customizing canoe for fishing/hunting

[Dooley87]

has anybody ever done this? my grandpa has an old aluminum canoe that he says is mine if i want it, i was thinking of adding some sort of pontoon style stabilizers, painting it camo maybe, adding some sort of cushioned boat style seats, and a motor mount with either about a one horse outboard or a trolling motor and attaching a transducer and bracket for my vexilar. any body ever attempt to do anything like this? any advice or opinions? all positive and negitive opinions welcome

[yakfisher]

I think people have been fishing from canoes for quite a few years now. I would highly recommend that you take your Grandpa up on this deal. I use a suction cup transducer mount for my kayak it works pretty good. You may even find that you don't need the pontoon or the motor for the canoe. I'm sure that you will receive many more opinions. But I wouldn't pass up a deal like that if I had the opportunity.

[Dooley87]

yep i know people have been fishing and hunting out of canoes forever its just that i am a bigger guy and a bit of a "bull in a china shop" so that is why i would like the stabilizers also i would like to fish actual lakes, nothing like mille lacs but buffalo or pelican (wright) or medicine or the horseshoe chain etc.. so i would like some kind of a motor. maybe i could rig up a outboard on one side and a trolling motor on the other. (outboard for motoring/ moving across the lake quicker, trolling motor for slower trolling/ shoreline fishing/ anything were i don't want the outboard running(noise))

[yakfisher]

I know what you are saying, I'm not the smallest guy either. I fish medicine by myself in my 14 foot kayak with no motor so it can be done. That being said, sometimes it wouldn't be bad to have a trolling motor on the windier days. I've seen a couple of out riggers somewhere. I don't remember if it was in Cabela's or on hsolist or somewhere else online, but I know they are out there. As far as a motor mount for a non square stern canoe I know I've seen those somewhere as well. Hopefully someone more helpful than me well add to this thread.

[Wormdrowner]

Spring Creek Outfitters in Mountain Iron, MN. can fix you up with anything you need. I have the stabilizers on my 17' canoe. They work great, you can stand up and stretch, fly fish, safer for youngsters in the canoe also.

[reelemin]

All that stuff is available on-line. Just google what ever you are looking for. I've seen a few different types, but ran across a really cool inflatable set of stabilizers for both yaks and canoes, sorry don't remember what web site it was thou.

I've fished MIlle Lacs a number of times in my kayak, but i think alot of yaks or more stable then canoes.

[Se Mn FishSlayer]

river ridge custom canoes has the stuff you are looking for they are located in rochester mn check out there web sight and look at all the accessories they have for canoes plus i work for them so i know its good stuff

[Dooley87]

i am aware of all the products available, i am just curios if anybody here has done this sort of thing to any of their canoes. also i am a metal worker so i can prety much fab up anything i want or need for motor mounts or stabilizers, just need some insight before i take on this project, things to do and things not to do. thanks.

[AaronM]

Rod holders are another good idea. I'd try to make everything as removable as I could, the lighter your canoe is on the water, the better. Also, by making things removable, you keep down the weight, making loading or portaging that much easier. At any rate, take pictures and post them as you go, it's always fun to see people's work!

[sparcebag]

One tip I can give is make the front seat the rear,better weight distribution,I moved the cross supports to use that seat for room also with the extra motor weight,its closer to center.Paddling is a bit harder turning but not so much,as the weight distrubition is better,I soloed in mine most times.

[Gusmpls]

I have several boats but I most enjoy going out in my canoe. I am 6'-6" and weigh about 300lbs and my seventeen foot Grumman will handle me and another person just fine.

If you are going to be fishing with more than one person I would make some floats. you can easily control your movement but you can't anticipate what the other person is going to do. I made my floats out of the 4" diameter fun noodles. They break down in to three sections, 2 floats and a pipe that they attach to that I lash to the center support. If it's a weedy lake I paddle threw the weeds and attach them out on the open water. If I am fishing alone I don't use them.

I use two 5 gal jugs that I fill with water and place in the front of the canoe. The canoe handles just like there are two people in the boat except there are no sudden weight shifts and the jugs are a lot quieter than most of my friends.

Make yourself some small canoe sized anchors.

[MNice]

I had the spring creek stabilizers when my kids were younger. Had them on a old town discovery 17, then sold the discovery, bought a souris river quetico 16 and sold the stabilizers. I found the stabilizers were very well built, but I got sick of using them. They got in the way of fishing, paddling and to be honest, they looked like training wheels I found i enjoy canoeing much more without the gadgets, and have yet to dump it while fishing.

[eye_point]

BearBait,

Stabilizers on canoe are excellent, put in front of bar on back seat. One can put out (and down) when fishing, leave up (in) when traveling. I would put portable fish finder on the back (suction cup) and, if necessary, trolling motor on the front. It all works the greatest and definitely take it for use.

