Canoe Propulsion.

[Coen Cameron]

Hello everyone.
I was wondering about canoe propulsion.
Obviously there is paddles (duh), and electric motors, and small petrol engines, but what other options are there? I'm looking for cheap here, it may seem silly, but is there any way of adapting, say, a lawn mower engine into a small outboard for a canoe?
Any suggestions, or ideas would be really helpful.
Thankyou.

[Shortytheyakker]

Not a lawnmower motor a whipper snipper mounted on the back,with a propeller on the end,,you have cables running to the back so you can turn it plus accerator cable.

I have seen u tube footage and i can tell you they fly along

[lewa]

What about a sail

[Coen Cameron]

Hmmmm.
A whipper snipper sounds pretty good. only a couple of questions about that, Firstly, would the whipper snipper be able to handle the extra resistance caused by the water on the blades? and secondly, To my knowledge, whipper snipper engines are air cooled, would that be a problem on a boat? and would it be able to handle being run for extended period of time (say half an hour) without blowing up?
Hehe, I like the idea of a sail, I have actually considered fitting a small sail to a small canoe I have, just for the hell of it, but I don't think it would quite work for a fishing canoe.
Thanks.

[CHUNQX]

I was looking at this very thing a few years ago to power a basic sit-on-top that I had. The motor had to be small and light for obvious reasons and I found one that fit my description. It was a Sevylor 12V electric motor which was purpose made for the Sevylor inflatable boats. If you shop around, you can get one for around $120+. I gave up the idea for a couple of reasons:
1. In VIC, if you have any motorised propulsion, it is considered in the boat category which means I have to have all the safety stuff required in a boat (fire extinguisher, flares, boat licence etc) which is ridiculous for a basic sit-on-top kayak because I have hardly enough room to put my fishing gear let alone all the extras. (Goes to show the dimwits we have in the Marine Legislation Dept... probably a prerequisite for a job there is you have to demonstrate a high level of stupidity and lack of common sense)
2. The battery you need to keep one of these going for a reasonable amount of time will be pretty heavy.

Ended up going the Hobie Mirage instead.....

[Coen Cameron]

Hmmm, i like the idea of an electric motor, but i think it will be a little out of my price range, and heavy batteries aren't a good thing. I would love a hobie mirage drive angler or pro angler, but I don't have any where near enough money to get one, I think If I had enough cash to buy one of them, I would spend it on a little tinny instead.

[-Pivot-]

If you wanna go cheap just grab a couple of branches and paddle like hell.
And on a serious note, I'm pretty sure if you buy canoe the paddles should be free with it anyway. Also You can get some electric motors for arond about $400, what is your budget?

-Pivot-

[CHUNQX]

You might find a second hand Hobie very affordable. The Pro Angler is the top of the range and is expensive but if you look around, a second hand Hobie Sport's price may surprise you.

[Crayfish]

A 2nd hand Hobie Sport is still going to be atleast $1200 and most completely kit them out so they sell them for even more

[Coen Cameron]

Mmmm, i think a hobie is out of the question unfortunately. I really would like to get my hands on one of those big plastic canadian canoes, and deck it out. I thionk it would fit my purpose pretty well. But even they are fairly expensive for what they are.

[smicko]

The Quokka is your friend

INFLATABLE 2.1m Ventura, with wooden floor, near new 2hp Yamaha outboard, c/w oars & current lic $900 ono. Lmng. 0450-077-160

14FT RED SPEEDBOAT!!! $1200 ONO!!! Lightweight fibreglass boat. 25HP outboard motor. comes with registered trailer. good to go and a great boat to do up. live in Rockingham

Dinghy, Finn Spindrift, 3.3hp Mercury TwoStroke - $1950/best offer, Mandurah, more info www.BuyABargain.com.au/dinghy or call 0424 094 286

CANOE vgc $250. Wlrd. 9419-6672

CANOE 8', with paddle $100. Kwna. 0403-662-725

DINGHY 3.35m, Johnson 9hp, with trailer, all fully lic $1600. Crlsle. 0415-369-505

DINGHY alum, 3.6m car topper, HIN, lic, 7.5hp o/board, lic trailer $1000. Byfd. 0410-123-844

DINGHY 3.2m, 6hp Johnson, all safety gear, hull lic 12 mths, on unlic trailer $1000 ono. Wkiki. 0405-055-930

DINGHY inflatable, Scirocco, 2.2m, used only once, optional Parasun motor, 2.5hp $800 or optional Mercury motor, 5hp $1000. Strlng. 0419-042-149

etc etc

[Coen Cameron]

Aaaahhh yeah! I have a current quokka siting around, I will have to have a look at that one in kwinana for $100, i'll ring em today.

[Hazell]

How did you go? Find anything decent?

[Coen Cameron]

Uuuum, not really. I have placed a wanted ad in the quokka this week, so i'll see where that takes me. I do actually have 2 of those "adventure kayaks" which might b good for fishing from (but i'd need to do some work to them), but I just reckon a sit in boat, that I can stand in would be better than a sit on boat where I can't stand. Ideas? suggestions?

[crusty]

Originally Posted by Coen Cameron

Uuuum, not really. I have placed a wanted ad in the quokka this week, so i'll see where that takes me. I do actually have 2 of those "adventure kayaks" which might b good for fishing from (but i'd need to do some work to them), but I just reckon a sit in boat, that I can stand in would be better than a sit on boat where I can't stand. Ideas? suggestions?

If you already have the adventure kayak floats might be heaps cheaper to modify it to do the job for the moment and make do, while you save your cash to get what you want first up. It may not be a Skeeter or Nitro but its a start.

Its is generally cheaper in the long run to buy well once rather than buy and then upgrade later.

Post a pic and ask for suggests.