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Time for a new boat
Since it is winter time, I figured it is time to start looking for a new boat to fish from. Right now I have a float tube and a pontoon boat but my girlfriend has gotten hooked on fishing I need something that can haul two people in.
Some time ago I saw a boat that looked interesting but I have no idea what it was. It looked like a canoe but the back had a transom? where you could attach a trolling motor to it. Does anyone have any idea of what kind of boat that could be? Is that a particular type of boat or just a redesign of a canoe?
I am looking for something in the 12-14 foot range, that can haul 2 people and where I can attach a trolling motor to the back. I am looking for something that I can load on top of my truck and not have to worry about a trailer.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Paul
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I have an Old Town discovery sport canoe (13') that works pretty good for fishing. It has a square back (transom) and I use a three and a half HP motor to push it around. Thats enough HP for lakes and slow rivers. For the last few years however I've done most of my fishing from kayaks though - I use the kayak to get from hole to hole and then get out and wade fish:D
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Square sterns are an abomination when it comes to paddling. Get a standard canoe with a side mount for your trolling motor if you will be using the motor frequently. When you paddle, which you will have to do a lot, life will be much easier. On the other hand, the trolling motor on a side mount will function just as well as it would on a square stern.
It really is not clear how and where you will be using the craft outside of cartopping it. There is no one perfect craft for all fishing. So come back with details.
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It sounds like you may be referrng to a GeeNu(sp). They look like a canoe but the bottom is flatter and they have a transom. They are terrific boats, very stable and can handle a small outboard or electric motor.
Jim Smith
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A good hull design can make all the difference in the world. I finished up a cedar strip square stern this fall (just in time for the big lakes to close). I was amazed to find that it paddled nicer than the old sears double-ender i hade been using.
That being said if I were you I would check out some Radissons. They make a standard square stern type, a wide transom model that is more like one of the old "sport boats", and even their double-enders come with a side mount for electric motors. They are also about the lightest canoes out there.
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I forgot to mention that I will primarily using this on small to medium sized lakes lakes. I will be fly fishing from it, so it needs to have good initial stability.
I found a picture of the gheenoe and that looks a lot what I saw. Even though it is trailered, I like the looks of it. http://www.gheenoe.net/sixteenft.html
I did not know that you could side mount a trolling motor on to a canoe. That might be something for me to look at also. That will give me a lot of different options.
Luckily, I have time to look for a boat. :)
Paul
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Paul, I fly fish from my cedarstrip all the time, and many times there are two of us. Me in the stern, a friend in the bow. We are both seated. Casting is never a problem unless one of us is using a Clouser. We've learned to duck with finesse. JGW
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To get to productive water, I have to cover a lot of water most of the time so I'm looking into a square stern canoe since I have no choice. I am not going to paddle a double end over a lot of water so I will most likely put a 1.5 or 2 hp minioutboard (portable) on it. A trolling motor is not going to get the job done and I don't know if a side mount on a double or if a double can take a small outboard. I will use oars for quiet approaches on the fish but not for covering long distances that would be too far to paddle and use wasted time paddling that could be used fishing. I wish I could just get a double end canoe to get to productive water and save the registration fee but that's not going to happen.
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"I did not know that you could side mount a trolling motor on to a canoe. That might be something for me to look at also. That will give me a lot of different options."
the practice goes back a long way. My father side mounted a 1 hp Neptune Eagle on his Cedar Canvas Old Town during the 30s. My uncled borrowed it for a trip to the Nipagon River in the 40s. The Brookie he caught took the Bronze in the Field and Stream flies only category.
Boats like the Radison are fine for paddling short distances or use with a small gas or electric motors. That marries you to the motor as soon as distances get longer. It may fit yor lake perfectly today. Is that the only way you will ever use it?
Some day you might have to portage. Lugging that hardware or marine battery more than a few hundred feet gets old quick. Paddling all the way becomes a live option. That is why I am lobbying for a good canoe with a side mount. It goes both ways. (If you really want a shallow draft stable craft to be used with a motor, a jon boat is the way to go.)
What is a good canoe? Wenonahs are the only ones with good paddling design that I can recommend from experience. There may be others. What is a good side mount? Check these guys--the gadget family of the North Woods. http://www.canoegear.com/ As they say, "it is about getting there."
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I think Mike's advice is dead on. If you have to paddle AT ALL then a square stern is a very bad idea. And considering that when you have to paddle might be when a storm approaches and your battery is dead, you'd be in big trouble. If you're going to rely on a trolling motor with battery, you're going to have times when you have to get somewhere by paddling. A sidemount motor works much better in those situations.
And if you stay with the canoe idea, consider getting a set of outriggers which will make any canoe stable, including my little 32" beam solo canoe.
There are plenty of great canoes out there. Some are set up for fishing. Some paddle like bathtubs.
Mike's link for accessories is a good one and I've had good luck doing business with those folks.
For lots of reviews go www.paddling.net