"Walt"
Im thinking about putting a small 3.5 hp 2 stroke outboard on the square
tansom of a 16 foot long canoe.
(snip)

Once upon a time I had that exact arrangement. A 16' square sterned
homemade canoe with a old sears 3.5hp Eska pushing it along. I pulled the
thin plywood floor out and poured in two part foam to make it stay on top of
the water. Then added a sheet of new plywood so we could stand up while
inside(tricky). The boat weighed about 100 lbs I think. The motor was
around 45 lbs. I could easily car top it on my old '67 Valiant to Newport
Bay, California and back. Ugly but it worked. My brother and I would take
our fishing gear a cooler and "tuna sandwiches" out through the jetties(like
gilligan) and park off the beach for an afternoon fishing. Fully loaded it
would make around 6mph...light maybe 7 1/2.. For protected water family
picnic boat to explore a lake or calm harbor with the kids..it would be
great fun..just keep the kids sitting still, afterall it is still a canoe.
best regards, mike