I absolutely love my sportspal s13 for a lightweight, easy to launch option vs. my fishing boat that requires a trailer and deeper water to launch. I have used it for fishing small lakes, hunting and floating rivers salmon fishing here in Michigan. I don't duck hunt these days but it would be great for that as well. I considered both the 13 and 15 and went with the 13 since I usually fish alone and I figured the extra 10 lbs. weight savings would allow me to use this boat when I get old and not as strong or mobile. Looking back, I doubt the 10 lbs would make much of a difference but the two extra feet of room would be nice when I have a passenger or want a large cooler along. The 13 really works great for my needs though and is a bit easier to transport and maneuver. I bought it in 2015 and picked it up at the factory since I am about an hour north of Adrian, MI. I often stand up to fish and run the trolling motor while standing, the boat is very stable. You can take more tackle and rods than you would likely use in an outing, or enough camping and fishing equipment for a week long trip if you wanted. I use small collapsible anchors when it is windy, the boat blows around quite a bit in any wind. My canoe does not paddle well so I almost always use a motor. I use a 30lb. thrust and it works well. I have been wanting to try a double end paddle as I hear that works well with this canoe but have not tried it yet. I have rowed the boat but don't have a proper middle seat and with the oar locks so narrow it didn't work the best with 6' oars while sitting on the floor. I think some kind of bolt on yoke or outriggers with oar locks moved out another foot on each side would work much better than the factory ones. I have poled the boat through some really shallow marshy areas where you couldn't paddle or motor for getting to some remote deer hunting spots. It is light enough and has low drag so it actually worked pretty well for that.
It is kind of hard to measure since the floor is curved and sides taper in. You can fit one group 24 or one group 27 battery in the front footwell area, but the front passenger would not be able to extend their feet into the compartment to stretch out. I just went out and tested mine with both a 24 and 27 battery. The 27 ends about flush with the top plate of the front, the 24 sits about 3" up in toward the front. I run mine with a group 27 battery behind the front seat in the middle and that works great, don't have to run the wires up into the front and doesn't interfere with the front passenger if I have one at the time. The canoe balances out well that way too. From what I remember, putting a battery way up front in the narrow part made the boat seem more tippy vs. running one behind the front seat, oriented lengthwise. I have the s13 so it is a little bit shorter than the s15 but I think the extra length is in the middle, the front and rear areas look to be the same dimensions.
group 24:
Group 27:
I run mine behind the seat in front of the thwart like this:
You could fit two side by side if you need that much juice:
About 3" of clearance under thwart:
