what size outboard for a canoe?

M

michael barnes

Active member
first off, let me say i have looked around for this info, and have not found it, so if i have over looked it somewhere, i apologize. what size outboard would you get for a 15' canoe? how about a 17'? i have no experience with canoe motor mounts, so im not sure how heavy a motor a side mount can take and not throw things off to bad. is 40 lbs to heavy? . and one last question, is there really any power difference in a small, 2.5-3.5 hp, 4 stroke vs. a 2 stroke? when we went from a 90 2 stroke to a 115 4 stroke on our work boat, we never gained any speed, they were about equal. is this true with smaller outboards as well? i have an idea of what hp to get, brandon bolling pretty much answered that is my last canoe post, my main question is how much weight a side mount can take with out messing with the balance.
from the input of others here, i have decided to get an outboard for my canoe, and just use that while im in college, and save up for a 14-16' aluminum boat, maybe in a year or 2.
thanks again for all the input so far, it was a big help on decideing what to do.
 
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On a 15' double ender with a side mount a 2.5 - 3.5 2 stroke is max. A square stern you might get away with a 4 hp. 2 stroke but its pushing it. All the 4 strokes are too heavy for a side mount. I'd also suggest you stay on the floor when under power, I went for a swim in the Keni with a 4 on the side of my 17 gruman double ender. If our old Pastor and his two daughters wern't close in a boat, I wouldn't be writing this.
 
Just make sure that by adding a motor you check to see if you need to register the canoe differently. Different in different states.

What does a young kid like you need a motor for? get paddling! :).
 
Todd is right...in Michigan, if you put power to a boat it needs to be registered and have the funky colored tags on the bow with 3" high numbers. I had a Coleman Scanoe once with a 1.75 Cruise and Carry and it motored right fast. It was a square ended,wide bodied lead sled but the little motor took it probably 10mph. I put a Merc 4hp 2 stroke on it once and scared myself...mostly when I went to turn...canoes aren't made to turn sharp at speed.
 
Go for the lightest motor you can find for the cost. Go slow and get there alive. I pointed out one other thread a while back, that even though batteries for an electric motor are heavy, you lay them on the floor, rather than the weight of a gas engine up high, and in this case over the side, and you have to lean over and pull start it.

My 2 cents

Chuck
 
but I do understand the reason that you are thinking about going that way and wold suggest a way to make yours a better, safer, more stable, mode of transportation, not to mention hunting platform........

Google "canoe outriggers" and look through the myriad of options that exist for these.....some of them are more expensive than the boats that you can't now afford but there are also options for "home built" and by looking at the options you'll get an idea for something that you can liekly do yourself..(I've seen them made out of capped off and sealed PVC pipe and those worked just fine so you don't have to spend a lot of $$$$ to make your boat more stable)...

Good luck...and please....just don't paint it SEAFOAM.....or CYAN..

Steve
 
Do you already have the canoes? If not, you might be able to find a huntable kayak that would get you there almost as fast as a canoe with a small motor.
 
i was actually looking at outriggers and have a pretty good idea in mind for making some, and should really help stabilize things. thanks again for the responses.
 
There is a world of difference in canoes. I have been in some that are about as stable as a hollowed out telephone pole, others that I would feel comfortable standing and shooting. KNOW YOUR LIMITS AND KNOW YOUR CANOES LIMITS. What kind do you currently have?

As far as the floats, I like these if I were to get some:

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http://www.canoegear.com/catalog/product.php?productid=537


They are simple and do what needs to be done. They don't have the fulcrum of stability that the outrigger types have, but they also gont get in the way and hung up as bad.

Good luck...and please....just don't paint it SEAFOAM.....or CYAN..

Steve
Click to expand...


Please paint it green or brown, or if you must be different...gray...or if you want to be trendy...grey.

Chuck
 
Mike,

Is your canoe aluminum? If you have already answered that I apologize I must have missed it. If so I have the best removable motor bracket design known to man. Well maybe not that great, but it works. Cheaper than anything you can buy online and way more solid. Do you have access to a welder and a grinder with a cutting disk? If you do not have a welder there is another way to do it, you just need a way to cut a few pieces of thin steel. I will take some picture and explain both ways to do it, its really easy. I run my 17 foot aluminum canoe with a 3hp 2 stroke. I do it when I am by myself and at a SGA where I have to pull over dikes, my other boat is just too heavy. The only time I find it really tippy is when I come up to shore alittle too quick and the bow runs aground leaving me in the back with the motor. Other than that, there is no time I feel uncomfortable. I ran my canoe all through college and didn't upgrade for several years after. Been there man, cost efficiency is key, let me know if you want my super duper mount plans. Good luck.
 
I run a Honda 2 hp on my 17 Ft Old Town Discovery Sport. It does a fantastic job even loaded with 1000 pounds of cargo! It also serves double duty on a Barnegat Bay Sneakbox. What I like best about these little four strokes is they are totally and utterly dependable. The good news is both Yamaha and Suzuki now also makes small four stroke outboards, any of which would be a great investment.
 
brandon, no its a plastic canoe made by oldtown. your motor mount sounds great though, id love to use it if i had an aluminum boat.
rick, is the 2 hp honda you use a 4 stroke? do now what the weight is?
thanks for all the info.
 
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