"John Kuthe" wrote...

Canoes are designed to be paddled. Using an outboard for the short distance
from the houseboat to the beach will be more trouble than it's worth.

True, but there are some square-stern canoes designed so to allow a small
motor
or engine to be mounted.

They may be available, but a motorized canoe just doesn't appear to make sense
for the OP's purpose.

Chopping off the stern will increase drag, so paddling will be slower and more
difficult. Putting a trolling motor and a battery in a 13' canoe will double
its weight, and even a small gas-powered outboard will weigh half what the canoe
does. Hooking it all up will take more time than any time saved in travel
to/from a beach.

Depending on how many people and how much gear he wants to carry, a good rowing
dinghy may make even more sense.