# A boat light enough to be towed by small vehicle, but big enough to carry same vehicle - possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740 "2019-07-28T03:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/21 "2019-07-29T05:57:38Z")
You guys. Water is 2200lb/ sq yd or 1,000 kg/ cubic meter. A box 6’ x 3’ x 3’ will barely support most motor vehicles. So most every boat will support the tow vehicle. Water is _heavy_. Putting 2 tons on most boats will make the boat sit lower in the water. We used to tow a biggish canoe with a crap Fiat 124 Special TC; the canoe could’ve probably barely held the car up. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/22 "2019-07-29T09:14:47Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Just to add that salt water doesn’t play nicely with cars. So even if one was able to come up with that combination, it might be short lived. Either that, or you restrict your boating to freshwater bodies. Depending on where you want to go, this may or may not be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/23 "2019-07-29T09:23:42Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I’ve known (and have seen) people towing a kayak (with wheels strapped on) with a bicycle, and carrying the bike (and “trailer”) on their kayak. Easier with a folding bike. > > Brian But much less comfortable to live on a kayak. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/24 "2019-07-29T14:50:00Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > But much less comfortable to live on a kayak. One of my friends is into that as far as is practicable. Paddled across Canada, held the speed record for circumnavigating 31 285 km2 Vancouver island by kayak. Runs a paddle making business which takes paddles to the shipper by bicycle. Gets about the city by bike, including trailering his kayak. Kayaks about on Superior every chance he gets, which is frequently. Yes, he has a house and production shop (on a river of course), but kayaking is in his soul. To some degree, comfort is a mind-set. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/25 "2019-07-29T18:20:24Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > One of my friends is into that as far as is practicable. **Paddled across Canada** , held the speed record for circumnavigating 31 285 km2 Vancouver island by kayak. Runs a paddle making business which takes paddles to the shipper by bicycle. Gets about the city by bike, including trailering his kayak. Kayaks about on Superior every chance he gets, which is frequently. Yes, he has a house and production shop (on a river of course), but kayaking is in his soul. To some degree, comfort is a mind-set. Bolding added. Isn’t Canada mostly land? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/26 "2019-07-29T20:13:28Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Bolding added. > > Isn’t Canada mostly land? He did it in winter when it was mostly snow. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/27 "2019-07-30T09:22:25Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Bolding added. > > Isn’t Canada mostly land? A good chunk of the north (meaning anything more than several hundred kilometres from the American border) is dotted with millions and millions of lakes. ([Zoom in and pan around with Google Maps’s satellite view](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Saskatchewan,+Canada/@59.4826754,-102.5288216,32141m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x52f871b12365762f:0x15342b5792c2e12b!8m2!3d52.9399159!4d-106.4508639) to see what I mean.) This makes roads impractical (at least in summer) but you can traverse the terrain with a combination of boating and portaging. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/28 "2019-07-30T17:54:38Z")
Sage Rat, in pre-contact times and colonial times, oceans, lakes and rivers were Canada’s highways, and they remain travelled. Most have no commercial travel but are [still popular recreationally](https://youtu.be/mN0F6LaLtIk), while others handle massive amounts of cargo – for example, [the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence is used to transport about 180 metric tons each shipping season](http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seaway/vital/index.html). In the winter, [many communities plow winter roads on the ice and land](http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/sites/default/files/northern_ontario_winter_roads_map.pdf) so that supplies can be trucked in to last them through the next year. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/29 "2019-07-30T18:53:40Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > … for example, [the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence is used to transport about 180 metric tons each shipping season](http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seaway/vital/index.html). I think that should be 180 _million_ metric tons. Canoes could probably handle 180 tonnes per year. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740/30 "2019-07-30T20:38:09Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I think that should be 180 _million_ metric tons. > > Canoes could probably handle 180 tonnes per year. :smack: Thanks for the correction, Xema. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-boat-light-enough-to-be-towed-by-small-vehicle-but-big-enough-to-carry-same-vehicle-possible/837740.md?page=1)