Canoe modifications

[alphaalpha]

Well late last season I broke the yoke on my canoe testing out carrying it on my own. I had it on my shoulders and tried to inch it forward a bit by just "hopping" it up and it busted off the gunnels on my head. That inspired me to make a new one this season and a couple months back BPS had a sale on electric trolling motors so i figured why not. I won't be able to afford a real boat until next year anyhow. The mount and new and improved yoke were all made from one piece of 1"x6"X8' piece of oak and finished using an outdoor, spray on, glossy finish. Carriage bolts and wingnuts are mainly used for quick assembly/takedown.

 

The motor mount:

 

 

The new yoke, now with cupholders and rodholds and still strong enough to carry on my shoulders:

 

 

 

 

The only main flaw to me is the screws protruding on the inside of the mounts for the rod holders. The screws that came with them were too long and i really didn't feel like going out to get shorter ones. I don't think anything will ever be in a position that they will do any harm anyways.

 

I have gotten out once with the new setup so far and everything performs perfectly. The only exception is that the rod holders should probably be a little higher as when they are pointed perfectly perpendicular to the canoe they can't be angled up too high, not really a big deal though. Hopefully some good fish catching reports to come from the "Green Machine" soon!

[Twocoda]

looks cool...nice work ....there is room on top of the cup holder top to mount some scotty rod holders...then youll have adjustable hights for the rods while trolling ...(just a thought)

 

Good Luck with the "green machine"

[splashhopper]

excellent set up.

[MJL]

Cool mod Alpha...Lets see some pics of the green machine in action

 

My dad and I are also thinking of ways to modify our canoe (also green...But mostly light green from where I scraped the paint off on rocks.LOL). We're mostly thinking of different ways to stick a trolling motor on it seeing as it isn't a square-back canoe.

[alphaalpha]

looks cool...nice work ....there is room on top of the cup holder top to mount some scotty rod holders...then youll have adjustable hights for the rods while trolling ...(just a thought)

 

Good Luck with the "green machine"

 

 

good tip! i originally bought the rod holders on sale at BPS with the new yoke in mind and found they were side mount only, so that is the reason for having them on the outside. It would definately be more convenient to have them closer and mountable on the top of the yoke. Cost affective though when all was said and done the modifications including rod holders, motor, battery and mount totaled about $275ish (motor and holders on sale at BPS, marine deepcycle battery from costco, wood/hardware from homedepot). Not too shabby I think.

[Nipfisher]

Did it add a lot of weight?

[splashhopper]

Cool mod Alpha...Lets see some pics of the green machine in action

 

My dad and I are also thinking of ways to modify our canoe (also green...But mostly light green from where I scraped the paint off on rocks.LOL). We're mostly thinking of different ways to stick a trolling motor on it seeing as it isn't a square-back canoe.

 

I bought my side mount motor mount for my "kijiji sportspal" .. cost 38 bucks... aluminum and hardwood... looks good...and works well.

[alphaalpha]

Did it add a lot of weight?

 

the battery and motor obviously add significant weight to the whole rig, battery is 53lbs alone and motor i'm guessing around 25. The wood for the mounts is really not significant compared to that. I am about 160lbs riding in the back and tested it out with my brother at about 200lbs up front. Lots of gear including paddles, life jackets, tackle bags, and a cooler with half a dozen bottles of water and snacks and it was riding just fine in the water. Not too low at all compared to without the new additions. Would i want to haul the new stuff around portaging; absolutely not, but i also wouldn't want to portage too much with my beast of a canoe anyways.

 

That being said i will be doing a 5 day trip up north in september and am undecided if i want to bring the motor for the first bit of it and stash it to pick up on the way back...

[Nanook]

nice looking setup ! Would a Dremel rotary tool look after those long screws?

No need to leave any sharp points there

.

[splashhopper]

nice looking setup ! Would a Dremel rotary tool look after those long screws?

No need to leave any sharp points there

.

 

an angle grinder would shorten those bolts up pretty quick

[alphaalpha]

an angle grinder would shorten those bolts up pretty quick

 

 

hehe, ya i know, i just haven't gotten around to getting one yet. My workshop is far from complete and haven't had a use for one.....until now

[splashhopper]

hehe, ya i know, i just haven't gotten around to getting one yet. My workshop is far from complete and haven't had a use for one.....until now

 

 

a hack saw will do the trick too... just take a few more minutes and a couple more muscles

[alphaalpha]

a hack saw will do the trick too... just take a few more minutes and a couple more muscles

 

Honestly didn't even think of it. Thought to myself that an angle grinder would do the trick but since i don't have one, oh well... i definately have a hacksaw, ill have to give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks for the tip

[I'mHooked]

What if you added a small block of wood to the top of the yoke near the gunwale and cut an angled corner off, creating a slope. Then attached rod holder to the sloped face. Make a corresponding hole in the yoke as well for the rod butt to pass through.

 

See engineered drawing: