Motor Recomends for my new canoe..

[Black_Blade]

I just got a 14 foot Sportspal wide transom model, the guy only used it 3 or 4 times and been sitting in storage the rest of the time! It is rated for a 3.5 hp motor and I was just wondering which way to go with it...a little gas powered or battery powered motor?

Edited April 29, 2007 by Black Blade

[huntervasili]

Upside of gas is if you are out for a while you can bring gas but cant bring electricity to the woods... gas engin also would have some more power, but of course heavier... Electric is lighter so thats an upside... that of course is my opinion though

[glirw]

Both would be great . Gas can get you out of trouble in windy days , and you'll cover water alot faster if you plan to tackle bigger lakes .

 

Electric is good for bays, smaller lakes, and calmer days.

 

Gas will do everything that electric will , except be stealthy. Something to keep in mind.

[jediangler]

I've had that same Sportspal going on 14 yrs now.

 

 

I'm on my third and best trolling motor since buying this boat. I've got a 33lb thrust Maxxum from Minn-Kota.

The key is the infinitely variable speed control rather than the 5 forward and 3 reverse speeds. Sometimes the #1 speed is too fast and switching it on and off really spooks the fish. The speed on the Maxxum can be dialed down where it's just barely turning. In the pic you can see I have a drift sock out the back. Combined with the trolling motor you have complete control of your drift in all but 30km/hr winds. I've pimped mine out with folding padded boat seats mounted on quick release mounts to make it comfortable enough for all day.

If you have any questions about this boat, I'll be happy to give you my perspective. You're gonna love it.

[Terry]

well I find a little 2.5 hp motor is lighter and easier to carry then an electric and battery

[Victor]

it also depends on where you fish most of the time ... some conservation areas don't allow gas motors ... good luck with ur search

[jediangler]

I also have 2hp gas motor but I appreciate the silence of the electric. I frequent the conservation area circuit where gas motors are banned so my old 1974 johnson is gathering dust. I've used the Sportspal and electric in bigger lakes like Pigeon, Sturgeon and Scugog as well as medium sized lakes like Eugenia, Wildwood and Chesley. It all depends on where you intend to use it but overall I feel better about the electric because of the pollution from the gas motor.

[outdoorguy61]

Slightly off topic but I wanted to add some colour to this. In Jasper National Park, every frieghter canoe used by guides is powered by a 101 Pd thrust/ 36 V for use on Maligne Lake.

 

Just a tidbit....oh....and they also carry an extra set of batterys (36V). Amazing but true.

 

outdoorguy61

[stasbrute]

Just a tip if you use an electric by yourself get some heavy duty jumper cables and sto the battery towards the front as battery+motor+person=bow way out of water...

[FinS]

personally gas but depends where you plan fishing

if you are portaging then gas much lighter than carrying an electric and battery

[Black_Blade]

I've had that same Sportspal going on 14 yrs now.

 

 

I'm on my third and best trolling motor since buying this boat. I've got a 33lb thrust Maxxum from Minn-Kota.

The key is the infinitely variable speed control rather than the 5 forward and 3 reverse speeds. Sometimes the #1 speed is too fast and switching it on and off really spooks the fish. The speed on the Maxxum can be dialed down where it's just barely turning. In the pic you can see I have a drift sock out the back. Combined with the trolling motor you have complete control of your drift in all but 30km/hr winds. I've pimped mine out with folding padded boat seats mounted on quick release mounts to make it comfortable enough for all day.

If you have any questions about this boat, I'll be happy to give you my perspective. You're gonna love it.

 

Funny thing is, I was sitting outside tonight with wife and looking at the seats in the canoe and discussing how to make them more comfy...she actually mentioned about the folding seats for it and I wondered if they would work. I was gonna get two swivel seats for my 12 foot aluminum this season from Walmart or CT...wonder if I could have it so could switch them back and forth?

 

Jedi...do you have any close up pics of how you rigged your seats in? I would really appreciate it...could puzzle out something workable, but the faster I can get er done...the faster I can get fishin'!

 

One of the reasons I was wondering about the gas vs electric thing was after reading another post about a good battery for trolling motor...I started to wonder if maybe it was too much a pain in the long run, than to just go with gas and not have to worry about batteries dying out on ya or wearing out.

 

As for where I plan to go...I like smaller lakes as a rule, the quieter the better. But I don't really know many spots as of yet around here other than Scugog, Rice Lake, and Pigeon (from camping at Emily PP several times). I want to try out as many lakes as possible this summer, time permitting. I am originally from Deep River, up along the Ottawa River and grew up fishing in alot of the small lakes in that area, as well as the Ottawa of course.

[jediangler]

All you need are the quick release seat mounts. You could mount them in both the boat and the canoe. That way whatever boat you take, you can take the seats with you. I have nowhere to store my boat at home so I can't show you any pics. The quick releases are black heavy duty plastic and can be bought at crappy tire. Very easy to mount. Just bolt or screw them directly to the wooden seat frames and you're done. As far as the motor choice goes, that will depend on personal preference. I get more than 6 hrs fishing from one battery and always carry 2 in the boat at all times. I've used mine fishing around Emily PP as well as the Round and Golden lakes area north of Ottawa. Just make sure you go for a deep cycle battery and use the 2amp setting on your charger. It may take as long as 12hrs to charge a depleted battery.

