trolling motor for canoe

mike braden

mike braden

Well-known member
Looking for some input on trolling motors for a 15' aluminum canoe. I am using my 15 foot in the back water areas. Mainly b/c of a lot of hidden stumps etc. Will have me and a buddy weight 200-215 each(he's fatter and uglier). Maybe at times my lab at 80 lbs. plus two guns and about 2-3 dozen decoys. Some of the areas that we hunt you cannot use gas motor but for kicks, what is the most HP motor do you think this boat could handle. I do have a small HP gas for those areas that permit it.

My buddy works for the DOT and at the shop we will be making a transom to mount the motor in the back instead of the side. Most threads that I've read said that the side mounts are pretty much crap and the boats don't track well.

I would like to use the motor as much as possible. Most threads show guys getting between 2-4 miles out of their batteries. Naturally we will have paddels for backup.

Also, anyone know where you can pick up shell trays and guns racks that you can mount to the sides of the boat for reasonable prices. I have already checked the basics such as cabelas, bass pro, and macks.

I'd really like to see some projects that any of you did to your canoes.

Only two weeks till the Tuckerton show.........

Thanks,
Mike
 
A 15' canoe with two 200 pounders is overloaded, let alone adding a 80 pound dog plus gear. Now you'll be adding a heavy battery?

I have a 15' michicraft I bought in the mid-70s. My recollection without checking is that it has a 36" beam. It was fine with the wife & I. When my son's weight got up to mine, about 200 pounds, it clearly was at its upper limit. I still use it hunting solo in small flat water, kneeling amidships, but my Boykin only weighs 35 pounds.
 
My buddy and I have used this canoe extensively without any problems or the fear of being overloaded. Even had my 5 year old and his 7 year old in there WITHOUT any problems. Canoe is rated for 4 people OR 565 lbs. So, I think that were are pretty safe. Thanks for yor concern though.

Mike
 
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I bought a 30# motor for my float. I went with the 30# because I have only two speeds WOT and full stop. So the smaller motor will preserve the battery a bit longer.
 
Mike-

My concern would be the extra weight of the battery added to the canoe. (And don't jump all over me about that either.) That being said, my buddy has a trolling motor that we hook up to his canoe and from time to time him and his friend Chris (both of them are easily 200 lbs) are in the canoe with Gretta ( a 40 lb GSP) and all their gear as well. We both have 15' something or another aluminum canoes so likely much the same ratings as yours. When they are all in, the canoe sits very low in the water, but they've only tipped it once (and thankfully that was in summer with not as much stuff in it). I think 2-4 miles is about right for what they have done. We get further when I"m in the boat than when Chris is.

As far as the HP on the canoe...I'm not sure, but my dad used to have a 3 HP that he used on his 17 foot canoe that worked pretty good. We never opened it up super high but it worked. And we had side mount. I don't think it's crap (we made our own so it was sturdy) but it does take a bit of getting used to.

Dani
 
Dani,

Thanks for the post. The gear and battery is naturally a great concern for me. As previous post shows, we have used this a bit(w/o the trolling motor and battery of course). Not sure if I should just look at a small gas motor instead of the trolling motor and battery. I don't know if I will get any weight savings. We are not "hunting" out of this per say. We will be using it to get to our spot, putting out the decoys and bringing the boat right along the bank which we secure with mud poles to keep from rocking while we sit in it. I do not/would not suggest hunting in the middle of the pond with it due to the possibility of tipping.
Where we hunt, the bank is never more than a couple of hundred feet at best away. We are just looking to get away from the dyke shooters and nature walkers who always seem to stop and look as the blacks are coming into the spread.
Due to the weight concerns I don't have to bring the dog(he'll be pissed though) We can collect the birds from time to time. We will not be having that much gear since we do not use big spreads. Decoys(1-1.5lbs with some greenwings)(40 pounds) plus decoys weights(approx. 12lbs) (have to factor everythng) and guns (15 pounds total), shells, thermos and misc. items brings it to under 85 or so pounds.

thanks,
Mike
 
Mike-

Here's a thought for the weight differences between trolling motor gear and little outboard. I have a 3.5 Nissan that weighs all of 35 lbs. Todd's trolling motor battery is somewhere in the range of 75 lbs. If you're looking for the weight savings, I'd go with the outboard. But there are places we go that we can't use gas powered either so we have to stick with the heavier trolling motor as well.

Dani
 
I have a 3.5 Nissan that weighs all of 35 lbs. Todd's trolling motor battery is somewhere in the range of 75 lbs. If you're looking for the weight savings, I'd go with the outboard.
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My opinion: A 75 pound battery on the floor is more stable than a 35 pound motor, hung above the transom, with you leaning back to pull start it. I'm not against hunting canoes or carrying heavy loads in them either, just do it smart. Chuck
 
Chuck, you're probably right...we never had issues on my dad's canoe, but then it wasn't weighted down with ducking stuff and my dad knew what he was doing...so I never thought about that...thanks for that kernal of info...
 
If you get the motor mounted off the back you may find it hard to reach but what I found works pretty well on my Poleboat is to lock the motor straight and steer with a kayak paddle. Just dip er in the water and you turn. Just my $.002. Good luck and don't float your hat.
 
I sometimes use a trolling motor with a sidemount on my canoe. I made the cables longer so the battery can sit up front. It sure rides better that way without all of my weight and the battery in the back. I hunt by myself when I am in the canoe so I couldn't tell you if that would make a difference with two guys.
 
If you pick your days it can always be fine. I have a micro tiny kids canoe I outfitted with foam sponsons. I mostly use it to tow my decoys and sometimes get in (with pfd) to get across large ditches, along shorelines. You live in Toms River NJ. When I was in the USCG it seemed to me that jon boats killed more than their fair share of duck hunters, not canoes. But outfitting a 15 foot canoe with a motor speaks to covering ground. Winds tend to be lighter in the AM. An adequate 6" of freeboard first thing in the morning can get you killed by noon.
 
My concern is more of the smaller motors that don't have a neutral. So when you pull the cord the motor just goes. That would be quite unsafe with me leaning over the back of the canoe.

Gary I appreciate your concern about the safety. As I mentioned before we don't travel far. I think total motor time would be less than 10 minutes. The banks are never more than 200-300 feet. Probably less. I will not be in the bay, just motoring around the marsh areas. I ordered a new type II PFD since it will probably be more comfortable that a type III style that is usually a full vest and I'd be likely to keep it on all the time.
 
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