The Delica's boat

[dmg]

This isn’t an important post but I had to do it because it just looks so funny.

Only in a Delica could you fit this boat, an outboard motor, and camping gear for a long weekend all behind the seats and still have room for two kids.

In another week or two the weather will have settled down and we can go exploring.

[mararmeisto]

Actually, it's a very informative post because it speaks to just how much cargo space these vans have. It's almost startling how much one can pack into the back of these things, especially if the back seat is flipped forward. I haven't done any measurements, but I wouldn't be surprised if these rivaled the Econoline-sized vans for cargo space (with all the seats removed of course). And people call these 'mini-vans'.

[konadog]

Consider the possibilities when the back seat is removed - I even had the middle seat out for a look-see. WOW!

[Green1]

speaking as someone who drives an econoline van for work... the econoline is wider, but the delica is just as tall inside, and is about the same length in cargo space (possibly not as long as the extended version of the econoline... but then we're looking at the short wheelbase delica too...)

The Delica is HUGE inside!

[jessef]

One of the reason's why we're going to camperize it for 2 inside.

Jesse

[mararmeisto]

If you flip the back seat open and then stand it up like in this post: http://www.delica.ca/forum/back-seat-2379.html then you could stack stuff right to the ceiling and still use the two captain's chairs!

These vans are so freakin' awesome!

[Erebus]

I had fun when I picked up some 4'x8' plywood. The guy at Home Depot offered to carry it out (only 1 sheet of 1/4", so not heavy), then asked if it would fit. I said, "Yes, it fits inside. And the vehicle is smaller outside than a Honda Civic." "This I gotta see" he replies.

I just folded all the seats flat, threw a sheet over it all to protect the seats, and in the plywood slid. I didn't even have to move the front seats. He was impressed.

And here is the proof:

Delica4x8plywood.jpg (137.27 KiB) Viewed 7075 times

[mararmeisto]

My wife did the same thing a while back with something like half-dozen sheets of drywall. Same thing - guy couldn't believe it was going to happen until he slid the last sheet inside and shut the rear gate!

[BCDelica]

I had fun when I picked up some 4'x8' plywood. The guy at Home Depot offered to carry it out (only 1 sheet of 1/4", so not heavy), then asked if it would fit. I said, "Yes, it fits inside. And the vehicle is smaller outside than a Honda Civic." "This I gotta see" he replies.

I just folded all the seats flat, threw a sheet over it all to protect the seats, and in the plywood slid. I didn't even have to move the front seats. He was impressed.

And here is the proof:

Delica4x8plywood.jpg

That, with the front seats folded down flat (more support for the 1/4 plywood) and 4 inches of quality foam on top, is exactly what made up our luxury travel bed; until mine stopped being a work van and having no seats in.

Not to steal DMG's thunder, with a hard boat loaded up, and it's bow tightly secured to the side, fit an extra youngster into the rear facing seat. I like this picture because countless time bystanders are drawn to the sight of this boat; and assorted gear like sail, oars, extra kids, being removed from this little van.

[thelazybrownfox]

Hey DMG
What size outboard do you use, how do you store it inside and how bad is the smell of gas. My 9.9 yamaha 2 stroke is almost too heavy to manhandle. Hopefully my oversized bike rack mounted from a trailer hitch will work out to be a good outside carry point. Where do you carry your gas cans?

I altered a delica safari rack to fit my 12 ft hard bottom inflatable on top of my deli and now need to design a ratchet system off the bull bar to pull my boat up from the rear. My May 1st fishing trip to the Thompson beckons. I'll send pictures when I mount my boat.

Thelazybrownfox

[dmg]

What size outboard do you use, how do you store it inside and how bad is the smell of gas. ... Where do you carry your gas cans?

I altered a delica safari rack to fit my 12 ft hard bottom inflatable on top of my deli... My May 1st fishing trip to the Thompson beckons. I'll send pictures when I mount my boat.

We run a newer 25hp or an old 9.9hp. The 25hp cannot weight more than 100lbs so it isn't too bad run up and down the beach. I was amazed that the weight differnce between the 9.9 and 25 was so small.

I found a cheap hitch mounted rack (basically a flat steal grate with a two inch bar) at Canadian Tire and the fuel cans, including extra fuel for the truck, stay outside. The outboard motors come inside but get wrapped in a canvas tarp. The 9.9hp smells horrible so I won't take it unless I really need to. For some reason the newer 25hp motor is fine despite the fact that it is running rich during the break in.

I would love to see a full sized boat on the roof. We actually stayed away from a rigid floor because I didn't think we could man handle a full sized boat onto the roof.

Good luck on the fishing trip.

[thelazybrownfox]

DMG
My hard bottom deflates and sits virtually flat on the roof with the transom hanging down at the ladder. A 9.9 2 stroke weighs just 75 lbs. but I never thought the 25 would only weigh a 100 lbs. Wow! Your 14 (?) ft inflatable can take a heavier motor than mine cuz yours is wider , longer and has larger diam. tubes. Nice boat.
The newer standard for inflatables is wider and gives greater stability, rides flater and has a greater capacity. You should see mine when I ride it up on its side, the prop comes right out of the water. Lost one motor that way.

Wayne

[thelazybrownfox]

DMG
Here's my 12 ft hard bottom inflatable on my safari rack (basket removed). Its compact and aerodynamic. I ran it this way on my Caravan before and it worked well. There are rollers on the three crosses to help load and unload the boat. Unfortunately it's still overheight on the BCferries.

My trailer hitch/bike rack should be built soon and will hold my motor outside and be chained down. My gas cans sit inside the ladder rungs. I'll send pics when it's done.

Thelazybrownfox