Nashua Nev Posted March 2, 2015 Posted March 2, 2015 i have a jackson cruise 10 ft kayak and a 16 ft heavy canoe. i am looking for a lightweight pre 50lbs , pre 40lbs canoe to fish from stable , short for getting thru trails to water , small ponds in the woods (i have wheel set up) , but affordable. not interested in inflatable or tube. or one of the inflatable pontoons. (too wide for getting thru woods) looking for ideas and recommendations. old town 119 discovery seems to be in my price but at 899 but is 12 ft. i am thinking 10 foot. thank you i have a small trolling motor 25 lb thrust i would occasionally use with it. small/short , light , i am located in North Eastern United States, New Hampshire. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 2, 2015 Super User Posted March 2, 2015 1) Lightweight 2) Stable 3) Affordable. That could be a tough search to find something that meets all three criteria. Ten-foot canoes aren't that common...and even when found may not have the stability you're looking for. Cheaper canoes tend to be heavier. Very lightweight canoes that are stable tend to be longer in length and often made of expensive materials like kevlar. The Old Town solo Pack Canoe is listed by the manufacturer as weighing 33 pounds, with a length of 12 feet and a beam of 32 inches. This might be a candidate. My canoe is a Radisson - listed as 34 pounds, with a length of 11' 6" and a beam of 38 inches. This is a fairly stable boat but is made of VERY thin aluminum and is more of a still-water boat that would not be very happy around rocks and such. A hybrid might be a candidate - offering stability but will usually be 12 feet or longer, a bit heavy, and may be out of your price range. It will be an interesting search... 1 Quote
Dogmatic Posted March 2, 2015 Posted March 2, 2015 Try finding a Meyers sportspal(S-12)(like the Radisson, but built tougher), not cheap unless you score one off of C.L. or some other local sites.http://www.meyersboat.com/sportspal/models/S-12 Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 2, 2015 Super User Posted March 2, 2015 Yep - thicker aluminum on the Sportspal, but then that gives it about a 14 pound increase in hull weight compared to the Radisson (for a 12 foot length). That 14 pound delta might be important, or not, depending on how one uses and transports the boat. If the weight is not important, it's a better boat than my Radisson - not only for the thicker gauge aluminum, but also for hull construction compared to my boat with caulked seams on each side of the hull (light weight has a price). As far as the Sportspal in the video being "The BEST fishing canoe" ..... I guess that would be debatable. TM wires draped over the thwarts and seats, no rod racks/holders, stuff scattered everywhere in the boat, can't see an anchor system, etc. Not a very tidy craft overall... My humble fishing machine - called by others the "war canoe," "attack canoe," and most recently it was called a "bass assault craft," is not the best fishing canoe either...but it gets me on the water... 1 Quote
Nashua Nev Posted March 3, 2015 Author Posted March 3, 2015 This is my current ride , super heavy , can fish in it all day. i just need the canoe itself to drop 40lbs. the one i am looking for will be a stripped down , carry thru the woods to get to remote pond kinda place , so short as well as light. a 10 ft sportspal , the composite materials are just too far past my budget. my red canoe goes almost 95lbs all by itself, add the battery and motor and gear etc and i am well over 175. this is perfect and stable and big and plenty of room. it fits 2 very easy as well. the one i am looking for may be the radisson 12 footer stripped down. i have seen a 10 footer sportspal (i think) from a few years ago , that would be awesome. but they dont make it anymore. light and short stripped down to the basics. Quote
Nashua Nev Posted March 4, 2015 Author Posted March 4, 2015 Goose , did you make those stabilizers yourself ? Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 4, 2015 Super User Posted March 4, 2015 Goose , did you make those stabilizers yourself ? Nope - store-bought: Spring Creek Stabilizers/Outriggers Quote
Dogmatic Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Goose , did you make those stabilizers yourself ? Yeah, store bought and expensive. You can make them yourself, and they're cheap. I made some for my 17' canoe out of crab trap floats and PVC, cost $30! Try YouTube. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 5, 2015 Super User Posted March 5, 2015 Yeah, store bought and expensive. You can make them yourself, and they're cheap. I made some for my 17' canoe out of crab trap floats and PVC, cost $30! Try YouTube. Sure - lots of ways to make outriggers. I guess you could even get under $30 with a piece of 2x4 and a couple netting bags full of empty 2-liter plastic bottles... The Spring Creek rig IS expensive but it's a good system. The floats are quickly adjustable in the vertical plane and I run them so that neither float touches the water when the boat is trimmed. The aluminum universal receiver (cross bar/bracket) of the Spring Creek system clamps quickly to the boat and then provides "one-stop shopping" for: the outriggers trolling motor mount anchor system mounting point rod rack Quality, convenience, and speed of rigging/de-rigging were what I was looking for. Minimal cost was not a criterion for selecting the components of the boat. Quote
