Ideal boat for SE Streams and impoundments

[Cove]

Gang, I need some input on boat purchase.

Need a boat big enough and with a low enough "center of gravity" for a couple of guys to float a river like the zumbro on a day's fishing but small enough to carry down a bank and toss in. Typical use: put in below the dam at lake Zumbro and float to a downstream destination. Other uses: little impoundments around Rochester. I have a canoe but is too tippy. I envision an electric or a very small outboard and often just paddle power. Heard of a 10 footer with 2 swivel seats but wonder if that is a little short and prone to tip in river situations.

[Hooked_on_Salmo_Lures]

Not sure how much your looking to spend, but if a canoe is to tipsy, my opinion would be one of two things to recommend to you,¡K.

A.) The cheaper route would be a flat bottom aluminum johnboat. The fact that its metal means a lil more weight, but the flat bottom makes it drag a lil better, and the flat bottom gives it more stability in the water. I work with a bunch of guys who use this type of boat for duck hunting and fishing small impoundment¡¦s, and they tell me it works very well, plus most slide nicely into the back of a pickup! You can usually find these cheap on garage sales and in the paper or shopper add, or buy them new.

B.) This one can get a lil more spendy, but cabelas sells these plastic flat bottom boats, some are set up like a pontoon,.. others are like a low side wall johnboat. They have two swivel seats, and most can be set up with an electric trolling motor, some will do a small out board

If it were me looking, I¡¦d go with the johnboat, they¡¦re cheaper a will hold up better to dragging and the occasional rock. I would also stick with an electric trolling motor, some small impoundment¡¦s like foster arrends, do not allow gas outboards, and in the river situation, u may have to monkey around with lifting the motor way to muchƒ¼,¡Kgood luck with what ever you go with!!! Drifting the zumbro sounds like a blast,¡Kand I know I¡¦d love to get a small boat out on fosters!!!

One more thing,¡Kyou said most common use would be launching bellow the (Contact Us Please),¡Kif you meant at Mac¡¦s,¡Kyou may want to call ahead to make sure you can still launch there,¡KI¡¦ve heard talk on here that access has been shut down there? Its under new owner ship as of a few years ago,¡Kand they¡¦ve changed a lot of stuff,¡Kso just a heads up there.

Hope this helps you out!!!

[uffdapete]

All canoes are not created equal. I have had 4 of them over the last 40 years and 2 were stable, 1 was so-so and 1 was horrible.

The last was a River Ridge Custom canoe which is quite stable, is specifically designed for fishing smaller rivers and impoundments and fits the bill very well for what you want to do.

If you're looking to spend less, I'd look for a Scanoe - the square stern version of the Coleman canoe. I had a double end Coleman that was reasonably stable but would insist on using a motor on a craft fishing a river. I had a 55 lb electric on the River Ridge and that worked extremely well on the Zumbro and Root rivers, Chesterwoods, and Mississippi backwaters, etc.

[gadabout]

If you you ever find the right boat please let me know.I have been searching for years.I even tried to build my own.

[NutsAboutFishing]

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[Cove]

All,

Thanks a lot for your comments. I have been silent since I posted but have been reading and my son has been studying the situation and briefing me.

The Coleman Crawdad? Will look into that.

At this point we are ready to concede that a boat durable enough to bump along the zumbro grazing over rocks would also be portable out to GameHaven! The Pond Boat is in the running at 130 pounds and the Coleman Bass Classic weighs in at 169. One of us wants an elevated chair. I do not think the Crawdad has that, does it? More of a bench?

[Abrams]

A carsten blue bill works well for river and duck hunting.

[NutsAboutFishing]

Yes the Crawdad has only two bench style seats. It probably weighs anywhere from 125-140 I am guessing.

[Cove]

Hmmm the Carsten Bluebill looks sweet. I googled it and found these specs: DIMENSIONS: Lenght: 13' 4" Beam: 39" Weight: 90 lbs. Weight Cap: 500 lbs. ... That is definately a consideration. I am torn between staying rather small / light and getting something 3 guys could go out fishing in. There are trade offs.

[Cove]

I am leaning towards the Port-a-Boat 12 or 14 foot. Light enough to get it off road and big enough for 3 guys. Tough enough for some scuffing. Not a perfect solution. Can drive me nuts trying to find a one-size-fits-all craft. I wonder if I could get a very lightweight boat trailer. Aluminum? I am in late 50's and my days of horsing stuff around are shrinking.

[Dan Thiem]

We float the Zumbro quite a bit from the Falls to Hammond, and from the Green Bridge to Zumbro Falls. We got canoes, and shallow V 14 footers and we also use one of these. It's an Uncle Bucks Pond Prowler. This is a picture of one off the web.

I think that's a 10' boat. It looks tippy, but I can for sure say it aint. We have fished two guys out of one of these quite a bit.

But it fits in the back of a truck and pretty easy to carry around and load up.

[Tyler Holm]

I've heard lots of good thing about those "porta botes" Do a search on it. They fold up flat, and open into a boat. They are light, store well, transport well, etc. They are a bit spendy, but you have options to spend less as well.

My boss has one and he loves it.

[Cove]

Thanks all of you who chipped in on this boat question. It is so great to go to forums with gear questions.

I ended up getting a 12 foot Port-a-Boat after conferring with the forum and my son, David, who is also becoming a forum scavenger. I got the "dolly" that is made for it and hope to wheel it long distances, if need be, to access water. Will use existing electric transom mount motor initially but plan on going for a gas motor in the 3-4 hp range, 50 # or less to remain portable. Hope to use it in the Zumbro River amoung other places so...we will see.