opinions

I'm thinking about purchasing a 15 ft canoe to use for fly fishing the marshes on the coast. Since my budget isn't too steep on this project I'm thinking of building one of those mud motor kits to use temporarily. The boat only weighs 100 pounds, is pretty streamlined, only 42 inches wide at the widest point. How fast do you think a 6.5 hp long tail would push it? I know it will be a lot slower than an outboard, but I want to be able to get into the back areas that I wouldn't be able to reach with a regular motor. Before you say save the money and buy a real longtail, 2 grand is just out of the question right now. This kit and motor will cost me under 400 dollars, and if it works for a while and breaks, oh well. Thanks.

Bt the way, the canoe has a square stern and is rated for 4hp. And has 850 pound weight capacity. The reports I've read on it say it's extremely stable so I think it will be a good little duck boat as well. Best part is it only cost 600 bucks

I don't know anything about those motors but I like your plan! When I moved to Austin I swore I'd eventually get a boat for sight fishing down there, I haven't been able to get around to it financially, I have thought about a stepping stone boat like what you are talking about rigging up.

I threw some flies at redfish last weekend but they weren't eating.

I'd be scared to death to make a turn in a canoe with a motor. Some pics of the canoe would be helpful. I think it would go about 10-14 mph.

This canoe is made to be ran with a motor, technically it's a skiff/canoe hybrid

I don't know how much I would like a mud motor on a canoe. I would say check with Guy. He bought a mo marsh and seems to like it.

Canoes with a motor is an accident waiting to happen. Ask me how I know.

On a regular canoe I wouldn't try it at all. This one is specifically made for running with a motor.

The issue isn't the lack of a transom, it's the narrow beam. It's inherently unstable.

The beam is 44.5 inches wide. 2 inches wider than my old John boat. The model is extremely stable. My friend has a poling platform on the back and a deck on the front and fishes 2 people standing up out of it regularly. It's really more of a skiff.

How do you know?

Post up some pics.

That's the one, was just getting ready to post up the link.

sorry, I was trying to edit on my phone...erased it

The other side to that equation... If you don't have a motor that's going to be a bear to paddle solo. I've got a 16ft Old Town Guide canoe, great for family outings but not much fun for a solo trip. Looks pretty stable but you won't want to run too fast anyways.

Gonna go pretty fast but it's prob gonna be real heavy in the back with you and the motor back there

I don't really need to go very fast to get to any of my fishing spots. If I could get 10-15 mph I'd be more than happy. And I've thought about it being too heavy in the back so I think im going to do like my buddy did and deck the front with a hatch to hide my battery and life jackets and ect. But im planning on taking a ride with him in his to see how stable it is for myself standing on the front deck and back poling platform before i do anything like that. It's all going to take some experimenting with to get it how I want it.

I used to canoe quite a bit in my youth, Possum Kingdom, the Brazos, Trinity, Guadalupe, etc. A few of those excursions included trips with my dads Grumman and 2 cycle outboard. We flipped it turning into a boat wake on PK and lost all our gear.

A canoe may appear stable unloaded, but add a motor, passenger(s), and gear with the vagaries of the weather and water conditions, and you'll wish you had a more stable platform. They are sensitive to movement within the boat, wind, and waves.

I'm not saying it can't be done. I AM saying that there are better solutions that are less problematic to staying upright and dry.

I looked at the exact boat before. I think I would go for a john boat over that boat. Get on YouTube and see if you can find anyone running that rig. I got 7 hp Stumpjumper on a Momarsh Fatboy DP, and it works well the way I have it rigged, not very fast, but fast enough. I would try and pick up a used boat, and go new on the motor. I have done that on both my boats.

+1

I had that canoe and a 5hp motor. A regular 2 stroke 5 hp outboard and that canoe will get you plenty shallow and skoot pretty good. Good thing about that rig is I didn't need to trailer it and and could launch anywhere.

The reason I want this over a John boat is its mostly going to be for poling in the marsh after redfish. I've tried poling a John boat before and it's a real mother effer to do if there's even I small amount of wind. And also I can throw this on my roof to get to places I can't take a trailer to put it in the water. I would never be able to lift a John boat onto my roof. I really want a gheenoe but they are really hard to find in texas and to ship one from Florida is about an extra 900 bucks.

I think you'll like the canoe. Just consider using a used outboard.

Yeah - we have a skinny 16' john with a 5 hp that we run sometimes and it can carry 2 guys and all their gear at a decent clip. Definitely not 15-20 mpg, but enough. For the canoe, I'm sure 7 hp is more than adequate.

I'm not ruling an outboard out, I just haven't found one at the right price yet. I don't want a 1972 model beat up motor that will leave me stranded somewhere but also I don't have 1200 bucks to spend on a Newer motor. I have been checking craigslist every day for them.

Scrap the canoe idea and go with this guys ^^^ idea. Youll be happier in the end in a 14 or 16 skinny. V nose bow will help with tracking.

I'm messaging a guy on tff about a gheenoe right now for a good price. May be going with that instead.

A 6.5 longtail is likely to weight as much as your canoe if the longtail is mostly steel, so you may want to look for an all aluminum one. 4 strokes weigh more than 2 strokes and the 4hp rating on the new canoe is probably given meant for a 4 stroke, but your 6.5 longtail is still going to weigh more than a new 4hp 4 stroke outboard.

Hi center and over your canoe's motor rating equals upside down canoe. Sportsman style canoes are very stable, but they do have a catastrophic point of no return tip over point. With 80 to 110 pounds over the rear of a 100 to 115 pound canoe, when the narrow pointed front of the canoe catches or rides up a rock or stump it can create a pivot point. A canoe with a high center from a too weight or over rated motor given a pivot point can cause that catastrophic tipping point.

Us hunters carry more gear than the average person. Retrievers (and Dave Speer) are bad about constantly changing the balance of that load too. IMHO, if the boat is rated for a 4hp outboard, I would stay with a 4hp outboard or nothing that weighs more than the average 4 stroke 4hp outboard.

Change of plans. I found the boat I really wanted originally. A 15.4 gheenoe. Hopefully going to get it next week. I'm going to start searching for a motor between 6 -10 hp and a trailer to fit it. On this boat I'll put an outboard on.

Can you post a pic of it.

I don't have pics but here's the link to them

http://www.gheenoe.net/fifteenfour.html

Very nice.

I have a buddy in Mabank with a Gheenoe that he has a 25 hp on ... way overpowered... can't remember the model, anyway we took it out once to pole and we were doing 37 or so in it and I was up front white-knuckling it.