[Dooley87]

thanks for all of the advice, i am going to try to head up north and pick it up in the near future, and i would like to paint it get stabilizers and a trolling motor right away, i have a million thoughts of what to do after those things though. i will post pics of the process once i get rolling.

p.s. i used to have a little zodiak when i was a kid and i had a 30 lbs thrust minn kota endura on it and it just didn't seem to have much go and the baterry ran low pretty fast, i'm looking at a 45 lbs thrust trolling motor from bass pro for 169.99 i forget the name. how long would a good trolling motor of this size last on a standard deep cycle? also would the extra 15 lbs of thrust make any difference over a cheaper 30 lb thrust model?

[shizzy]

I resurected an old 17' fiberglass Canoe last summer. My fishing buddy and I take it out at least 2 times a week. he is over 6' tall and built like a dump truck. plenty of room for all of out gear in the middle. never really a need for any outriggers. I dont "need" a trolling motor, but it makes things easierso thats on y list for this year. my suggestion is to grab it, take it out once or twice and then decide what changes you need.

[Dooley87]

i've been in it a few times and the times i have paddled in it i have had to kneel in the middle to get any stability, my torso was so far above the rail of the canoe the slightest wrong twist or move would make it very unstable and i am the only one so far in my family to tip over our kayaks and after that experience i'm not taking chances. if i was strictly canoeing i wouldn't wory about stabilizers but since i want to make it my fishing boat i am not always going to be able to keep my focus on all my movements and the last thing i want is to tip the thing over in the middle of the lake and lose gear and worry about geting back in the thing. if i can almost eliminate the possibility of this happening with stabilizers, there goin on for sure.

[shizzy]

sounds like the outriggers would be a good idea then. My canoe seems to have quite a bit of stability even with two guys in it.

[Fullmoon]

I've got an old issue of The New York Sportsman where the guy outfitted a Meyers Sportspal like a boat! Downriggers, trolling motors, soanr, radio, coolers, umbrellas, and more. Really cool rig. Used it on the Mohawk river and Barge canal if I recall. I talked with him and it was a fairly simple deal except for the fab of the downrigger and umbrella brackets. Had to customize the cheapie boat trailer to hold all the weight though. He chose the Meyers Sportspal flatt bottom, foam filled, wide foam gunnel mod. for stability. If the add ons are balanced, the boat won't flip since it's desinged to stand on edge and not flip to begin with. Might be able to find the article if needed.

[AaronM]

 Originally Posted By: bearbait87

i've been in it a few times and the times i have paddled in it i have had to kneel in the middle to get any stability, my torso was so far above the rail of the canoe the slightest wrong twist or move would make it very unstable and i am the only one so far in my family to tip over our kayaks and after that experience i'm not taking chances. if i was strictly canoeing i wouldn't wory about stabilizers but since i want to make it my fishing boat i am not always going to be able to keep my focus on all my movements and the last thing i want is to tip the thing over in the middle of the lake and lose gear and worry about geting back in the thing. if i can almost eliminate the possibility of this happening with stabilizers, there goin on for sure.

With the right canoe you should really have no problems fishing out of it without stabilizers. It really takes alot to flip a canoe, if you don't believe me, try it sometime. Canoes are more prone to tilt and dump you out rather than completely overturning. Granted, they'll fill with water but your gear should stay inside. The best thing for you would be to get your canoe and take it out and see for yourself if stabilizers are really necessary or overkill.

[caseynewberg]

I've been in almost every kind of canoe and kayak. I've used the stabilizer floats from spring creek since my grandpa's the one who created them, and my family runs the business. And I haven't used the floats since I was probably under five years old, unless we were out with the sailkit which is such a blast!! But look up their HSOforum its canoegear . com you should be able to find the products your looking for and much more. If you end up callin ask for Tyler that's my bro!

[PartyWhine]

I combine the rowing system available at Spring Creek Outfitters with their motor mount and hang a Minn Kota Endura 38 off the port stern. I have a 17 ft Grumman.

You'll need to look at the rowing system to fully understand this but ...

I'm sitting in the middle, the battery is in the bow, the motor is in the rear. Its very balanced ... I don't use outriggers. Also, I never turn the motor to change direction, its locked in forward ... just dip in an oar.

I've fished big water with success. My biggest concern in that situation is boaters. Which is why my favorite lakes are those with HORRIBLE public access, regardless of size. Thats where this rig really shines.

FYI ... I'm 6ft 180 lbs

[Dooley87]

well i got the canoe back last weekend (a little late) i decided to go with the lobster buoy type stabilizers that mount with the ram mount rod holders and pvc pipe. i was originally going to purchase stabilizers but they were to pricy. mounted the ram mounts tonight and i am waiting for the lobster buoys to arrive so i made a temporary float out of a large fun noodle with pvc pipe through the center (1/2" pvc fit in there like a glove). realized that i need a backing plate were the ram mounts attach to the canoe because the aluminum is very flimsey, i am going to fab up two backing plates out of 1/4" aluminum tommarow and see if it is any more ridged.

i also brought back a old minn kota trolling motor for it also, it was on our bass boat (42 or 48 lbs thrust) it was a bow mount so i need to find a transom mount bracket and then cut the shaft down and i have a motor.

no camera right now, i will try and snap a few pics of what i have done so far but she is coming along