Running canoe with boat motor?

[jay_merrill]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I like the trolling motor opton for a square back canoe, too. I would think, that with a couple of good sized batteries, you could travel a long way.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I've had several square sterns and currently own the twin to Drowned Rats OT discover sport 173. I run a (44#) 5 hp two stroke Tohatsu on mine. It goes well and feels pretty stable due to it's 44" beam and flat bottom. FWIW, here are a couple of things I've learned along the way.
1) A square stern canoe is a very versatile craft. It is THE craft of choice for Maine fishing guides. They routinely run BIG freighter square sterns in the 18-22' range with 8-15 hp. They like them because they handle rough water reasonably well. sip fuel, haul ALLOT of gear/people but also get into some very skinny water.
2)These boats do have limitations due to hull design though. Like all canoes it suffers with reduced buoyancy in the transom. Consequently, you have to watch motor weight as much as /more than HP or the boat will squat badly ( read: dangerous and no fun) Be sure to ballast the front end with a bucket of water /trolling motor batteries/fuel tank/person to give you max waterline, speed and control. You also can't expect it to like fast turns due to it's narrower hull and long waterline. IF you want a speedboat, get a speed boat.
2) You need to have a motor that offers full reverse ( and a means to reach the gear shift knob.) Hanging over the stern and spinning a gas outboard to get reverse on that narrow transom is inviting a flip IMHO. These things just don't have the same stability on the stern as a jon boat.
3)Side mount brackets are best limited to electric motors or ultra light gas motors to 2-3 hp max. Again, it's a weight thing. (BTW, I made a side mount bracket for my OTDS17 so that I could use my gas and electric on the same trip. (Transom only has room for one.)
hth

 

[Ned L]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

As for a side mount bracket on a regular canoe, 'Wee Hooker' has it right. I built a reqally nice bracket for a 15' 6" canoe that I have and use an old 1hp Neptune 'Mighty-Mite' outboard on. Anything over about 1/3 throttle gets real unstable. I think an inexperienced person with a side mounted outboard (gas or electric) can lead to a real fast swim if they are not real careful.

 

[witenite0560]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I used to have a 15' Coleman canoe that I used with a 1.5HP motor. It worked just fine. I used a couple of blocks of wood, one on each side of the gunwale to clamp it to. The trick was, as some of the others stated, correctly loading yourself and gear. I usually just sat on the bottom of the canoe and leaned back against the aft seat. The motor was clamped to the left side and just behind me. I could actually just rest my arm on the tiller. 1.5hp would move me along at a nice clip, perhaps twice max paddling speed. I think a 5hp would be about the max that would be adviseable on a canoe in any wind or chop. It could get a bit squirrely with more than that. Lets face it, a canoe is not made for much more than paddling speed. Pretty narrow to begin with and will plane pretty easily, but you'll be riding with not much more than keel in the water. Picture riding a high speed 2x4!

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

hey drowned rat just wondering why didnt you like the 5hp motor ?

It's not that 5hp wasn't enough, it's just I didn't like the Briggs and Stratton brand all that well. Noise and vibration being the two worst traits of that motor.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

DR, not sure how long you have been using than tiller extension, but be careful. It is a trolling motor extension and is not intended for use on an outboard. Over time, it will begin to flex at the end of the motor's original tiller. This will cause the steering to get sloppy.

I have one and use it for a Johnson 6hp kicker. The only reason that I have been doing this, is because the little Johnson only pushes my boat at 4.5 mph. Given that situation and the fact that my boat is very stable laterally (18' trihull), I can get away with uisng this extension. I don't think that you will enjoy the same resistence to rolling over in a canoe at 18 mph!

Please don't make me come fish a fellow Coastie out of the drink!

Hi Jay,

Yeah I know about the tiller handle. I actually only use it when I'm on plane going in a straight line. It only requires about a millimeter of travel to either side to steer the boat. It's REAL touchy. When I'm going slow I reach back and actually grab the tiller.

 

[nicholasvr]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

It's not that 5hp wasn't enough, it's just I didn't like the Briggs and Stratton brand all that well. Noise and vibration being the two worst traits of that motor.

ok i was just wondering,
i saw a 3hp motor so i think im going to go with that from what i hear it should still put along at a decent pace
thanks

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

It's perfect for a canoe. You'll be happy with it I'm sure.

 

[mrdancer]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I suspect that a 5hp motor will give you 90-95% of the speed that a 10hp motor will give you. I'd also guess that the 3hp motor will give you upwards of 80% of the speed that a 10hp motor will give you. Boats are funny that way.

 

[BF]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

One thing that hasn't come up yet... be careful cornering with an outboard on a canoe! also be especially careful if the motor you have is the spin around for reverse type. The real weakness of a canoe as a powerboat is it's lack of side to side stability. When the motor is turned sharply the force from the propeller is down at the end of the motor leg. The motor leg acts like a lever and when the force from the prop is to the side, the force is wanting to make the canoe rotate along it's long axis (=twist/flip). Those spin around types are most dangerous b/c they can allow the prop to be turned 90 degrees to the axis of the boat. If you don't believe me, sometime if you're swimming and have the canoe nearby, put the motor down (not running of course) and grab it by skeg (bottom). See how little force it would take to flip the canoe if you pull the motor to side. It's the same thing when you're turning.

