Motorized fishing canoe questions

[graycrait]

I was hoping there was someone on the forum that could answer some questions about how to rig up a standard canoe for motorized fishing?  I have 16' Mohawk Nova made or Royalex.  It does not have a square stern.  

 

1) I'm thinking I need outriggers and am looking at Yak Gears oversized outriggers: http://www.yak-gear.com/OUTRIGGERS.html

 

2) I am trying to figure out what is best, small 2-cycle or 4-cycle engine or trolling motor. 

 

3) Trolling motors carry a lot of baggage.  Then there are the other hassles of charging, battery maintenance, etc. I've seen some say that the trolling motors have little ability running against current with a loaded canoe.

 

4) This company makes several style of lightweight outboards, both 2 and 4 cycle. Noise and pollution are the two negatives I see.  However, weight and power are the pluses as these outboards don't weigh any more than the 50lb Minn Kota.   http://www.smalloutboardmotor.com/index.html

 

I was wondering if anyone has cracked the code on this?  Want to carry the canoe and not have to trailer and seeing as I already have the canoe I figured why not outfit it so that 1 or sometimes 2 can go fishing in this thing without having to plan on upriver paddling against the wind etc.  Been there and done that at night a couple of times.      

 

Craig

Edited February 18, 2013 by graycrait

[Patton]

I really don't have any experience but do you really think a loaded canoe would weigh anywhere near what a loaded bass boat would weigh? I understand a loaded bass boat ~3500lbs would only be going a couple miles a hour under trolling motor power. Edited February 18, 2013 by Patton

[MacGyver]

Craig, you're welcome to try my trolling motor out if you want some low investment help in making your decision.

 

I think you'll find that a trolling motor is more than sufficient in a canoe.  The way the props are rigged, 5 knots is pretty much the top end, but you can go all day on a charge with a good marine battery.

 

Unless you've got a wide, square sterned canoe like a Grand Laker (in which case give me a call), an outboard is simply too much for most people.  Even a little one provides enough thrust to swamp you pretty quickly unless you've got some skills.  And, anything over 5HP is pretty much a non-starter - Especially when you're mounting it on the gunwhale.

 

I've used both for years.  When it's just me out fishing, I go for the trolling motor every time.  You cannot beat the silence...

[MacGyver]

BTW, the prop really what limits the speed on a trolling motor.  That and the fact that you're dealing with a non-planing craft and so speed is a function of waterline length.  It takes very little to push a canoe up onto the plane, but due to the hull shape of a canoe, you've got very little contact with the water when you get there.  The lack of any hard chines on most canoes are going to translate this lack of contact into a very unstable ride - and one in which dumping your canoe is going to result in a bunch a damage to that outboard.

[graycrait]

What I have been reading though is that small lightweight outboards like the now defunct Cruise and Carry 1.5HP can push harder than a trolling motor for a longer time.  However, I simply don't know.  The thing about the trolling motor is that you not only have to get the trolling motor, but then there is a charger, marine batteries and a program of battery management, which may be simple, but I do not know anything about. I can fix a lawn mower engine.  The only boats I ever owned were canoes, a canvas wood ribbed job back in the late 60's and this Mohawk.  I did the Gunflint Trail but used the typical big lake outfitters aluminum canoe.  When I went canoe shopping 12 years ago I wanted a Kevlar 1 person We No Na but had to opt for this big Mohawk when the wife intervened.  All I know is that going upriver is a bear for a 58/55 yr old married couple paddling. Still, I would rather carry my boat, be able to throw it in nearly anywhere and have the option of using a motor in a river.  I was in bass boats twice. One time going 73mph across a lake.  It did nothing for me and probably jolted my spine. Then there is the boat ramp fight, parking lot adventure, etc.  When Dale Calhoun (Reelfoot Stumpjumper) was still alive I had a long talk with him in his shop close to the ranger station at Reelfoot.  But then those boats were pretty heavy, requiring a trailer.  When the wife looked at it she said to me, "So, we are going to be Humphrey Bogart and Kate Hepburn in The African Queen?"  There was probably a lot of truth to that.  The 2 hour FTF talk with Dale Calhoun was worth trip to Reelfoot itself.  Dale really got tickled telling us about his role in "US Marshalls" with Tommey Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes.

 

Anyway, just looking to see what works and what doesn't so I don't fritter away more money like I have on all the guns I have tried out and found wanting.  So, I'll need a variable speed trolling motor preferably with some kind of Digital Maximizer like the Minn Kota Endura Max, then get a couple of good batteries, a charger and a battery box I can afix to the floor of the canoe.  Good thing I have a 16 footer.  I like the quiet of the trolling motor and hope the fiddling with the batteries isn't too convoluted.  As long as I can head up the Red River or Cumberland is all I ask. It doesn't have to be quick but I want to be able to river fish by myself without reenacting a scene from "The Last of the Mohicans." 

[MacGyver]

I ought to add that the last couple of generations of 4-stroke Honda 2HP outboards (current gen. being 2.3HP) are great gunwhale mounted motors that sip fuel and are relatively quiet.  So long as you understand the risk to the engine related to capsizing, I wouldn't hesitate to go that route.  It's a little bit more expensive than the equivalent Mercury, but it is quieter and a better motor overall.

 

Offer stands open if you want to try my MinnKota trolling motor to help in making up your mind.  Feel free to come get it anytime.

[KahrMan]

Graycrait,

 

My dad and I have done a lot of fishing out of a canoe with an out board and a trolling motor.  We have a Coleman Scanoe.  We would only use the 3.5hp outboard when were fishing either a fast moving river or covering large areas like lakes or backwaters of the TN river.  The added weight of an outboard makes it very important to watch your weight distribution.  The added weight really changes the way the canoe handles.  

 

We mainly used the trolling motor if we wanted powered assistance.  Even with having to charge the battery, it was less hassle using the trolling motor than the outboard.  

 

What kind of waters are you mainly going to be fishing?

[graycrait]

The main RIvers here in Montgomery county, the Cumberland, the Red and the West Fork of the Red.  Other than that we will likely use it in bays over at LBL so motor isn't a big deal there.   There are some interesting things to see on the smaller rivers where bass boats can get to though.  Even saw a 4 or 5 foot caiman on Red red once.  The really lousy thing about all the rivers nearby is that there aren't many or convenient put in or take out points. So it would be easier to take out the same place you put in.