Hunting with Motorized Canoes

[canishunter22-250]

I've been thinking about getting a 16 or 17 foot square-stern, freighter-type canoe for hunting northern rivers. I'd like to put an 8 or 10 horse kicker on it so I can get a decent head of steam when going upstream.
Has anyone ever hunted out of one of these? If so, how much of a load can you carry ? How pracyical and safe would this be for navigating smaller rivers? I'd like to get into places that jetboats can't.

[madrona sh]

I ran a 4 hp merc four-stroke on a 17ft and it was the scariest boat I ever ran.

[scoopy]

I've been thinking about getting a 16 or 17 foot square-stern, freighter-type canoe for hunting northern rivers. I'd like to put an 8 or 10 horse kicker on it so I can get a decent head of steam when going upstream.
Has anyone ever hunted out of one of these? If so, how much of a load can you carry ? How pracyical and safe would this be for navigating smaller rivers? I'd like to get into places that jetboats can't.

Effin YIKES!!!!!

[Johnny G1]

Had a 16' freighter in the 80s, tryed a 9hp, absolutely scary, went back to my 3 which got me every where I wanted to go, a little slow but safe, canoes were built in Mill Bay @ the time and just about impossible to swamp.

[spreerider]

i have used a 1.5hp and a 4 hp on a 17ft canoe, and 4 was good but dangerous, 10 would be insane imo. a 3 is probably best and better yet an electric so you dont have to listen to put put put all day long.

[canishunter22-250]

I was kind of thinking that a 10 would be a little much, but I found a couple of youtube vids of a guy with a 10 on a 16 footer, and he was rippin all over the place and seemed to have no problems. I have a 6 horse that I should probably try out first I guess.

[Dukeofearle2000]

Used to run 6 horse evinrudes on freighter canoes with raised stern. Carried spare props and lots of spare pins. Worked great and had a ball. Boy could you pack those things with gear and moose.Miss those trips.

[Big Lew]

Have run 3 and 4 horse outboards on a square stern 16 ft. in lakes and rivers without safety concerns. Putting an 8-10 horse on an 16-17 ft. freighter square-stern canoe would be too heavy. In order to balance the extra weight, you would have to have a lot of weight in the front as close to the bow as possible. You have to consider not only the heavy motor, but the fuel tank and your weight as well. While running swift rivers, even with the 4 hp. outboard, I positioned the tank as far forward as possible and had an extension rigged to the outboard handle in order to set close to the yoke as possible. Keep in mind that if you have to slow down quickly when running with something as heavy as a 10 hp., as is frequent when running in swift rivers, you run the risk of swamping from the back wash. Further, that much weight on the very back of any 16-17 ft. canoe makes quick maneuvering risky and dangerous.

[ryanb]

A motorized canoe is NOT going to take you anywhere a jetboat won't. If anything, you're going to have real hard time getting to where the jetboats do, because you will have a hole in the canoe, a banged up prop, or both long before any jetboat does.

[lip_ripper00]

I actually shuddered when I read the original post, a bad Idea in so many ways..... I just pictured the Anzac at the Parsnip mouth.

[scoutlt1]

IMO you don't want to be putting that kind of power on a canoe. I used tao have a 16' square stern canoe and I had a 2.5hp motor that I used when I was on larger lakes when i got too lazy to paddle. Definitely liked having it.
The thought of having up to 10hp on the back to get me up a river does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling :-)

[sparkes3]

i put a 9.9 on my brother inlaws 14' canoe at jones lake for shits and giggles put the gas tank way up front and went for a scoot,not enough weight in the front so i went back for the bro inlaw.
that was the scariest ride ever in a canoe went straight in a hurry but if i even tried the smallest turn it wanted to go over even at idle speeds it was super tippy so we got it turned around and headed straight for shore FAST.
those that were not shaking their heads were rolling on the ground laughing

[dakoda62]

Used a 6horse on a 16 ft. its a scary ride.

[Amphibious]

have run motorized canoes quite a bit. <16' i wouldn't go over 3hp, 16'-18' a 4hp is plenty. please remember a modern 2.5hp is like a 30yr old 4hp. canoes are shaped like a torpedo, even the fat pigs, so it takes very little to get them up to 10kts or so, and at those speeds cornering is interesting to say the least.

the best ones i've ever tried are made by Clipper.

[madrona sh]

manoeing is a dangerous sport

[kendoo]

All the newer 15-16 ft sport jet boats run on almost wet rocks these days, 175 hp motors teflon bottoms 4-5 inches of water. The only way a canoe will even come close is if you run a small outboard jet.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Please - buy the very best life-flotation devices that are made- you gonna need them - thats not something a rookie should be doing ! Good Luck - hope its fun and not a tragedy !

[Drillbit]

I'd say pick a hot day in the summer to practice up!