Super User Fishes in trees Posted March 6, 2015 Super User Posted March 6, 2015 How wide are these trails that you are dragging a canoe through the woods? Maybe a smallish jon boat or a 10' pond boat, on a trailer, pulled by an ATV, could be the way for you to get your gear to a remote body of water. Here in Missouri, I have a buddy who LOVES to fish out of the way, hard to get go, ponds, watersheds and strip pits. He's able to get to these areas with quite a bit of gear using the following system. A 10' BPS pond prowler is mounted on a light duty trailer he got from Harbor Freight, that he adapted to hold his boat. This trailer is pulled by a large ATV. (He's a big guy, in the 250+ range) The boat, trailer, ATV combo, he loads on to a 16' road worthy flat trailer that he pulls with his pick up. The idea is to get as close as reasonable with the pick up and larger trailer and then get to the water using the ATV/ pond prowler set up. A cool set up. Maybe something like that would work for you. A little outside the box thinking. It did cost considerably more than $900 to acquire that set up though. If money is a real issue, that set up wouldn't work for you. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted March 6, 2015 Super User Posted March 6, 2015 I fish an Old Town Predator Square back, transported to & from the water on a Castle Craft Aluminum Trailer (Model SUT-220-S). I can launch with or with out a boat ramp. When I need to, the rig can be transferred off the trailer and onto a hand hauled two wheel boat cart (purchased from Cabelas) and pulled right to the lake. Easy. Definitely a small water vessel but I can go anywhere I'm willing to drag it. Certainly places only a similar rig can get - which allows me to fish some remote places, by myself and with very few other anglers. A-Jay 2 Quote
Jay Ell Gee Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 I would look really hard at the Native Ultimate. They are a hybrid canoe/kayak. I have a 14'7" that weights 59 lbs... The 12 and 10 are even lighter. Very well thought out boat and easy to find used at your price range. Quote
Dogface Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Goose52 How did you rig the seat. I have a Sportspal and I have been sitting on the floor or kneeling. I was trying to figure out a way to rig a seat with a back. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 8, 2015 Super User Posted March 8, 2015 Goose52 How did you rig the seat. I have a Sportspal and I have been sitting on the floor or kneeling. I was trying to figure out a way to rig a seat with a back. My boat came with webbing seats. The folding seat is from Cabela's - it has straps and adjustable buckles to secure it to the webbing seat (see photo). Sounds like your boat came without seats. Canoes with the name "Sportspal" are made by two different companies - one in the US, the other in Canada. If you know which brand of Sportspal that you have, you might want to contact the manufacturer to see about ordering at least one seat & related parts for your boat. Quote
Dogface Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks Goose52 !! Mine came with the solid foam seats. They kept your butt off the floor but that was it. I will try to rig a frame like yours and buy a canoe seat. Quote
Dogmatic Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 My boat came with webbing seats. The folding seat is from Cabela's - it has straps and adjustable buckles to secure it to the webbing seat (see photo). Sounds like your boat came without seats. Canoes with the name "Sportspal" are made by two different companies - one in the US, the other in Canada. If you know which brand of Sportspal that you have, you might want to contact the manufacturer to see about ordering at least one seat & related parts for your boat. Goose, it's totally cool how you rigged your TM and anchor lock/release to your stabilizer. You have one of the best thought out/laid out canoes I've seen. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 8, 2015 Super User Posted March 8, 2015 Goose, it's totally cool how you rigged your TM and anchor lock/release to your stabilizer. You have one of the best thought out/laid out canoes I've seen. Thanks - I put a lot of thought into it. There are still things I need to improve but it's getting close to being done! Quote
Nashua Nev Posted March 10, 2015 Author Posted March 10, 2015 i agree nice set up. what i am looking is going to be light and stripped down. i want to get thru the woods to some remote water. i dont want to break the wallet. Quote
Cgrinder Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Well, I think I'm going to buy a Sportspal and incorporate some of the "attack canoe" modifications. Goose, do you think it would be possible to add a second seat to that setup for another person and maybe a small dog? Baxter does like fishing. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted March 11, 2015 Super User Posted March 11, 2015 Well, I think I'm going to buy a Sportspal and incorporate some of the "attack canoe" modifications. Goose, do you think it would be possible to add a second seat to that setup for another person and maybe a small dog? Baxter does like fishing. My Radisson was originally a two-seater; I removed one of the seats since I always fish solo. IMO the 12 ft boats are too small for two anglers anyway. For two people, plus the dog, you might want to look at the 14 ft or even the 16 ft Sportspals. Quote
Cgrinder Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 My Radisson was originally a two-seater; I removed one of the seats since I always fish solo. IMO the 12 ft boats are too small for two anglers anyway. For two people, plus the dog, you might want to look at the 14 ft or even the 16 ft Sportspals. A bigger canoe sounds good. I want as much room between me and the girlfriend as possible. Last year I had a 1/4 oz tungsten dropshot weight nick the side of my glasses while we were sharing a little jon boat. She's got a lot of enthusiasm but a bit short on accuracy. Quote
Nashua Nev Posted March 15, 2015 Author Posted March 15, 2015 I just purchased a 33lb old town pack solo. Made of royalex. 12 ft. Stable solid and dont have to worry about rocks. 1 Quote
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