Flying in hunt, canoe recommendation

[SaintSix]

I’m in the market for a new canoe. Mostly I’ll be taking the kids fishing locally. But I’d like to be able to do a fly in moose hunt and use it to get around. I don’t plan on taking it down a River. Just to get around the lake and maybe help transport some boned out meat. Is there a common restriction on length. Does it vary by outfit? I was trying to contact BCYukon air to ask them directly but haven’t got a reply. I’m looking into Clipper canoes. Model suggestion?

[VLD43]

I would take a look at a porta boat. Perfect for fly ins

[Brno22F]

I would suggest looking at an Esquif 17 foot prospector, sold at Western Canoe and Kayak in Abbotsford. Very tough. Very durable, Great payload (1100 pounds +/_). They are ABS hull material like the Oldtown Discovery, Mad River and NovaCraft boats. If I recall the Esquif 17 weighs about 70 pounds. Not an issue to strap one of these to the Beaver. One of BC Yukon's pilots has the Esquif 17 ft Prospector at their base in Dease. This boat would do well on a moose hunt and on the lakes for fishing with the kids.
I bought a Clipper 17 ft prospector - Kevlar a few years ago from Western Canoe. Absolutely love the boat. Great handling and so light on the portage. I don't have the heart to abuse this lovely boat on a moose hunt. At the time I bought, it was a toss-up between the Esquif ABS and the Clipper Kevlar. The Clipper was $500 more but it won me over on 2 points. It is 10 pounds lighter and it paddles like a dream.
When my brothers and I do a moose hunt, we borrow my son's 18 ft Clipper (Frontiersman) fiberglass with the Y-stern. Can use a kicker if needed. It does not paddle nicely but it has all the payload capacity needed. It weighs over 100 pounds so not a boat to portage. Even getting it on and off the roof racks is a 2 person job. Needs a canoe cart to move it around on well groomed trails.

[Alpine Hunter]

As far as owning a canoe, you can’t go wrong with a Clipper. For the purpose of a fly in hunt, in my opinion there are better watercraft options. As VLD43 mentioned; a ports boat is one. I would also look at inflatable, whether it be a light weight option like Alpaca or a traditional zodiac style. I would guess strapping a canoe to a float plane would be fairly tough on a fiberglass unit and I’m not sure how excited the pilot would be about it. I’ve never inquired about bringing a canoe when flying in so I could be completely out to lunch. Tough to beat a canoe for moose hunting or getting around a lake.

[Everett]

I have used both of these on fly in hunts. Pilots love boats that go on the inside of the plane and hate boats that need to go on the outside.
https://www.pakboats.com/pakcanoes/
https://canoeboat.ca/collections/canoes/products/043954

[SaintSix]

I know a inflatable would be easier for the pilot. But 95% of the use would be taking the kids fishing. I might only use it for a fly in every few years. I’m more worried about buying a canoe to big that pilots won’t fly with it strapped. I know they charge more for bringing it and maybe subtract double the weight of the canoe from the plane’s capacity. Just more curious to HAS flown with their canoe and what size/model they took. Sorry for the confusion

[SaintSix]

How do you find your prospector in the wind with tracking? Do you take it in rivers or just lakes?

[Blockcaver]

We really like out Kevlar Clipper Tripper Ultralight...17-6" and 54#s. Decent in the wind on the South Thompson River in our almost daily summer use. Sure is better than our 40 year old Grumman 17' Whitewater aluminum 90# canoe from a handling and ease of moving it around on land. That said the Grumman is still in good shape and owes us nothing. Never tried to fly either canoe in.

[northof49]

I know a inflatable would be easier for the pilot. But 95% of the use would be taking the kids fishing. I might only use it for a fly in every few years. I’m more worried about buying a canoe to big that pilots won’t fly with it strapped. I know they charge more for bringing it and maybe subtract double the weight of the canoe from the plane’s capacity. Just more curious to HAS flown with their canoe and what size/model they took. Sorry for the confusion

I would buy both. Get the canoe you really want for 95% use and a smaller used inexpensive inflatable for the odd fly-in maybe even a lightweight 4hp kicker for it or something like Everett posted. That 17ft pakcanoe looks pretty slick with decent payload for the weight and looks like folds down pretty well.

