Advice on first extended trip with 14 footer/7.5

[Striek]

Well hello,

We're planning a week long backcountry trip this summer, using my 14' almunium Harbercraft and 1980 7.5hp Mercury. This is the kind of trip I originally bought the boat for in 2018, but it's never been used for a trip of this duration or distance from assistance - a few weekend backcountry trips here and there, and to a hunt camp a few times a year. The engine still runs great aside from a bit of sputtering at idle.

My question is about how much I can plan on hauling with it, how long the trip out and back will take, and the load it will place on the engine. We're taking 4 adults averaging 225lbs each, and probably somewhere around 500lbs of gear (that's a very rough guess as plans are still being made). We'd be heading about 15km away from a car campground in that boat carrying gear, and likely be doing day trips from base camp to about 35km from the docks, if the winds and the gods are on our side. Unfortunately, I've never clocked its speed yet - I would guess somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15mph with just me in it, perhaps 20. It planes relatively easily with 2 adults in the boat and gear for a long weekend if I trim it right. I can haul a quarter cord of hardwood in it, but just barely, at ½ throttle.

I figure the trip out and back, with gear and transporting people back and forth, could take up to 2 hours if I can't plane it, but I'd like to ask for opinions on that as well, such as, would it be better/faster to make more lightly loaded trips, or fewer heavily loaded trips. Since this will be the heaviest load I've put in her for this length of time I would like to make sure I won't melt the engine.

I may also be overlooking things I haven't thought of; as I said, these will be the hardest paces I have yet to put her through and the furthest she'll be from her trailer since I bought her, and I only bought my first (powered) boat in 2018.

I've attached a picture of the boat in the hopes that it will help my question. Thank you to all for your time in answering this.

 

[roscoe]

Many lightly loaded trips. take lots of gas.

Honestly, 15km plus 35km = 50 km or 31 miles, from help or assistance.
Thats a long way to swim if something goes wrong, bad fuel or mechanical issue will leave you stranded.

We never venture more than a couple miles into the wild without a back up motor, or a second or even a third boat. We've ventured down river and across 3 lakes (about 12 miles) in the Canadian wilderness, but never without a second boat.

 

[racerone]

With 4 hefty adults and 500 LBS of gear the boat won't plane out.-----Forget about making a 35 km trip.-----Make sure you have a new impeller in the motor.-----Make sure you use a lower pitch prop to suit the heavy loads.-----I think you need a 25 HP motor or a 35 HP motor on a 16 / 18' boat.

 

[Striek]

I should clarify - base camp will be 15km from the docks. From there we would make day trips to a maximum of 35km from the docks. So hauling gear will only be for the 15km.

Ideally I'd like to find another family that can join us with a second boat - either that or I rent/borrow/purchase a 2.5hp or something similar - enough to limp back on. I'll be getting a spare propeller with a lower pitch (can't remember the pitch exactly, I think an 8" two blade, but the nice fellow at the only marina I could find with a spare propeller for me recommended it), and a professional spring service including a new impeller is already planned once the ice breaks here.

We do carry an InReach so we wouldn't be completely up the creek without a paddle if things went sideways, but I do need to keep in mind that 35km figure. We're otherwise very experienced wilderness travelers (generally in canoes), doing something different this year.

I was never considering hauling 4 adults and all that gear in one trip, it would be at least two, and I was wondering if three or even four would be safer/faster.

 

[racerone]

If you made 4 trips then 3.5 X 30 km would make it 105 km to get everything moved to camp..----You will need a big gas tank or at least 3 tanks of 22 liter each.----I think you need a bigger boat and perhaps a motor that does not sputter at idle.

 

[Alumarine]

I can't imagine that boat being capable or safe with 1500 lbs in it.

 

[Striek]

If you made 4 trips then 3.5 X 30 km would make it 105 km to get everything moved to camp.

It's 15km from dock to camp, I do apologize for the confusion on that. Still though, that means by your estimate 3 jerry cans would be needed just to get in and out (with 4 trips each way).

