How fast will a canoe go?

[Dhadley]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

quote:<br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />I think the fastest I ever saw a canoe was about 80mph. it had just left the roof and was following my buddies car very nicely down I-35 outside of waco TX.<br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Ya,<br />But was it Planing ?????

Yes, thats definately aired out.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I have used a 15 ft freighter canoe with a bracket and a 4 hp. motor on it. The nose rides high and it does not plane. <br /><br />I'm sure your set up will be fine.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

How fast did your canoe go Cobra? If you look at the picture I posted in this string, you will see on the far bank, the water is smooth, no waves. This is where the "channel" is. The Current there, however, is rather fast say 8-10 knots. First of all, can a canoe power up it, second, would the current want to "catch" the bow and spin you around? That could potentially be bad, depending on how far down stream you would be swept before you could recover. This is the kind of manuever I am trying to research. It may be that the only way to find out is try it.

 

[flydangler]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I've got a 15 1/2' keeled Scanoe (weighs about 165 lbs with full gas tank for the motor & 20 lb "Instant Power" for my electronic stuff and the carpeted wooden floor in the middle section as a casting platform for fly fishing) I push with a 2000 model 5hp Honda (add 55 to 60 lbs for the motor). <br /><br />With the gas tank and power unit in the middle, my 215lbs sitting aft on the floor in front of the rear seat and nothing else in the boat it planes at 11mph by GPS at 3/4 throttle, but handles like crap and I've never had it wide open configured like this. It gets a little scary! <br /><br />My preference, when alone, is to put a 60 lb deep cycle battery, the gas tank, a 15 lb fluked anchor and a 5 gallon carbouy full of water in the bow, and me sitting on the rear seat. With this setup it won't plane and will only go 8.5mph WOT, but it's stable and handles well, even against a strong current (where I might lose up to 3mph WOT). <br /><br />With my 135 lb wife in the bow, battery under the front seat and gas tank in the front of the middle section it still goes 8.5mph and is still stable.<br /><br />Hope this helps.

 

[AW]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Man that looks like it would be fun to try.

 

[Bondo]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

That Water Looks more like RIB country,<br />Rather than Canoe territory.....<br />When Water gets that big, Canoes are for Running Downstream......

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

DONT DO IT! I HAVE A 14 FOOT INDIAN RU=IVER CANOE, AND A 5 HP NISSAN 1992 MOTOR, WELL HAD A 5 HP MOTOR, WENT TOO FAST too quick(soory bout thetcaps, but im not erasing) and motor flung up off back of canoe and into lake, held only by fuel hose still connected, took it home, and now i have a 5hp paperweight

 

[lilthundr]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Great quote Dhadley <br />And I bet noone even got wet at that speed.<br />Question answered, and now on to the next string

 

[Capn Mike]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Drowned Rat (perfect name for what you're trying to do in a canoe), let me introduce you to a new kind of boat, called a "Jon" boat, say, this one: http://www.alumaweldboats.com/frames.htm <br /><br />I've had canoes almost all my life, and no matter what power I put to them, they refuse to break the displacement boat rule, 1.34 X the square root of LWL, or length of waterline (unless you're surfing like Maximerc). I had a Coleman sq. stern for a while (thought it would make a great duck boat), but like Pat, it took lots of weight juggling to get it to semi-plane, and even then my cheeks got tired from clenching....<br />Replaced it with a small aluminum jon boat, and, with the same horsepower, was able to boat much more safely. Made me question why anyone puts a motor on a hull essentially designed for paddle power.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I hear ya Capt. Mike. But I need the large load carrying capability of the canoe and I need to be able to Portage the boat around rapids easily. I don't think there is a jon boat out there that has a weight to load capacity ratio better than a canoe.