[1S1K]

Agree with northof49.....get the best one for your 95% time with the kids, and then buy/beg/borrow a friend's used inflatable, etc. for the fly in trips. I looked into flying a canoe in this year with Urs from Muncho Lake - it was stupid expensive.....so much so that I bought an inflatable Stryker and frickin love it. Don't quote me, but but I believe I remember it being $300 each way for them to attach the canoe externally for transport (and they need a special license from Transport Canada for an external load like this - which they have)....but then the only plane they can fly external loads on is their bigger, more expensive plane which was several hundred more each way. I added it up and I was going to be around a grand to get the canoe in and out......

I put a 20hp on my Stryker and it will reach speeds up to 40kph with two 200lbs men in it (no gear).....will be great for the kids.....but will likely borrow a lighter 6hp for my fly in trip next year as I don't need that kind of HP trolling across small-ish lakes in the north.

Happy to hear any thoughts on this strategy - the 20HP only weighs 100lbs.

[blackbart]

I am surprised Urs hasn't started charging daily parking fees in the $50/day range. Sure hope he doesn't read this and get an idea....

[mike31154]

Build one! ;-). Not sure I'd use mine for fly in hunts, but a canoe is a useful hunting & family recreation tool that makes lifelong memories. This is my 16' Bear Mountain Boats Bob's Special. It's fairly stable as canoes go & the low profile at the ends is less affected by wind on a lake than more traditional high sweep designs. It weighs 56 lbs. I've paddled a Clipper too & it's a slug vs a cedar strip boat.

https://dm2302files.storage.live.com/y4mXpAMj9u4lb6ndB713nwZiHD21-wbliMzIaA52qAoVNluO-X8HCCapynXQeAbcfBAmnDrf8Xpzkuj63_5bZ2jO0-s8MaT86N5BoKgv8Zu8s2nK3Emf6Esow1lBRqoIdbmFOhKA5fx5 NLWLCOxJNNbvVmAh0Bf45bk68GF9-S8O4Q?width=1024&height=688&cropmode=none

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[SaintSix]

That is a beautiful canoe but looks like it took a lot of hours to build. I’ll have to keep trying to talk to the pilot and see if it is that expensive. Only post I saw was older and it said $100-150

[mike31154]

As others have suggested, for fly in hunt your best bet is probably an inflatable. Yes, cedar strip build takes quite a while & is not cheap for materials either. But you end up with a one of a kind craft & there are many models to choose from. I built a 2nd for my daughter & son in law, same Bob's Special but a foot shorter at 15' which is the original plan length. Currently working on a Rob Roy solo, just under 13'. As I age, it will be much lighter & handier to load on the vehicle but the downside will be less cargo capacity. Should still be able to carry a de-boned deer, but anything larger would involve multiple trips.

Big Bob's & Little Bob's photo taken the day we launched Hummingbird.
https://dm2302files.storage.live.com/y4mX51JVi1MO1y4jc0WGRDBIp9DLBIbkFtLc1MHLd1G9-3JVh0fYXWmT-p1NMQtsTxTRG7xQ7F2Phnc1kcFsAxOsnAmbL_B9g5pxm9-NQNh9wpmjHHyUk4Yv4mEYxPJ-jYRQz-3RhhG-g5LGKq4wGSAJ2mQZi8LN1GHueQCs0XoMWo?width=1024&height=466&cropmode=none

The Rob Roy solo. I have the hull fiber glassed now but won't be finishing it until next spring.
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[Downwindtracker2]

I built Ted Moore's Nomad,. It took me three winters. At 61# for a 17' Prospector, she's as light as Kevlar . If I was to do it again I would look at some of the asymmetrical plans. Swift builds some super light. <40#

[Rob Chipman]

I built one of those from a pattern I found in an old Popular Mechanics. I'd like to do a few more - my first was a stunner with high bows and a lot of rocker, which is both good, but somewhat impractical. Light and tough as well.

Yours are beauts. I like how you handled the bow line.