I can't imagine that boat being capable or safe with 1500 lbs in it.

It's not. The idea is to make multiple trips, and I'm trying to get a rough idea of how many it would require and how long each of them would take.

 

[racerone]

Just 7 trips of 15 km or 105 km to get everything moved to camp.-----Take the first day of your week and the last 1/2 day ( beer cans will be empty ) to finish the week ----And all weather permitting.------Where / when is this adventure taking place ?

 

[Striek]

Haha, yes, you're right. The plan is a whole day to move everything there and then a whole day back, and we've made allowances for two days of weather delays on both ends of the trip. It's actually from Saturday the 17th of July to Tuesday the 27th, including the 12 hour drive there and back. We've planned for the very real possibility of weather delays.

Where are we doing it? On Missinaibi Lake (the marker is roughly where base camp is and the docks are ~15km to the northeast) - if you know anything of that lake, you know it doesn't take a lot of wind to kick up some nasty chop for a 14' tin can. Weather delays are a very real possibility.

 

[racerone]

Looks like a place where you would hit rocks about 5 minutes away from the docks.-----Chart or electronic navigation in your budget ?----I have driven on the 101 / 129 on the way to WAWA.

 

[Striek]

The lake is actually quite deep - at least 80' through the middle of the southern portion, and drops to 20' within 5' of the island just north of the docks. It's 200' or 300' deep in the northern arm.

Electronic navigation isn't really in the budget this year, aside from what an InReach can provide us, and an InReach doesn't provide water depths. Maybe in a few years if I upgrade the boat and do some more serious fishing. But I'm not worried about shoals/shallows, I paddled the lake in a canoe many years ago and I do have vivid memories of there being nothing to run aground on.

Well, aside from this:


(I'm behind the camera and much uglier)

 

[JASinIL2006]

We have a place on a small lake up in Ontario, more east of Sault Ste. Marie than north. Our cabin is on the opposite side of the lake from the road/parking area, so every year, we have to lug our stuff a mile or so across the lake in a boat almost the same as yours. When I first started going up there (my wife's family built the place) we regularly loaded our boat with what I'm sure was twice the capacity of what we should have. There were times when, with even a slight bit of chop, things got dicy, occupants and gear got wet, but luckily nothing bad every happened.

Then, I got our bowrider and I started hanging out here and learned about boat safety, paying attention to weight limits, number of occupants, etc. I read about folks who didn't take note of those limits, sometimes with unfortunate or even tragic consequences.

Given those experiences, and knowing how even a little wind blowing in the right direction down a very long lake can fetch up some nice little waves, I would not consider what you're proposing. Without a perfectly smooth, glass-like surface, you are - at best - in for a slow, tedious and possibly wet slog from where you embark to base camp. Since there is virtually no way you can get everything in that boat without being seriously overloaded, you'll be making multiple trips. Even then, when you get to base camp and make day excursions, you'll be doing long trips with four guys, gas, gear, etc., and I'd be you'll still be close to the boat's weight limit. Getting that much weight on plane with a 15 or 20 hp outboard seems optimistic, especially if the water is anything but smooth. You'll be able to move faster than if you were in your canoe, but you won't be zipping around, I wouldn't think. And I can't imagine an entire day in a 14' boat with 4 adults trying to fish. We go out for 2-3 hours with three people and it feels cramped, there's not much room for tackle boxes, rods, and whatever else everyone brings.

Personally, I think you need either a bigger boat or, even better, a second boat. Even a second boat, another 14 footer with a 10 hp motor, for one guy and a bunch of gear, would make a huge difference.

 

[Striek]

Jas, you make some very valid points. This lake is well known for its chop. The thinking so far is, if it takes three days to get out there and/or we're windbound for three days going back, then so be it. It will definitely be multiple trips each way, 2 or 3 of them, to bring the weight down to a manageable level.