All the motorized canoe flippings I've seen (more than one) were because of the operator turning the motor sharply at speeds faster than idle.

PS... up here it is very common for people to put small outboards (<3 hp) on regular canoes... Good for portaging/backwoods travel. I've got a factory built aluminum bracket for my canoe, but many/most make their own. My 2 hp pushes my 16' aluminum canoe very well (way faster than you could ever paddle it). With a light load in it, it is actually pretty quick (probably >10 mph).

Good luck...

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I've looked at the B&S air cooled engines too. I thought they were pretty nifty, until I found out that they are fresh water only motors. That definately wouldn't work for me!

 

[hootyhooo]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

its in the foreground my other boat is in the background... I have better pics of it on my other computer I'll post them next week...
Dave

 

[azlakes]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

One thing that hasn't come up yet... be careful cornering with an outboard on a canoe! also be especially careful if the motor you have is the spin around for reverse type. The real weakness of a canoe as a powerboat is it's lack of side to side stability. When the motor is turned sharply the force from the propeller is down at the end of the motor leg. The motor leg acts like a lever and when the force from the prop is to the side, the force is wanting to make the canoe rotate along it's long axis (=twist/flip). Those spin around types are most dangerous b/c they can allow the prop to be turned 90 degrees to the axis of the boat. If you don't believe me, sometime if you're swimming and have the canoe nearby, put the motor down (not running of course) and grab it by skeg (bottom). See how little force it would take to flip the canoe if you pull the motor to side. It's the same thing when you're turning.

All the motorized canoe flippings I've seen (more than one) were because of the operator turning the motor sharply at speeds faster than idle.

PS... up here it is very common for people to put small outboards (<3 hp) on regular canoes... Good for portaging/backwoods travel. I've got a factory built aluminum bracket for my canoe, but many/most make their own. My 2 hp pushes my 16' aluminum canoe very well (way faster than you could ever paddle it). With a light load in it, it is actually pretty quick (probably >10 mph).

Good luck...

... thanks for this info. i never felt the tipping fear from a trolling motor but now that i've recently picked up a 4hp Johnson direct drive or in the OP's first thought of using an 8HP something to consider.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

FWIW, I've tried several outboards on my OTDS173. The 4 HP Johnson would have been the PERFECT motor had it had a reverse gear vs 180 spin. It was 2 cyl so vibrated very little, weighed only 33# too. The 5 HP Nissan I'm running now has reverse but is only 1 cyl so it runs a little rougher.
Also FWIW, I built a wooden trolling motor mount that allows me to run a electric TM ( right next to the seat) and the OB. The TM is nice for positioning the boat while drifting/fishing.

 

[capt_neo]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

hello
i am new to this forum and well i think this is the right place for this if not im really really sorry !

so i was wondering if anyone on here has used a square stern back canoe with like a 5-10hp engine ??
does run pretty decent and is the speed not bad ?
any words of advice or helpful tips for me if i plan on useing a canoe with an engine ??

thanks so much guys !

Nichoasver, you don't say where you'll be running your canoe. From prior posts I thinks its evident that a gas engine on a canoe can be quite thrilling (Back in the early 80's I used to own a 18' Coleman with a side-mounted engine mount that we'd put in down in Flamigo, FL and it was a thrill with respect to the greater distances you can make versus paddling when it wasn't an overnight trip. I have been all over Whitewater and Florida Bays in this fashion.)

Anywho, will you be on a lake, river, open water? The reason I ask is simply due to the way the canoe will be used and the possible water hazards you may encounter. Someone earlier posted of the very real issue with turning too sharply. A bow wave from a passing boat. Avoiding a log floating down a river in an early morning fog, etc. You can end up in the drink real quick.

Stay with the recommended h.p. rating on your transome placards and you shoud have plenty of enjoyment (and a very happy back).

And of course everyone is wearing a PFD

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I made up a bracket for my 15' Coleman to use my small trolling motor. I used 2"x2" oak and bolted on a piece of plywood. I upgraded to a 2hp Evinrude later. Better than paddling and great for trolling. I wouldn't go any bigger for safety reasons, and I would only use this sidemount on a flat bottom type of canoe.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

"i saw a 3hp motor so i think im going to go with that from what i hear it should still put along at a decent pace"


That should be great. It will push you much faster than you can paddle and offer the ultimate in lightweight performance. That said, almost all 3 hp motors don't have a shift able reverse. Note the cautions posted by me and others on stability when trying to turn hard/through reverse. No Sudden moves!

p.s. post pics when your running!

 

[hootyhooo]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

Nich... here is a pic of my outfit... it is a work in progress and I'll post some more pics in following posts.
Dave

 

[hootyhooo]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

here is a couple more pics... I need to get some new ones of the boat... all the pics I've taken so far this year have been of fish on the boat.

 

[harleysilo]

Re: Running canoe with boat motor?

I run the B&S 5hp on a Coleman Scanoe. 10-12 mph max confirmed by GPS.

I'd prefer a nicer outboard, but didn't want to spend the $$ for a new one.

The Scanoe is EXTREMELY stable, even with 2 80lb dogs going from side to side after the geese at max speed. I've never flipped it with or without motor on it. I stand and fish in it all of the time. I stand while motoring at max speed to see obstacles in certain lighting situations. I just wish it was faster, 15 mph would be nice!

Highly recommend something like this...