Square stern canoes
 

My wife and I have been paddling canoes for the past 30 years and kayaks
for the last 3 but sometimes the places we want to go are just too far or we
get tired of fighting the wind so I'm thinking or getting a square stern
canoe or maybe one of those brackets that you can put a small outboard motor
on. Anybody have experience with this type of set up or a better idea, any
suggestions?

Thanks

Ron Donahue

Square stern canoes
 

I have a Coleman plastic canoe and my brother has a Grumman (sp?)
aluminum. He has a nice storebought bracket and both electric (MinnKota
28 lb thrust) and an ancient Neptune 1.5 HP gas. I took a piece of
angle iron and bolted to on to the gunwhales and bolted a piece of
treated 1 by and a matching piece of 1/2" treated ply on. I have a
MinnKota (28 lb thrust) and a Cruise N Carry 2.7 HP gas. We have both
gone out alone and with 1 extra adult or 2 40-60 lb children. The
electric motors have about a 2 hr range at top speed with one battery
onboard... the gas motors are a little longer (about 2.5 hrs at full
speed w/ full tank of 1/3 gal and a small spare gas tank weighs a lot
less than an extra battery.)

In light weather, the MinnKota is OK. It isn't fast... faster than
either of us can sustain paddling but not flying. If there is wind,
sometimes it is an effort to steer and beat the wind. With the gas
motors, both move at a pretty good speed even in moderate wind and steer
easier. I would not want much more than the 2.7 gas motor. The Coleman
seems to ride a bit flatter (i.e. no nose up) when riding solo.

I have not tried any squarebacks but I'd think they should go a bit
better under power but I'm not sure how the square back would affect
paddling performance...

Ed


Ronald Donahue wrote:
My wife and I have been paddling canoes for the past 30 years and kayaks
for the last 3 but sometimes the places we want to go are just too far or we
get tired of fighting the wind so I'm thinking or getting a square stern
canoe or maybe one of those brackets that you can put a small outboard motor
on. Anybody have experience with this type of set up or a better idea, any
suggestions?

Thanks

Ron Donahue

Square stern canoes
 

I bought an Evergreen Sportsman (square stern) canoe last year with
the intention of mounting a MinnKota electric trolling motor. When
mounted on the transom, the handle is too far back to reach
comfortably and is centred behind my spine - not a practical position.
What I've done is design a mount similar to Old Town's motor mount,
using a 1"x3" wooden bar clamped across the gunwales (just behind the
rear seat) with a 2"x4" block to hold the motor's mounting bracket.
This brings the motor's handle forward and to the side to make for a
more comfortable operating position.

https://www.oldtowncanoe.com/catalog...6&section_id=4

As a safety precaution to avoid damage to the motor or canoe, attach
the 2"x4" block to the cross bar with a hinge (instead of screws or
bolts) so the motor will swing up if an underwater obstruction is
encountered.

ExPatBrit


On Sun, 21 Sep 2003 01:52:15 GMT, "Ronald Donahue"
wrote:

My wife and I have been paddling canoes for the past 30 years and kayaks
for the last 3 but sometimes the places we want to go are just too far or we
get tired of fighting the wind so I'm thinking or getting a square stern
canoe or maybe one of those brackets that you can put a small outboard motor
on. Anybody have experience with this type of set up or a better idea, any
suggestions?

Thanks

Ron Donahue

Square stern canoes
 

Here is just another thing to think about. I had a coleman square stern and was
able to do quite well with a pair of oars. With little effort, I could clip
right along, reguardless of weather or load. I hate the loud sound of motors
and I found this very satisfying. Good luck.

Tom,
Tucson

Square stern canoes
 

That is certainly something to think about... my Cruise N Carry is air
cooled. It makes one hell of a racket. The battery motor is nice and
quiet but doesn't have the range.

Ed

TWall10618 wrote:
Here is just another thing to think about. I had a coleman square stern and was
able to do quite well with a pair of oars. With little effort, I could clip
right along, reguardless of weather or load. I hate the loud sound of motors
and I found this very satisfying. Good luck.

