Again***. Spell check let me down…

 

East cape is kind of doing that with their SKANU minus a proper deck. 50lbs, 12'8", 41" wide, 2 person capacity. I think it would take to the market in the hunting scene along with guys that enjoy getting to mostly inaccessible backwaters.

 

Skanu is a cool boat, but capacity could be increased with making a 14’ version. $7000 is a lot for this style of boat…

 

Don't know your truck bed size, but width between wheel wells, and overall length, with tailgate down will quickly narrow your search. I regularly put a Viking 13-1/2' kayak in my 6-1/2' truck bed. With a bed extender, it still sticks out almost longer than Texas allows. A friend has a long bed truck, and he gets a 16-foot kayak in it, barely. You're probably be limited to a 15 or 16 foot skiff. Then, you have to find one with a beam less than your bed wheel wells. Sure, you can make something bigger work, but you'd be having as much grief as using a trailer. Harry's Jireh would be great in a 15-foot version. There's a lot of boat plans that you could study, also. Good Luck, TexasJim

 

Spear has done many 1-off skiffs for this same purpose. Brian Little from Sabine has an old thread on here with the same concept from many years ago.

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/littles-nano-skiff.17218/#replies

IMO there is no way a glass skiff + motor is going to be easier to load/unload from a truck bed than a big yak or jon boat. If the skiff is easier to handle then it will definitely be much more expensive than either of those options. (Example: Skanu checks your box but is 7k. Also the skanu is a tiny little pirogue and you'd probably be left wanting more.)

It might be a DIY cool project, but its going to be a signifigant $ and time investment; and likely you wont be 100% happy with it considering you have gone through all the other similar market options.
If you were serious I would have Spear build you a custom hull, probably the best bang for your buck.

 

Thanks for the input. @TexasJim Thanks for the old thread. That’s a similar boat to what I’m thinking, I’d like to make it simpler and modular to reduce weight.

Small jon boats are cool, but they are noisy and not super stable. Yaks are cool, but you can’t throw a 6hp and cover the same range. I know it would be some time. But something like a jireh in a 14’ range that has a 48” beam would be sweet…I think. I wouldn’t need Harry to build it since the design is pretty easy. I love that Harry’s skiff are simple and don’t have the bells and whistles.

 

Having loaded a light 12-foot tin boat in & out of a truck, with a light OB, it didn't take me long to find a trailer! If you're wanting to launch roadside, you'd best build a stitch'n'glue lightweight skiff that could be powered with a 5 HP or less. But, they will probably be flat-bottomed, hard chined. and not quiet. It's all a compromise. Good luck! TexasJim

 

Just get a used Live Watersports L2 or L4 and put a motor on it, they are more stable than a Jon boat, 500 pound capacity and weigh 54 pounds. They make motor brackets for them so it's easy to get them anywhere a 14ft boat could go while being easier to handle without a trailer.

To be honest I wouldn't want to spend too much time and money on a boat that's gonna be going in a truck bed for the simple fact that handling it won't be easy and the risk of damaging it goes way up compared to using a trailer. You can pick up a used L2 for 1500 bucks all day long, throw a motor on it and you're done.

 

And oh yeah you can't sink them either so there's that

 

I know you mentioned the SoloSkiff being too heavy. I trailer mine but don’t always launch at a ramp. I can easily slide it off the trailer and move it into the water utilizing a set of wheels. I have two of them with trailers listed for sale on this site.

 

I just bought a Kaku guru for basically this scenario

 

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don't forget most pick up beds have vertical notches in the sidewalls which accommodate a 2x6 on edge which raises the effective floor while giving full transverse support for flat(bottomed) objects wider than just the distance between the wheel wells

a coupla 2x6's would lift the bottom enuff to allow for a hull that is a bit wider than 48" across the bottom while keeping it inside the bed even w/ a topper in place

AND a simple pully system along the side frum the tailgate fwd to a yoke will allow one to employ a block n tackle to pull the hull up backwards while standing on the ground behind the truck

a pair of 2x6 ramps utilizing cast aluminum brackets designed for resting on a tailgate makes the task even easier

a pick up bed extender slips in a 2" receiver will aid in supporting the overhang

the legality of how long a load can be usually refers to the distance behind the tail lights

making up a set of trailer lights affixed to the bed extender or a light bar bungeed to the gunn'ls would resolve that issue legally and SAFELY

plan on removing the OB and laying it on a piece of rubber mat on the aft floor of the skiff for travel which will aid in maintaining weight balance

LET THE QUEST BEGIN

leon

 

Honestly live watersports already hit the mark with this. 65lbs able to mount a 6hp and a bow mount trolling motor and it can carry 700lbs. Also can car top it.

 

I don’t feel such a hull is an economically viable product. The closest was the Solo with a 6 HP. That rig could be launched with a kayak dolly. Most guys wanted a 10 HP though and they got a trailer afterwards. The guys running the little minibass boats are the most likely to stick with it, but I’m seeing more of them riding in little flat bed trailers these days.

Most of us have launched a jonboat from a truck bed and then lugged a damn battery and TM or a gas OB down to the water. It sucks, no matter how you stack it. That experience motivates most people with any budget whatsoever to get something on a trailer ASAP. As such , a truck bed boat is most feasibly human powered and that market is saturated.

Lastly, it isn’t any harder to launch a small skiff off a trailer than from a truck bed when there is no ramp. I’ve had to man-handle boats off the side of the road before and that trailer winch definitely helps load them again, especially if it is on one of the EZ launch trailers.

Nate

 

Not sure why you don't think it's economically viable. Company has been in service for 10+ years. Little to no warranty repairs. Love by pretty much anyone who owns one. Not sure what you're looking

 

I had a client that did that tried that about 15 years ago. I
t was basically two halves of what looked like a john boat that bolted together. Each half floated on their own and the forward half nested in the back half. It was rated for up to 10 HP. Only sold a couple over the course of three years and gave up.

 

Thanks for all the replies. This is great information. I really like the L4, but I don't like that you have to buy so many accessories to get it to where you want it. The modular design is cool, but you have to buy so much along with the board.

I like building stuff and have an idea. Could be way way off, but love to hear feedback. What I'm thinking is something like the Jireh, Morejohn's stik skiff from 2018, drake outlaw, south dade, and this Crescent craft mixed. You can build all the skiffs smaller and they might work. Every boat that I'm on, I'd like to change in some what. So, what I'm thinking would be relatively easy to build over a month. If it was the "perfect" truck bed/camper shell skiff, am I missing anything?

-14' with sponsons to move the outboard up and weight closer to center.
-Flat bottom for rear 8' to fit flat on bed or on Thule rails.
-Under 100lbs. Probably the top weight for me and other people.
-I'm thinking of building two. One that is canoe like and super light and one has a deck and is self bailing.
-Rod tubes for two rods.
-Handles for carrying.
-Ability to mount trolling motor and battery.
-Graphite power bottom to drag over "stuff"
-48" beam at the deck with a slight chine for roll.
-Ability to mount a 9.9hp or 15hp 2 stroke. This would require stern flotation and a beefy transom. Not hard to do at all.
-V entry for chop.
-Spray rail or flair for waves.
-Rounded transom.
-Double cored transom.

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There is a Coast Guard formula for calculating HP rating. It is a good resource for design planning. I don’t think you could run the numbers to get a 10-15 HP rating for a 14’ flat bottom hull that weighs 100#. For consideration, my 1652 hull that weighs 312# is rated for 10 HP.

Nate