for a nice cartopper. 

The angler 8/10 is very comfy to fish in but the seats with their frames require more space in the vehicle.

The 12' Sportsman is very close to the benchmark Coleman Crawdad. Though the inner hull does add a bit of weight to her as opposed to the plastic hull with aluminum frame of the Crawdad.

The staples that bond the cap to the hull are steel so salt/brackish water use will rust them.

Walker Bay 8ft Dinghy

Walker Bay sailing dinghy. a quality plastic dinghy. This is the 8 ft model. very beamy cartopper. Wish i had her sailing kit.

Pelican Intruder 12

The Intruder Jon boat is very similar to the Coleman crawdad so i expect the same stability and fun factor. Jon boats are great cartoppers as the flatenned bow bottom doesn't add much height to your vehicle. Same Ram-X material as the Crawdad. This plastic has good UV resistance and isn't prone to getting brittle. Its narrow beam makes it easy to cartop even for smaller vehicles with narrow crossbars. I like the deck design, simple and easy to customize. The transom is stiff and the boat should run well with a 2-3hp outboard. i'll be mounting a 40lb thrust troll motor for the meantime. Be adding onwater impressions once i get her wet.

plastic Boats

I managed to purchase a couple of plastic boats. A pelican Bass Raider 10E and a Sun Dolphin Jon Boat. The Pelican Bass Raider has a two pontton design and is equipped with fore and aft motor mounts. Two adjustable swivelling seats and lots of molded in hold alls. The boat is designed to fish and you can all day in comfort. easy to cartop and secure, just make sure not to leave it on top on a rainy day as it will fill with water and test your car roof.

i mounted a Coleman 2.6hp outboard to the boat waiting for time on the water. The 12foot Sun Dolphin Jon Boat is a Monohull with long deep strakes on it's hull both for better tracking and stiffness. Topside its floor has a herringbone design. The space between the hull and cap provides floatation. at the rear are two drainplugs, one to drain the cavity under the deck and the bigger one drains the deck. there are molded in slots which act as rodholders, there are also oarlocks molded in. it's width makes it an easy cartop fitting securely on standard crossbars. there's a bow eye for you to tie on a restraint to keep the boat from leaving you when braking. At the rear,you can take off the drain plug and run a line through that hole. again, it's another boat waiting for the water...

Cartopping is still the best way to get on the water in the Philippines and hopefully, it catches on with the ever expanding angler base here.

Old Town Saranac 146 DLX

The deluxe version of the Saranac line. there's a couple of rodholders in a thwart aft of the Rear seat and an accessory rail forward of the front seat. Looks really good in blue. Canoes are among the easiest to cartop and are very capable in flatwater and current.

Hopefully i can get this rig wet soon.

Hobie Floatcat Update

The Hobie Floatcat 75 got a makeover....

an elevated kayak seat and transom motor mount. What to do next....

Lifetime Teton Pro

The 11+ foot version of the Teton Angler. Has some weight to it. Seat is very comfortable, definitely a plus with long hours on the water. It has a keel roller which aids in solo transport.