Putting a gas motor on a square stern coleman scanoe help

I am going to be purchasing a 14" coleman square stern canoe. Same style as the sun dolphin square stern. I have seen people have issues with a 2.5hp for some reason. If there is a battery and 55lb thrust trolling motor up front, shouldnt that even it out? I was looking at the suzuki 2.5 which is stated at 29lbs. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

Your question is vague. What exactly do you mean by “issues”? I can think of maybe three things that could be a problem. However, you mention the weight of the motor, so I’m guessing you are only talking about fore-aft trim. 29 pounds isn’t much, as gas motors go, but if you yourself are around average weight or heavier, even just sitting in the back seat with no other load toward the front will result in any canoe being horribly out of trim.

I don’t know the weight of your 55-pound-thrust electric motor that will be mounted up front, but I’ll guess 40 pounds. That combined with a large battery, which might be 70 pounds, will go a long way toward equalizing your trim. The farther forward you mount that stuff, the better it will counteract the weight of you and the gas motor at the rear. How well-balanced the boat is at that point will depend mostly on how heavy a person you are, and if you are a big guy, the canoe could still be stern-heavy. I’ve seen people rig up extendable tiller handles which allow them to move toward the middle of the boat when at high speed, just to achieve better trim while under power.

I’ll mention one thing here that I always do when this subject comes up. Unlike the small, portable boats that people used to set up this way, canoes don’t have sufficient flotation to stay at the surface when swamped if they have all that extra weight attached to them (and by law, that includes the battery for your electric trolling motor), and yet canoes are far more likely to tip than those small rowboat-style craft. Sure, it’s not that likely to happen, but if your canoe tips over, you can kiss the whole rig goodbye because directly to the bottom of the lake it will go. Installing extra flotation inside the hull might be a good idea.

By issues i mean sinking hahaha i am 150lbs so im pretty light. I have a group 24 (i believe) optima blue top. I was looking into the wingman outriggers for extra flotation. I like the casting platform. I dont expect it to get on plane but i was wondering if it would be enough weight up front to be well balanced enough to keep it from taking on water over the sides.

@Jsho said:
By issues i mean sinking hahaha i am 150lbs so im pretty light. I have a group 24 (i believe) optima blue top. I was looking into the wingman outriggers for extra flotation. I like the casting platform. I dont expect it to get on plane but i was wondering if it would be enough weight up front to be well balanced enough to keep it from taking on water over the sides.

Okay. Based on my guessing as to the approximate total weight on board, I’m sure you’ll be fine, as long as you don’t go out in water that’s too rough for such a boat in the first place.

Now, as to those outriggers, if they are the kind I found when I looked online for an example (with ordinary plastic coolers serving as the floats), prepare for a wet, splashy ride when running the gas motor, especially if there are some waves. I’ve seen pictures of other canoe outriggers that are much more streamlined, and some which only contact the water when the boat is leaned in that direction. That sort of thing would likely work better when under motor power. That said, I’m basically a paddler and have no direct experience with outriggers, but I have used very small boats with motors about the size of the one you plan on using.

I cant thank you enough for your quick and detailed responses. I have no experience with the outriggers either and if it wasnt for the casting platform, i would go with something different. Thank you again!

I have another question. The canoe is rated for an electric motor. However my electric motor is just as heavy as the suzuki 2.5. If i reinforce the transom and balance it correctly(battery up front, cooler, anchor, shouldnt it be just fine? I have seen videos of people with the same canoe with gas motors on them that seem to move along just fine and others who have sank.

I went through the same issues a few years ago with a Grumman square stern and a 3 horse motor. Girlfriend at the time liked stretching out in a beach chair up front while I did the motor. Trim was good that way—without her I needed two drywall compound buckets of water in the bow to properly trim the boat to make everything work. Getting on plane in a canoe with a motor is not going to happen—you will know when you try it out–canoes are not designed to be pla

ning hulls. I never tried electric motors so can’t contribute to that----but I did give up on the outboard because of the noise of the motor and realizing I wasn’t hearing anything but that, and for me canoeing is not like cutting grass. Also learned that paddling solo is a lot more fun and peaceful than motoring about----electric motors have always intrigued me, but at the moment they would be too much hassle— a good paddle and skill does just what I enjoy----no rush—and no girlfriend either. Motors of any sort will give you some speed–depends on what’s important.------------

If this is a proper square stern canoe the gas motor should be fine. If it is one of the newer plastic boats with a traditional canoe shape but a molded in motor mount the gas motor will likely be too much. I had a 17’ Old Town square stern(very big and heavy canoe almost a skinny rowboat) and ran it with a 2.5 hp gas outboard and it did well. I’ve also used an electric trolling motor side mounted on a 17’ MR Freedom (proper canoe) and that worked great. Tried the 2.5 hp motor on the proper canoe and it did not work well at all, idle was pushing hull speed and the weight offset was enough to tip the canoe with no one in it. Gas motors on the appropriate canoe are good, electrics can be great. Quiet, easily push to hull speed and bit beyond(which gets ridiculous throwing a big wake with the bow in the air and not going much faster.) A 30lb trolling motor will be plenty. Electric is cheaper too.

I do not plan on it getting on plane. I wanted the outboard so i can be able to cover more water a little bit faster. Anything over 50% throttle on the minn kota with maximizer eats the battery bigtime it seems like. I know getting another battery is an option, but i would rather slap on an outboard and use the trolling motor and battery up front. Arent the older and newer scanoes all made out of poly? Reinforcing the transom with an 1in or 1.5in steel wouldnt help? What about attaching a small jack plate?

Just looked that canoe up. I would not put a gas motor on it, don’t think it will work well. There is no real gain in speed. The hull will smoothly go @5 mph with trolling motor at about 1/3 throttle or a 2.5 hp outboard sputtering at idle. Plus it is a bunch of weight out over the pointy end of a canoe. Having both motors on the same canoe seems excessive in weight and space(battery and gas can.) But since you are thinking of both the easy solution is get the canoe and the trolling motor first and see how it works. If you want more speed than you get with that combo you are probably going to need a different boat.

I have everything and the trolling motor is the same weight as the gas motor.

Have you considered a john boat?

If a canoe wanted to be a fishing boat with trolling motor and “traveling motor” it would be a gheenoe.

gheenoe.net/

I know what a gheenoe is. I dont remember asking about them. I have considered a jon boat and have been checking out the trackers. I kinda like them.

I like in new york. Not florida Overstreet. Gheenoes dont exist up here

@Jsho said:
I like in new york. Not florida Overstreet. Gheenoes dont exist up here

Well, here’s something similar that might be available in New York. Any of these will be more expensive than a Coleman or equivalent but the quality will be proportionately better, and these will have more tolerance for running under motor power. Just one other option.

http://www.esquif.com/en/sporting/