Getting a Boat

[Mike M.]

Hi guys.  One of my toy fetishes has always been boats.  Here, its hard to find what I want and difficult if not impossible to maintain.  In the US, I just hooked up my car to the trailer, took it wherever I wanted found an easy launch in a lake, river, or in Oregon, the Ocean.  Get the family in the boat and off we go to get a mess of crabs.

Here, there are only a few launchsites.  I have recently found a slowly developing marina on a river in southern Pampanga (Luzon).  The man is interested in almost any kind of relationship.  He has many old and used boats.  Some are 90 footers and there are many ranging in the 20\'s and 30s.  The motors exist but require a lot of work.  I am talking to him a bout several ventures.  He is open to developing a small restaurant and/or seminar program for one of the large boats.  I am discussing with him leasing/buying a 1976 30 footer.

From the marina, supposedly opening in 2009, one can go downstream an hour and then into Manila bay and an hour across and your in Manila.  Of course fishing and cruising in the bay is always there.

If you find this topic intersting, would love to talk about your experiences here and your desires here vis a vis...boats.

Mike M.

[fareye]

I am looking for a raft like this the river police use here along the Potomac...check out the steering wheel on it too. Is it likely to find one in PH like this? That outboard motor is pretty big, don\'t you think?

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[Gray Wolf]

I am looking for a raft like this the river police use here along the Potomac...check out the steering wheel on it too. Is it likely to find one in PH like this? That outboard motor is pretty big, don\'t you think?

Looks like a Zodiac to me.  Some of them are rated for pretty good sized outboards, like the one you see in the pic, and some are even rated for multiple engines.  Here\'s a link for Zodiac worldwide.

http://www.zodiacmarineusa.com/

There are many dealerships worldwide, but none in the Philippines, at least none I could find.  But you may still be able to locate something by contacting the company.

Good Luck!

Jack

[fareye]

Yep...looks like it...would be nice to have and cruise around. I\'d like to be able to take an XRM on one so i can go to other islands for island hoping since I am in Cebu. But, Is that likely to get a bike on it?

And it looks like a 40 HP motor on the pic I have attached, right?

[Gray Wolf]

I can\'t really see what size motor is on the one in the picture.  They have models listed up to 28\' long and rated for twin engines up to 300HP.  I think one like this would carry your motorcycle very easily.

[fareye]

Thanks GreyWolf.....if anyone has island hopped with small boats....my only question is where to dock them or how to keep safe on shore for a day or two...such as in Bohol, Siquijor, and Dumagete?

[Gray Wolf]

Safe for a day or two?  That will be something else to discuss with those who have tried it, but I\'d say a relatively light, inflatable boat that can be broken down quickly wouldn\'t be safe anywhere on the planet unless you can find a place to keep it locked up.  Let\'s see what the boaters on the forum have to say about this.  Maybe someone can give us both a better idea on where to store a boat while doing some island hopping.

I plan to do a bit of island hopping myself some day, but in a more typical Philippine style banca, which shouldn\'t cause too much notice.  Although the locals may raise an eyebrow or two if I drop a gang plank off the bow and pull my Harley Davidson off onto the shore.      YeeHaww! 

[coutts00]

To me, after some quick research it looks to be either a Mercury outboard or an Evinrude outboard. At least 110-135hp, by the size of the cowling in reference to the size of the driver. Also any police unit in a western world I know of wants the biggest fastest motor they can fit on the thing. When I was selling hovercraft in the US, the first thing after demonstrating our craft to Homeland Security was can it have a bigger motor and do we have one that can carry 2 tonnes of Marijuana. A strange request but one that we were able to fulfill.

Wayne

[Swanee]

We had 55hp Mercs on our Zodiac F-470 boats and that was way more power than what was needed.  As GW mentioned, they are easily folded up and put into \"bags\" that can be put in the back of a small pickup and hauled away.  The only bulky part is the hard floors if you choose that option, the motor of course (55hp is a 2 person carry), and fuel tank(s).

Another option if you don\'t want to haul the boat away during a multi-day excursion is the submersible 35hp motors (although much more pricey).  You would also need CO2 bottles for this.  In short, you cruise up to the beach, unload your camping gear or whatever, then take the boat back out and deflate and sink it (with a couple hundred pounds of lead or similar weights on board).  The boat, motor, fuel bladders, everything sinks and you retrieve it later.  We only did this method with scuba gear, so FYI.  That was the military method, maybe too gung-ho for most people....  Also, since this setup would be privately owned and not Uncle Sugar\'s property, you might want to think about tide and current shifts.  Would hate to see your boat swept away under the surface.

Chris