[canishunter22-250]

To clarify: When I said "I'd like to get places that jet boats can't", I was talking about portaging waterfalls, etc, not putting her up on step and heading upstream in 2 inches of water.

I'm not a bungling idiot when it comes to the water, I grew up going up the Tuchodi and Moberly Rivers in the multiple jet boats my dad built and runs. I just want to get into a few specific places that I happen to know that jet boats aren't capable of (no boat launch, waterfalls, etc). I have been researching it quite a bit and have found that freighter canoes have been used for years in places like the Yukon, and that people use anywhere from 2 hp to 40 hp, so I'm really not interested in the comments that are along the lines of "it's impossible", "you'll die trying", etc, etc; but more looking for comments from people who have actual experience with canoes.

Thanks to all of the informed posters, there has been some good information shared.

[Big Lew]

I have used canoes on rivers, as I earlier said, but if you're only using a 16-17 ft, a 4 hp. or light 6 hp. seem to work well. People up north that use up to 40 hp. outboards are running wide 18-24 ft. freighter canoes, usually on big rivers or lakes. I had a light 9.5 hp evinrude many years ago and tried it out on a 16 ft. square transom on a lake. It worked ok with a man in the front, but I couldn't turn very quickly and had to be very careful. (it wasn't a freighter though) Most of the 9.9 motors to-day are much heavier than that old 9.5. One thing you might be overlooking is the difficulty of portaging a heavy 8-10 hp. motor, they're clumsy to handle at the best of times.

[Island Idiots]

Back in the day, Dad would load a 16 ft starcraft square stern with a 4 hp evinrude, 80 pound springer spaniel, 2 bags of duck decoys, my fat butt in the front for ballast, and head out from Delta Marsh on lake Manitoba. I remember many times coming back to shore in the dark, wind howling with very big waves, with water coming over the gunnel on one side and running out the other. Decoy bags had to be tied in cause they were floating. The dog standing up so his nuts weren't in the ice cold water. As long as that old 4 horse kept running, that conoe kept floating, or at least it didnt sink.
I do not want to think about what would have happened if that motor had quit on us. But wow what a memory! In my experiance motorized canoes aren't scary, as long as you are prepared to get wet, and swim occaisonally.:-D

[pescado]

I'm looking @ the Clipper myself. I'm not sure of it's capabilities but I think it will be a nice option to add to the quiver, Light, portable, they advertise a decent payload. Having something to get to the other side quickly should bring some success I would think.

[steel_ram]

They are more stable and track better with a pay load and if all else fails, you can paddle. Try that in a dead $30,000 jetboat.

[bearhunter338-06]

I am always on the lookout for a wide bodied 18 foot freighter canoe to use for hunting and fishing.

[canishunter22-250]

Thanks for the information folks, really appreciate it. I found a used 18 foot fiberglass freighter that I think will work great for me.

[horshur]

fashion a double outrigger that ballasts the motor and alot of the mentioned problems go away....I've a old client that had his clipper rigged this way for the northern rivers. His outrigger was maybe three feet long and placed where he could control the outboard to the side of the canoe..the outboard was attached between the canoe and the outrigger. the flotation from the outrigger was on either side of the canoe.

[BCRiverBoater]

They are more stable and track better with a pay load and if all else fails, you can paddle. Try that in a dead $30,000 jetboat.

$30,000 river boat? That is why it is dead. Not too many boats being boat for only $30,000 these days.

[Big Lew]

fashion a double outrigger that ballasts the motor and alot of the mentioned problems go away....I've a old client that had his clipper rigged this way for the northern rivers. His outrigger was maybe three feet long and placed where he could control the outboard to the side of the canoe..the outboard was attached between the canoe and the outrigger. the flotation from the outrigger was on either side of the canoe.

Yes, I have used an outrigger for years. It is home-made out of 8" pc pipe with a 45 degree beveled nose that is strapped with rubber bungee to 2 conduit pipe which quickly attach to the gunwales. The pipes can be bent to adjust the tube for depth depending on the load. It is easily broken down in a couple of minutes, and stores well. Works great for standing up to fly-fish, or for plying rough waters in lakes. Doesn't work as well in rivers even though it only sticks out one side because it's in the way if you have to jump out with tracking line in a real hurry on that side.

[Cordillera]

I have run a 17'9 canoe with a very old 2 hp on a slow moving river. can reach about 6 km/h returning up river loaded. 3 hp would be pretty much all you need. Nice to keep a light rig and be prepared to line/portage any extremely shallow sections/dams/falls, etc. that would be a very good rig. you can also fly it in and use it on remote sections of river that no jet boat touches. A square stern is definitely an advantage if you are motoring a lot as a normal canoe with a motor mount is akward to start and is a little unstable as the motor puts the weight off to one side. however most square stern boats are designed for flat water so won't be as maneuverable in a river so they definitely will need to stick to class 0 or 1 waters.