 

[Capn Mike]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I was doubting your statement....until I realized my wood & canvas Old Town weighs about 85 lbs, and carries my fat butt and my fatter buddy quite well, thank you. <br />I looked at the Crestliner site http://www.crestliner.com/boat_info/boat_type_details.asp?TID=106 for a typical jon boat, and sure enough, their 14' jon weighs 185 lbs, and has a carrying capacity of 675.<br />Still....although I don't have it anymore....I had a ton of fun fixing up my jon. I put in all kinds of "improvements" fixing it up as a duck and fishing boat, and no matter what I did, I knew I couldn't ruin it...all I could do would be to make it more funky & fun. I wouldn't dare do that with my Old Town.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Yeah, I really like the jon boat idea, no doubt it would be MUCH more stable and powerful. I'm going to give it a shot this Spring. I should be able to tell by looking at it whether it's doable or not. If not, at least I can carry everything around it.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Drowned Rat, I never checked it with my GPS. I would guess it would go a bit faster than the current...maybe 10 mph if that. From the picture, the water doesn't look that fast...but I 've never been there to really say. I guess you have to try it! <br /><br />As with any motorized canoe you need good weight in front or it will surely flip and get steered by the river. A balance weight is ideal... this is true even in a small aluminum boat.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

"It will surely flip and get steered by the river".<br /><br />That is exactly what I'm worried about Cobra. The waters effect on the bow of the boat. The canoe will be fully loaded, quite heavy. I'll need to be careful to have the weight balanced correctly. Too much weight in the back and you swamp, too much in the front and it's squirrely and you lose steerage. I would say that the current here is at most 10mph, probably closer to 7-8. It's a straight run, so no turning to worry about. Should be ok. Maybe I'll have someone on shore take a picture of me runnin' it just in case. Keep an eye on "Stupid human tricks".

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Drowned Rat, don't be too brave! Where a life jacket! ...maybe even a helmet if there are many rocks. Or you may live up to your name!

 

[flydangler]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

If carrying capacity and being light enough to portage in a stable safe platform are your main concerns then you might want to look into building a stitch & glue composite shallow draft displacement rocker hull skiff. <br /><br />Check out the FL11 (about 85 lbs) and FL14 (about 105 lbs) at http://www.bateau2.com. They could probably be built 20% lighter if you used Eurolite plywood. You can even download study plans for free.<br /><br />I'm going to build a FL14 to replace my Scanoe after I found the info from the site and its forum for exactly what I wanted. Go to their forum and ask any question you want to have answered, even the boat's designers will chime in to give you honest answers to what their designs are and aren't capable of. <br /><br />Good luck!

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I just can't stay off of this one. I have a nephew who is mildly demented to say the least. He owns an aluminum square stern canoe...on which he has mounted a 6 hp. outboard. According to his GPS it will run a little over 20 mph. but it's "like way hard to steer dude". It must be...to my certain knowledge, he has flipped and sunk it at least three times. One of these days he will remove himself from the gene pool.<br /><br />I enjoy paddle boats & own 2 kayaks and a canoe. My opinion is if you must have a motor on one, the best thing to use is a good trolling motor.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

At 20 mph in a canoe, it sure can be hard to steer! Stern back canoes are rated for hp like any other boat. Some inuit(arctic people) have stern backs that handle very large motors...up to 70 hp! These canoes are built deep, long, and wide. They are safe boats but you still need to work within the watercraft's capability. <br /><br />Our 15 ft freighter works fine with a 4 hp, but you don't suddenly steer at 90 degrees when going full out with it! We used this combo for many years with no problems. It's a freighter canoe so it isn't as tippy as some I have been in. You still need to know the basics of canoe use...to let the canoe go with the waves as your body moves at the hips and still keeps its center line(balancing).<br /><br />...again wear a life jacket.

 

[DJ]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

Drowned Rat,<br /><br />I have logged countless hours in a powered canoe. I've never operated one with more that a 7.5 hp. That was a big Grumman sport canoe.<br /><br />The hull will NEVER plane. It is all about displacemennt. <br /><br />JB is correct in his speed assumption. That's about all you are going to get.<br /><br />Be careful with a canoe/engine set up. They can be tricky. Spend some time with it in shallow water making all the mnanuevers you an think of. Make sure you understand exactly how it is going to behave.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: How fast will a canoe go?

I flipped one ages ago with a 5 hp motor. When it went ove I'm sure I was doing at least 100. And that wave looked to be at least 10' tall. <br /><br />OK, maybe it was more like 20 mph and a 10" boat wake. I still got wet.