Bikes on boats

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Rick D

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Hi all.

Anybody in a boat 33' for less stow bikes on board... and if so, where and how?

Our goal was to spend the summer out on BI, anchored in Great Salt Pond and using bikes as a mode of transportation.

4 Bikes in the cabin or the cockpit won't make for a fun ride... although once on BI, they can be locked somewhere on shore.

I have seen pics of bikes on the bow of the boat... but never 4 of them and I'm not clear how they are being held down.

Thanks,
--Rick
 
You could send them over on the ferry.
 
I wonder if you could mount the receiver of a hitch on your swim platform. You'd then be able to use the bike hitch carriers like this. It hold 5 bikes and is under 100 bucks.
allen-5-bike-hitch-rack.jpg


When not is use(i.e. no bikes), you simply pull the pin and store the rack which is definitely smaller than a bike.
 
We often take a couple Mountain Bikes with us. We keep them on the bow of our 38' Santego. We MIGHT be able to fit two more. We use bungie cords. One thing, if the gears etc. are at all oily or dirty, it will make a mess on the decks if there is a hard rain.
 
Folding bikes are a pain in the rb2@gr5t$$ to ride very far. Simplest (and cheapest) way is to get a cheap full-sized bike and strap it to the lifelines or railing. Looks like hell, but it's convenient.
 
what about working out a "summer-long" rental with one of the local bike shop?

Lady C
 
Years ago I used to carry 3 bikes on the swim platform of a 37 express. A little in the way but that was the best option on such a boat
 
+1 on the mess with oil/ gears/ rust if it rains.
+1 ferry
+1 swim platform
You could call some of the bike rental places on the island and make a deal with them for the summer. Flat rate and you always have a dependable bike waiting for you
 
I have carried bikes on both the bow and the swim platform in the past.....you will need to be a diligent fresh water rinser to keep the salt spray from rusting them up amazingly quickly. I`d go with the rentals, it could end up less expensive than buying them.
 
I think we are on our third pair of mountain bikes and we use them at most places we go. We usually carry them in the cockpit held down by bungee cords. We tried carrying them up near the bow but it complicates docking and I'm never sure that I'm not going to lose one. The salt air really destroys the brakes and gears after just a couple of seasons. If you lube up the gears, the grease melts in the sun or as others have said, washes off on the deck. We now just buy a pair of full size generic mountain bikes on sale somewhere every couple of years. They are that nice to have.

The seats were a problem for our tired old butts but years ago, we found a bike shop in Westerly, RI that had nice big comfortable seats. Now when we toss the old bikes, we take our seats off and install them on the new bikes.

Bill
 
No such thing as non-marking bike tires, so be careful. Our 35' gives us room to just set them on the sundeck. *spoiled*
 
We vacation in California every year. Last year we looked at renting bikes for the two weeks we were out there. The local rental shop wanted $87 per week per bike. Walmart had bikes for $84. We bought the Walmart bikes, figuring even if we just left them on the sidewalk at the end of the vacation we were still ahead of the game.

If you only need something for a short while it is probably cheaper to buy them. We thought about donating them to a local charity at the end of our vacation to get the tax writeoff as well. Ended up a family member out there agreed to store them for us. They are not top of the line bikes, but for cruising around town they were perfect...
 
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