There are actually, quite large umbrellas available. Light nylon for its
shrouds. Just keep an eye open for squall lines.

Only two boats in your future? Piker. You won't get a chance to wear a
Commodore's scrambled eggs that way.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

Actually it is a valid advice. I have thought about using a 15-ft
canoe. But I have decided against this idea. The reason is that I need
to mount something to shade me from the sun. I don't think this is a
good idea to mount something over a small canoe or a small jon boat --
I am afraid that the boat will become top heavy and flip. Considering
the fact that the most likely time for me to use the boat is Friday
afternoon in summer, shade is very important to me; otherwise, baking
under the sun would surely take the fun out of fishing.

The other alternative is to use a small 12-ft raw boat that I may be
able to mount a bimini top on it. But I would need to find a storage
space for it in addition to finding storage space for the 18-ft boat
that I want to fish with a couple of my friends with.

And two boats also means more expenses.

I think if I cannot mount/dismount the engine easily, I may decide not
to visit those electric-only lakes, and stick with lakes that allow
outboard engine. I still need to find out if I can still use the boat
in electric-only lakes if I can simply tilt up the engine and only use
the trolling motor.

Jay Chan