As for the chop, I took the boat out on the same lake in 2018 to scout it, back when this trip was a but twinkle in my eye. A gust of wind almost swamped me. If memory serves, the winds were 20 gusting 30kmh that day kicking up 18" - 2' waves and whitecaps (to be fair to me though, I have gone to great lengths to become a safer boater since then). I think it was in 2000 when I crossed the lake in a very stable canoe - in 4 foot waves.

I had 4 people in the boat last year, rescuing a party of inexperienced paddlers who couldn't make it out in time. They had 4 people and 1 canoe and didn't anticipate a weather holdup on the last day - it's actually a rather amusing story. I couldn't plane it.

We won't be spending that much time fishing actually, I'm really the only fisherman that's going. The boat is really just to get from one place to another and do some sightseeing. I wouldn't want to put 4 people in that thing all day either.

All that said though, you definitely rephrased it and tipped me much further to the idea of renting a second boat - it's either that or bring a second engine anyway. What you aptly illustrated, beyond the safety factor of a second boat, is the comfort factor - and the whole idea is a luxury backcountry camping trip.

 

[Gar & Teako]

If your going with the wind, put your bow high in the air. your motor is too small, but if thats what you want to do, then all the power to ya!
check the panel on the back of the boat for load weight and capacity.
If you just troll along things will work better for ya.
Remeber SAFETY FIRST!!!

 

[JimS123]

I wouldn't think about taking a second boat. I'd advise you to not leave without it.

When my kids were little I bought a second boat just to be used as a utility trailer to take all our camping gear in. It was a 14' tinny with a 9.5 'Rude. (still have it to this day) When it was unpacked we had a boat to putter around it. We had the 4 of us in some pretty heavy seas and we always felt safe. But a few differences here... The boat had a very high freeboard - much greater than yours. The kids were pretty skinny, even the wife and I were far under 200 and we had virtually no gear aboard. Lastly, I already had 30 years experience in a tiller operated utility.

When the kids reached their teen years, we had a jetski as well, so we only needed 2 on the boat at one time.

Check your load capacity and don't even go half way. If the motor sputters at idle, that's something that needs to be corrected ahead of time. Finally, your trailer looks like it might not be quite up to the task. I wouldn't load any gear in the boat when traveling.

Good luck and have a safe and happy trip.

 

[poconojoe]

It's a bad feeling when the wind kicks up and your motor can't keep up with it.
Went fishing with someone last year (he had a 12 foot aluminum grumman) on a local lake and that's exactly what happened. We were being pushed by the wind toward the shallows that had rotted stumps sticking up everywhere. We had to take turns rowing to supplement the motor's lack of power.
Be careful.

 

[jhande]

I've never been out in a motor boat but spent many years in a canoe nowhere near it's load capacity.

I had a big heavy b@stard but it was very easy to paddle. Either I went solo or with my son and only for day trips fishing. A slight breezy was never a problem but I got hit twice with heavier winds. Once by myself and once with my son. Paddling as hard and fast as possible for every 4 or 5 strokes the canoe only moved one if lucky. My son and I actually had to paddle to shore as he walked in the water for awhile pulling the canoe. What should have been a 20 to 30 minute journey to the ramp turned into almost 2 hours. Besides my canoe being water tight, so was my butt those days.

So please be careful and make sure your boat/motor combo can cut through the wind. Spare oars is a good idea for sure!

Have a safe and fun adventure!

 

[Striek]

It's a bad feeling when the wind kicks up and your motor can't keep up with it.
Went fishing with someone last year (he had a 12 foot aluminum grumman) on a local lake and that's exactly what happened. We were being pushed by the wind toward the shallows that had rotted stumps sticking up everywhere. We had to take turns rowing to supplement the motor's lack of power.
Be careful.

