RE: Fishing Vehicles and pontoon boats on top . . .

[Tom Williams]

Richard,   I have hauled my pontoon boat on my roof a number of times. I always take off the oars, gear bags and stripping apron. I face it so that the seat is facing backwards. That way it can't come unsnapped and fly up. I use ratchet straps, usually 3 of  them. I make sure the strap goes around both the frame and the pontoon, and cinch them pretty tight. With this setup I took a trip to Montana this summer averaging 70-80 miles an hour with no problems. I could reach out of the window while driving and feel my pontoon boat, and it wasn't moving at all. One thing I always do on trips over passes is let some air out of my pontoons to compensate for the altitude change. Hope this helps. Tom   -----Original Message----- From: rderedfield [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2001 9:41 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fishing Vehicles and pontoon boats on top . . . It seems that some of you transport your assembled pontoon boats on top of your rigs.  What kind of distances do you feel comfortable in travelling?  What kind of speeds?  What do use to strap them down?  I suspect the boats and wind (like we never get that in Eastern WA, right?) cause some issues.   I have a PAC 800 that I have used only a couple of times.  It's a great craft, but it does get to be a hassle assembling and disassembling the frame and inflating and deflatingthe pontoons each time I use it.   By the way, I have a '95 Grand Cherokee that is a very good vehicle.  It serves as both the recreational and the around town vehicle, and although it does not excel at either, it does well in each.  An assembled 9' rod fits inside it.  It's comfortable, reasonably economical (it's a straight 6), and seems tough.  It has a 108k miles on it, but it's still tight and appears to be running just fine.  The downside is sometimes it is a little tight for room if I'm hauling 3 guys and all their gear.  However, when using the vehicle around town (which 90% of the time, unfortunately), the slightly smaller size (relative to a Suburban, Durango, or Tahoe, say) allows it to be very maneuverable in traffic and park easily.   I see the vehicle choices like boats; they are all compromises in one or another, and there isn't the 'one' answer or perfect vehicle or boat.  Like my dad told me, the well-equipped, versatile sportsperson should have at least 6 different water craft.  I'm still trying to convince my wife of that; and, if I'm ever successful in that endeavor, I'll write a self-help book on it.  :-)   Richard Embry