Tom,
Tucson

Square stern canoes
 

I've run both a 19' SS Grumman and a 17 Chestnut Prospector with a
side-mount. The Grumman was exceptionally more comfortable, carried a much,
much bigger load, was faster, and did I mention more comfortable? But....
what do you already own? If you have a regular canoe a side-mount 2 1/2 - 4
hp motor does quite well and increases your range considerably. I made mine
from some local birch and had to add a flap of birch bark to stop cavitation
(when the prop can't move any water due to hull stream conflict), but made
many trips on the Yukon with it. It could run upriver a good deal faster
than I could paddle against the current.
One word of advice: if you do decide to get a Grumman SS, avoid the 17'
model; the 19' model is ten-times the boat. You can also go with a Coleman
SS, but it won't stand up over time.
Padeen


"Ronald Donahue" wrote in message
...
My wife and I have been paddling canoes for the past 30 years and kayaks
for the last 3 but sometimes the places we want to go are just too far or
we
get tired of fighting the wind so I'm thinking or getting a square stern
canoe or maybe one of those brackets that you can put a small outboard
motor
on. Anybody have experience with this type of set up or a better idea,
any
suggestions?

Thanks

Ron Donahue

Square stern canoes
 

We currently have an Old Town Laker 16 purchased in 1976 it has stood up
well and is a good all around canoe. LL Bean has a bracket for $45 so maybe
I'll just buy one and pickup a 2.5 hp motor. I appreciate everyone's input.

Ron Donahue


"padeen" wrote in message
...
I've run both a 19' SS Grumman and a 17 Chestnut Prospector with a
side-mount. The Grumman was exceptionally more comfortable, carried a
much,
much bigger load, was faster, and did I mention more comfortable? But....
what do you already own? If you have a regular canoe a side-mount 2 1/2 -
4
hp motor does quite well and increases your range considerably. I made
mine
from some local birch and had to add a flap of birch bark to stop
cavitation
(when the prop can't move any water due to hull stream conflict), but made
many trips on the Yukon with it. It could run upriver a good deal faster
than I could paddle against the current.
One word of advice: if you do decide to get a Grumman SS, avoid the 17'
model; the 19' model is ten-times the boat. You can also go with a
Coleman
SS, but it won't stand up over time.
Padeen

Square stern canoes
 

"Ronald Donahue" wrote in message
...
We currently have an Old Town Laker 16 purchased in 1976 it has stood up
well and is a good all around canoe. LL Bean has a bracket for $45 so
maybe
I'll just buy one and pickup a 2.5 hp motor. I appreciate everyone's
input.


Ron,

I have one of Bean's wooden canoe motor mounts and have used it with great
success on an old, flat-bottomed White canoe from Old Town. I've used the
mount with a Johnson 2HP outboard and a MinnKota 3HP electric.

Happy motoring,
Bob Scott




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

Square stern canoes
 

Bob,

Thank you. Do you find that the 2hp Johnson and MinnKota 3hp electric have
sufficient power against a headwind. One of the trips that brought this idea
of a motor about was a trip to lake Umbagog in New Hampshire/Maine, after
paddling several miles to look at the birds the wind came up and we found
ourselves with several hours of hard paddling into a brutal headwind to get
back to the car. When we were younger this would have been an interesting
challenger but now it's just a pain in the butt followed by several days of
sore muscles.

Ron


"Bob" wrote in message
...
Ron,

I have one of Bean's wooden canoe motor mounts and have used it with great
success on an old, flat-bottomed White canoe from Old Town. I've used the
mount with a Johnson 2HP outboard and a MinnKota 3HP electric.

Happy motoring,
Bob Scott




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

Square stern canoes
 

"Ronald Donahue" wrote in message
...
Bob,

Thank you. Do you find that the 2hp Johnson and MinnKota 3hp electric have
sufficient power against a headwind.

Yes. Although, like with manual paddling power, a strong headwind will
certainly reduce the forward speed. If the headwind is REALLY strong, you
can always paddle to augment the engine!

My favorite of the two is the little Johnson gas engine. Even with spare
fuel, it weighs less than the combination of the MinnKota and deep cycle
battery. Although it's called a "2HP," the actual rating is about 1.2HP.
It is water-cooled and has a small built-in tank that will provide enough
fuel for hours of trolling (my use for the motor). I usually bring a 20-oz.
soda bottle of pre-mix along to provide extended running times.

Good paddling (or happy motoring),
Bob




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----