[northernguy]

I have probably flown hundreds of canoes in my years as a pilot. 17 foot canoes are fine on anything but a Super Cub. Yes, depending on the aircraft type and it's certification, you may lose a bit of payload when flying a canoe.

i would suggest you avoid fibreglass or Kevlar and go with a "plastic" boat made of Royalex or something similar. The reason is that the ropes or straps used to tie the canoe to the aircraft have to be very tight...extremely tight. Glass and kevlar boats don't flex well and could crack when tied to the plane. I have seen this happen. It's common to hear a glass or kevlar boat "crackle" when tying them on. You don't actually crack the boat but it can't be good for it. Some companies won't fly cedar strip boats because of the damage that can occur when being tied on. I have flown them but they are fragile and I was never comfortable with them...I just couldn't tie them on as tight as I would have liked without damaging them.

The plastic boats are flexible so it's almost impossible to crack one when tying it on to a plane. Oddly, they seem to fly better too for some reason...no idea why. They are heavier but they are more robust all around and would be my first choice.

[Brno22F]

I would suggest looking at an Esquif 17 foot prospector, sold at Western Canoe and Kayak in Abbotsford. Very tough. Very durable, Great payload (1100 pounds +/_). They are ABS hull material like the Oldtown Discovery, Mad River and NovaCraft boats. If I recall the Esquif 17 weighs about 70 pounds. Not an issue to strap one of these to the Beaver. One of BC Yukon's pilots has the Esquif 17 ft Prospector at their base in Dease. This boat would do well on a moose hunt and on the lakes for fishing with the kids.
I bought a Clipper 17 ft prospector - Kevlar a few years ago from Western Canoe. Absolutely love the boat. Great handling and so light on the portage. I don't have the heart to abuse this lovely boat on a moose hunt. At the time I bought, it was a toss-up between the Esquif ABS and the Clipper Kevlar. The Clipper was $500 more but it won me over on 2 points. It is 10 pounds lighter and it paddles like a dream.


Every year there are a number of canoe expeditions on the Stikine river. They are generally flown into Tuaton Lk or Laslui lakes. Alpine Lakes Air has flown them in on their Cessna 206 and Cessna Caravan. I am pretty sure that BC Yukon also flies canoeists into that area in one of their Beavers as well.

By far the best advice/reply to this thread, in my opinion, is from Norhternguy.



I have probably flown hundreds of canoes in my years as a pilot. 17 foot canoes are fine on anything but a Super Cub. Yes, depending on the aircraft type and it's certification, you may lose a bit of payload when flying a canoe.

i would suggest you avoid fibreglass or Kevlar and go with a "plastic" boat made of Royalex or something similar. The reason is that the ropes or straps used to tie the canoe to the aircraft have to be very tight...extremely tight. Glass and kevlar boats don't flex well and could crack when tied to the plane. I have seen this happen. It's common to hear a glass or kevlar boat "crackle" when tying them on. You don't actually crack the boat but it can't be good for it. Some companies won't fly cedar strip boats because of the damage that can occur when being tied on. I have flown them but they are fragile and I was never comfortable with them...I just couldn't tie them on as tight as I would have liked without damaging them.

The plastic boats are flexible so it's almost impossible to crack one when tying it on to a plane. Oddly, they seem to fly better too for some reason...no idea why. They are heavier but they are more robust all around and would be my first choice.

[SaintSix]

Thanks I will keep this in high regard when looking for a canoe

[philbo]

flown canoes with bc yukon several times,, I have a square stern 16 foot aluminium.. No issues.. It does decrease your allowed flight limit down to around 1000lbs I recall. Pretty nice to have a canoe to help with the pack . Taken a small 2 hp engine as well

[Darksith]

flown canoes with bc yukon several times,, I have a square stern 16 foot aluminium.. No issues.. It does decrease your allowed flight limit down to around 1000lbs I recall. Pretty nice to have a canoe to help with the pack . Taken a small 2 hp engine as well

I wouldn't take a canoe. There are folding canoe's on the market, they are super sketchy unless they have a lot of weight in them. The trade off for decreased load is not worth it if you need to attach it externally. Inflatable boats are the way to go and no need for a big motor. Some guys bring in 9.9hp motors lol. The pilots hate it. Biggest I ever bring is a 4hp, I can do 9km in 1h. Thats a pretty big lake.