BOAT, CANOE etc

[ikeslayer]

Hey fellas i have some questions about what canoe to get. i am looking for a canoe that is light weight and fishes well as well as sturdy enough to duck hunt out of. and ideas? Second thing is i have a 12 foot fiberglass v hul and a 5 1/2 hrs motor for it i am looking to sell it and have no idea what it is worth but i know it has a nice custom camo sray job . I was just wondering what those are going for now a days it is in good condition but as most hunting gear it is not in mint condition. thanks

[GoodToGo]

I bought a Meyers Sportspal two or three years ago and have been pretty happy with it. I bought it pretty much just for duck hunting, I'm not a canoe person. I bought the 14 foot which weighs around 60 lbs. They have foam sponsons (floats) on the outside of the gunnels which makes them basically untippable, which is what I wanted. You can choose the style of seats, I chose removable foam seats which lower your center of gravity. They are lined with foam as well, so are quiet and warm. A minor beef I have is the aluminum strips that hold the foam liner in occasionally pop out from knees or feet pressing hard against them. Other than that it's perfect. They are available over the internet, if you search you'll find them.

[Norsk Fisker]

A standard aluminum canoe is about 70#, some high tech will be less. I've shot ducks out of canoes, but you better be wedged into the vegetation good to stabilize the canoe or else have some stake downs. Your dog also needs to be well behaved.

Are you planning to paddle the canoe a lot? or just something small enough to man handle alone? Have you given any thought to a Sport Boat? Your motor would work well on one and they are great for hunting. I use mine on the river with a motor and in the marsh with a push pole and oars.

[uffdapete]

I'd look seriously at a River Ridge Custom canoe. They're spendy but very user friendly. At 85 lbs. they're not the lightest canoe, but stable for a canoe and very manueverable.

You might be able to find a used one with some searching and asking around.

[Gus]

If you are looking for something to fish and hunt out of, a gheenoe is a super stable canoe. Do a websearch for their HSOforum. They are a bit heavy, but they are unbelievably stable. My buddy used to own one before he got his boat. Standing up in a gheenoe is no problem.

[Crusty old Swede]

A tip for picking out a stable canoe is to sit in the front seat and stretch out your legs, note where your feet rest on the floor of the canoe. If the floor is flat under your feet it will be more stable than if the floor is already curving up to the sides. It will also be more comfortable for long paddles into the secret spot.

One tip for any hunting canoe, make a couple of stabiliser poles, one for each side. Buy a few 10' sections of steel electrical conduit and borrow a conduit bender. Bend up a couple of what look like 10' long hand powered ice auger handles. Round up a 6" piece of dowel that fits the inside diameter of the conduit, sharpen one end of the dowel to a rounded point. Slide the dowel into the end of the conduit opposite the crank, fix it in place with a screw through the wall of the conduit. I find the wood will last forever if you coat it with epoxy before you do the final assembly - epoxy is toxic so keep it off your skin. When the epoxy has cured, prime and paint. To use these stabilisers drill them into the bottom of the slough until the lower edge of the crank is even with the gunwale of the canoe. Position the crank so it is lined up with a cross brace in the canoe then lash the crank to the cross brace with a 2' piece of camo rope. To retrieve birds or run away decoys untie the rope, turn the cranks out away from the canoe and off you go - no need to pull them up everytime. I mentioned a few pieces of conduit because the first one you bend up will look pretty bad. The sloughs I frequent are fairly deep and I often need the full length to anchor properly, you can size the poles to whatever length works best for you. This quick drawing might make everything clear enough. --i_i-------------

[red bricks]

Check out a Grumman Sport canoe. I have one and it is great to hunt of fish out of. It has a square back.(Maybe not what you are looking for). It is 16ft and weighs about 90 lbs. It will sit on top of a suburban nicely. I have put a 15hp on the back of it and it really flies!! You have to weigh down the front though and the water needs to be glass. I Have an older one and the max weight is 1000 lbs. The newer ones have extra flotation on the sides and they reduce the space in the canoe. I don't know what they cost new but occasionally you will see them in the paper for around $600-$800. They are great multi purpose canoes. I have never tried using canoe paddles. I think paddling would be alot different than a traditional canoe. The sport canoe does have oar locks.

[smallieobsession]

I'll second uffdapete on the River ridge canoe. Pretty cool little craft. would work great for hunting as well as small water/river fishing. It will be my next gear investment....they are super nice.