Redneck enginering wanted!

[Lottabass]

Bear with me and please provide your thoughts.  I have gained permission to fish a 50 acre private lake that has no access and gets no fishing pressure. It is almost a half mile from road.  Fishing from the bank would be very limited and difficult. The owner will not let me drive to the lake, in fact, the only path is a mowed path to the lake.  Mostly flat but with one moderate hill.

I have a 2 man Bass Baby, with wheels on one end.  Physically, I can't drag this boat that far.  Boat probably weighs about 180 pounds with battery, gear, etc.

My idea is to use the Minn Kota, 55 pound thrust trolling motor to provide power to move the boat to the lake.  I would replace the prop with a wheel, turn it sideways, extend the shaft so the front of the boat is up off the ground, and walking alongside, "drive" to boat to the lake.  Crazy idea, or not?  I have "Harry and Charlie" fantasies about all the sowbelly's I'm gonna catch in this lake!

Please dissect my idea and critique.  Thank you for any help you can give!

P.S.  I thought about buying a belly boat or mini pontoon but I'm not sure I could physically row or foot paddle (frequent leg and foot cramps...) something like this.  It's hell to get old....but I will continue to chunk and wind somehow!!!

[12poundbass]

I’d worry about burning the motor up. My suggestion is take the money you’d cough up for a new trolling motor after you burnt it up and buy a kayak, problem solves.

[haggard]

If you're going to be fishing it multiple times, maybe get a friend to help you lug the boat out there and just leave it there if you feel it's safe enough. Or get a kayak that you could leave on site. Even lugging a yak a half mile is challenging. I get winded just bringing mine 100 feet from the launch to the parking lot

 

[Fishing Rhino]

Unless, it is hilly terrain, this could be the solution to your problem.  The cart has a "kickstand" which is visible in this picture.  It' ain't cheap, but it is light and you can balance your boat over the wheels then cinch it down with a ratchet strap.  

 

Costs 150 dollars, but, when you get the boat to the water, it folds up into a compact package in minutes.  You'll just need to figure out where to stow it on your boat once you get the boat to the beach.

 

L.L. Bean sells them.  I have the older version with spoked wheel and metal rims which can and do rust.

 

 

All-Terrain Center Boat Cart

 

[flyfisher]

I am with Rhino on this one.  You will need a cart of some sort to haul it to the lake.  Is it on a trailer now and if so can you just unhitch and use that to take it to the lake?

Otherwise i would say like others did, get a kayak and a cart and you will be fine.  I have a cart for my kayak and when fully loaded it weighs over 100lbs and i can roll it pretty much anywhere with limited effort.

[kenmitch]

I'm with the trolling motor won't work crowd. 

 

How does he keep the 1/2 mile of pathway mowed? I'd imagine it's not done with a push mower. Maybe the owner has a ride on top mower he'd allow you to use to pull your little boat to and from the pond. 

[Lottabass]

I like the cart idea but I worry if I have the strength to move it that far.  I use a lawn mower trailer to haul it with my truck but again pretty heavy for me, I think.  Yes, the owner mows with a large riding mower...I will ask about using that to move my boat.  That seems like the best solution, if he will let me do that.

As far as a kayak, I wanted to do something without investing in another boat.  I am on a fixed income.  

I appreciate all your input!!!!!! 

[MN Fisher]

Even at low speed, the shaft of the TM will spin much faster than you'd want a 'drive wheel' to. Forcefully slowing it down by friction and you're looking at a burned-out motor.

 

The riding mower as a tow vehicle seems to be the best idea.

[Way2slow]

The trolling motor idea won't work, it would definitely fry it long before it got there.  They generate a lot of heat, and requires being in water to run under a load for very long.

Next, I would resort to something much lighter.  I have an old light weight aluminum 12ft jon that weighs about 65 pounds and a 17' canoe for those situations.  I have drug that canoe all over the country.

Next, learn how to paddle and ditch the TM and battery.  Minimum gear.

Also, take a buddy if allowed, that cuts the work in half.

A small dirt bike would take it almost anywhere you can walk.

[Fishes in trees]

Is the owner there all the time?  Perhaps sometime when owner isn't around you could find a 4-wheeler to drag/tow your boat.  Definitely, if this water has the potential you think it does, you'll be going there more than once.  Somehow consider leaving a boat there.   Using the riding mower, if available to drag or tow a boat down the path isn't a bad idea.

I've got to believe that somewhere in your neighborhood there is an old Jon boat that you could get to the shore of that water and just leave it there.

[Scott F]

Before you go to great lengths to get a boat to this lake, are you sure there are fish in it? If it were me, and, I was sure there were fish to be caught. I'd find an old row boat that I could leave there so I didn't have to drag something so far every time I wanted to fish. If the fishing was good enough, then I'd invest in a motor and battery and a cart to haul them to the lake. 

If you had to move a boat a mile round trip, you'd seldom make the effort to fish there.

[Tennessee Boy]

Have you considered a float tube?

[LionHeart]

Cheap inflatable raft.  Or build your own dolly out of bicycle wheels and muscle through it.  Use the biggest wheels you can get your hands on.

 

Or buy a cheap 10ft Jon boat and ask if you can leave it out there.

 

The trolling motor thing won't work for many reasons.

[Lottabass]

I don't know if the fishing will be good.  The owner doesn't fish.  He tells me that I'm the only one who has asked permission.  In my walk to the lake I saw no trash or other sign of people.

Good input from you all!  Thank you!  Now I have more ideas to pursue.