canoe with outboard questions
 

Hi,

I've got a houseboat and a runabout. Also a Jet Ski. I use the
runabout to get back and forth when the houseboat is out on
a beach, and would like to get a spare ride for when there's a
problem with the runabout. I'm hoping to sell the Jet Ski and
get something else. Right now I'm thinking about getting a
canoe and an outboard motor for it. Can anyone tell me some
things about it, since I've no experience with it? What size
motor for about a 13' canoe? What about using an electric
motor, if that's a reasonable consideration? Where to find
good prices on used canoes (I'm in the Atlanta, GA area)?
Thanks for any help!

David

dh@. wrote...

Right now I'm thinking about getting a
canoe and an outboard motor for it. Can anyone tell me some
things about it, since I've no experience with it? What size
motor for about a 13' canoe? What about using an electric
motor, if that's a reasonable consideration? Where to find
good prices on used canoes (I'm in the Atlanta, GA area)?

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.

John Weiss wrote:

dh@. wrote...

Right now I'm thinking about getting a
canoe and an outboard motor for it. Can anyone tell me some
things about it, since I've no experience with it? What size
motor for about a 13' canoe? What about using an electric
motor, if that's a reasonable consideration? Where to find
good prices on used canoes (I'm in the Atlanta, GA area)?

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.

http://www.castlecraft.com/michicraft_square-stern.htm

CastleCraft recommends 3 to 5HP max.

I thought Old Town canoe had a square-stern too, but I didn't find any on their
website. I guess maybe they stopped making them, if they did at all, ever.

John Kuthe...

dh@. wrote:

What size
motor for about a 13' canoe?


No practical application other than a trolling motor - and they're
designed to be used under slow & gentle conditions. If you're going to
have such a small canoe, paddling should be enough.

Pete H

--
Freedom is participation in power.
Cicero

"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.

John Weiss wrote:

"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.

Possibly. I did a Google search on "square stern canoes" and turned up a number of
different manufactureres though. Evidently it's something that may be a lot more
popular than the canoe purists may with to admit, yano? ;-)

John Kuthe...

pmhilton wrote:

dh@. wrote:

What size
motor for about a 13' canoe?


No practical application other than a trolling motor - and they're
designed to be used under slow & gentle conditions. If you're going to
have such a small canoe, paddling should be enough.

What about laziness or disability? Or extremely long distances, and a
combination of either of the aforementioned?

John Kuthe...

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.


I have to disagree. I have a friend who uses exactly this kind of rig as a
runabout. He has an old aluminum canoe with a square-stem used for mounting
an outboard motor, and it works just fine. You can also buy manufactured
motor mounts for this purpose. Not to be flaming, but I for one am willing
to assume that the OP knows better what his purpose is than you or I.

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.


If it's the kind of rig my friend uses, he probably wouldn't be paddling at
all, and he probably wouldn't be disassembling it every time he uses it.
You can also trailer a setup like this, so the weight is probably irrelevant
(at least in *this* scenario).

While I am also not a big fan of motorized canoes, they have their place in
the world, like it or not.

John Kuthe wrote:

What about laziness or disability? Or extremely long distances, and a
combination of either of the aforementioned?

In that case, a 13' canoe would be a travesty rather than a help.

Pete H

--
Freedom is participation in power.
Cicero

John Kuthe wrote:


I did a Google search on "square stern canoes" and turned up a number of
different manufactureres though. Evidently it's something that may be a lot more
popular than the canoe purists may with to admit, yano? ;-)


My brother pulled a square-sterned Mad River off a neighbor's trash
pile. It's a heavy, wide fiberglass canoe, obviously designed for
fishing. The wood gunwales and seats had rotted, but he was able to
find and fit replacements. Now, he finds it a bit impractical. He
hasn't put it in the water once.





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