I haven't yet seen a wind strong enough that my engine couldn't keep up with it. The worst I've had it was in 2019 on the lee side of a railway bed that crossed a decently large lake that lay in the direction a 40km/h wind was blowing. 40km/h is a guesstimate, but when I walked up the rail bed (to check the winds, because I knew the winds were particularly strong on the other side of it), the moment my head was higher than the bed, my hat was blown off my head. What would have normally been a 10 minute trip back took about an hour, as I limped back to camp so close to shore the bottom fin (the one below the prop - I don't know the term for it) hit bottom at least twice. That was the day I learned the necessity of ballast. I needed about 200lbs of rocks. Before you judge me too harshly, the wind was around 10km/h when I left.

I've never been out in a motor boat but spent many years in a canoe nowhere near it's load capacity.

I had a big heavy b@stard but it was very easy to paddle. Either I went solo or with my son and only for day trips fishing. A slight breezy was never a problem but I got hit twice with heavier winds. Once by myself and once with my son. Paddling as hard and fast as possible for every 4 or 5 strokes the canoe only moved one if lucky. My son and I actually had to paddle to shore as he walked in the water for awhile pulling the canoe. What should have been a 20 to 30 minute journey to the ramp turned into almost 2 hours. Besides my canoe being water tight, so was my butt those days.

That is where the bulk of my experience lies as well, in canoes. I'm an experienced whitewater paddler with thousands of river miles behind me (as is everyone on this trip). Interestingly, I found the 17' Langford I crossed this lake with decades ago, in 4 foot waves, to be more stable than my Harbercraft, in 2 foot waves. That canoe can carry more, too. I remember an adventure very much like the one you described. I was solo, and had been on the water for a week or so already. It had been raining for five days. On this one lake, which lay directly in the direction of the galeforce wind blowing against me, it wasn't just raining. It was raining sideways. If I stopped for ten seconds to catch my breath I lost the last five minutes of progress. J-stroking was a lost cause. It was a very marshy shoreline and there was no place to pull over. After countless hours of this, I happened upon a family with a tent trailer on crown land I did not expect to find, and didn't so much ask for help, but simply rolled in and declared a mayday.

Anyway, I write this not to brag but to at least instill some modicum of hope that I will survive this crazy idea. Plus, it's always fun telling old stories to new people.

 

[JimS123]

Anyway, I write this not to brag but to at least instill some modicum of hope that I will survive this crazy idea. Plus, it's always fun telling old stories to new people.

I had a brand spanking new Evinrude Lark and was fishing in view of Niagara Falls. We could see the mist rising. It was dusk and we started to go back upstream to the launch ramp. Just as we hit plane, the gears in the lower unit gave out and we were stuck in neutral. (Never buy an electric shift) Fortunately for us, reverse worked. We backed up the Niagara River in the dark until we hit a marina, only to find it was closed. Hand carrying 2 gas tanks to a local gas station was our only salvation.

The work was done for free under warranty. The Kicker was installed the next day. Never had a boat without a kicker since 1968.

 

[Striek]

I had a brand spanking new Evinrude Lark and was fishing in view of Niagara Falls. We could see the mist rising. It was dusk and we started to go back upstream to the launch ramp. Just as we hit plane, the gears in the lower unit gave out and we were stuck in neutral. (Never buy an electric shift) Fortunately for us, reverse worked. We backed up the Niagara River in the dark until we hit a marina, only to find it was closed. Hand carrying 2 gas tanks to a local gas station was our only salvation.

The work was done for free under warranty. The Kicker was installed the next day. Never had a boat without a kicker since 1968.

Uhhhm, was that above the falls, or below? Big difference.

When I was still figuring out the vagaries of my new motor, I had brought a bunch of stuff back to the docks and left all my tools still at the cabin. I left my car keys at the cabin too, so I couldn't get into my car for the auto repair kit. When I tried to start the engine to get back to the cabin, not only would she not crank (infinite resistance on the pull cord), she wouldn't shift out of forward gear. I was stranded at the launch with an unstartable motor and no tools to fix it. I had to take the cowl off and spend a good half hour figuring out that it was a safety feature designed specifically to prevent accidentaly starting at full throttle - I had shut her down at full throttle. Thank god it wasn't an electronic shift or I would have spent hours figuring it out.