[Terry]

I believe you should charge them with a smart charger that will charge them at 10 amp till 90% then drop down to 2 amp charge,....

 

 

Battery Charging Voltages and Currents:

 

Most flooded batteries should be charged at no more than the "C/8" rate for any sustained period. "C/8" is the battery capacity at the 20-hour rate divided by 8. For a 220 AH battery, this would equal 26 Amps. Gelled cells should be charged at no more than the C/20 rate, or 5% of their amp-hour capacity. The Concorde AGM batteries are a special case - the can be charged at up the the Cx4 rate, or 400% of the capacity for the bulk charge cycle. However, since very few battery cables can take that much current, we don't recommend you try this at home. To avoid cable overheating, you should stick to C/4 or less.

 

Charging at 15.5 volts will give you a 100% charge on Lead-Acid batteries. Once the charging voltage reaches 2.583 volts per cell, charging should stop or be reduced to a trickle charge. Note that flooded batteries MUST bubble (gas) somewhat to insure a full charge, and to mix the electrolyte. Float voltage for Lead-Acid batteries should be about 2.15 to 2.23 volts per cell, or about 12.9-13.4 volts for a 12 volt battery. At higher temperatures (over 85 degrees F) this should be reduced to about 2.10 volts per cell.

[bbog]

FWIW I'm trying to make this same decision. I'm leaning towards electric and will continue to watch this thread with interest. Thanks Terry for the charging lesson. (inappropriate use of my charger shortened the live of my recreational vehicle battery)

[Weeds]

I just scored a 12 foot sportspal a week back and have a monster 1.2 hp gas motor to pair it up with. Will be interesting to see how slow she goes! On the bright side I have no problems carrying canoe, motor and pack and could probably do so for miles. I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

[Fly Me In Scotty]

This is great. I also am planning on modifying my RAMX scanoe along the same lines.

 

I am going for the electric as well so I can have the option to use in some of the conservation area's.

 

When I am done I will try to add a few pictures to show you what we have created.

 

Have you done anything else to modify your canoe?

[BFSC Kevin]

I plan on finding a scanoe for myself aswell.

but i have a 12footer with a motor and a 55lb maxxum minn kota... way more then enough but like everyone says, more power the better..

so i plan on using my 55lb maxxum on the canoe when i find one, then sell the 12footer and bump up to a 16footer..

[jediangler]

Well haulinbass I did buy a special mount for my fish finder transducer so that I could mount it to the bottom of my trolling motor. This way wherever my trolling motor goes my fishfinder goes too. It's great when using rentals. You can get one anywhere Eagle accessories are sold. When the water gets shallow the transducer comes up with the motor and is protected from rocks on the bottom. Other than that I used stainless steel bolts and lock nuts and drilled and bolted all the ribs in my Sportspal to the hull of the canoe. This keeps them from popping out while in the water or on the roof of my vehicle.

[Guest lundboy]

I just scored a 12 foot sportspal a week back and have a monster 1.2 hp gas motor to pair it up with. Will be interesting to see how slow she goes! On the bright side I have no problems carrying canoe, motor and pack and could probably do so for miles. I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

 

 

I think you will be surprised how fast it will go!! A 2HP on a canoe will make it go about 15+mph! Pretty scary in a canoe.

[tjsa]

I cannot comment on electrics, never used them. But I do fish in a canoe most of the summer. We carry it in, portage it, etc. lots of places, and gas is the only way to go up here. Mind you, I am talking about traveling many kms. up, or down rivers, portaging, etc. Not uncommon for us to make a trek involving over 20 kms, so, batteries are not the way to go.

 

It all depends on where you fish, one lake, right off of the launch, electric may work just fine. Seen it used many times. For me, going back 3-4 lakes, gas is the only way to go.

 

I have a 3.3 mariner, my bud a 2.2 johnson. Take the cowlings off of them, and its basically the same motor, mine has a neutral gear, his does not. Both use about the same amount of gas though. We just carry a 4 litre cas can for refills. Under full power, lasts us 14 kms approx. Trolling, about 4 hrs., and since we only day trip, the full tank on the motor, plus the gas in the can makes for a full day with reserve easily.

[Black_Blade]

It seems that electrics are easier to come by and cheaper in the short term, but I am leaning to eventually scoring a little gas unit. Gonna just keep an eye out for whatever deals show up in classifieds etc. No rush, can paddle or oar it around for the time being.

 

Thanks for the detailed info, tjsa. I am hoping to make a trip into Algonquin and other nice remote spots, at some point, hopfully my son will be into it but we'll see. He's 15 and by that time I was out camping and fishing with my buddies without parents etc....but that was like 25 yrs ago too....have to compete with video games and computers nowadays

[danbo]

Two friends with paddles are kinda handy too!

[fishbait]

I have the same type and have a 4 hp with the gas tank on the top. great for back woods stuff

[Fly Me In Scotty]

JediAngler,

 

Thanks for the tip. This is a great idea and I plan on doing the same. I also plan on putting in the comfortable seats with the quick release to make sure I can withstand a full day on the water.

 

Great thread.

 

It does sound like i also will be looking long term for a small outboard for diversity.

 

Has anyone done a canopy of sorts for their rig on this board?

[Entropy]

I have the same type and have a 4 hp with the gas tank on the top. great for back woods stuff

 

My brother-inlaw also has a 4 hp merc on this kind of canoe, works great !!