Ultra Light Canoes?

TWBryan · August 23, 2017, 10:54:58 AM

I've seen a few manufacturers that make solo canoes out of Aramid and the canoe weight is listed at 30 pounds or so. I can't lift very much anymore so I found that interesting. Anyone got experience with them? What are the downsides?

Thanks For Looking:)

cortman · August 23, 2017, 11:51:39 AM

I forget the site but one manufacturer was selling a carbon fiber solo canoe, 10' long I believe. Weighed 10 lbs.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Princeton_Man · August 23, 2017, 12:02:22 PM

Hornbeck makes them...

I dunno.... I'd be afraid a strong wind would send it sailing like a Dixie cup.

Kris · August 23, 2017, 12:14:13 PM

Quote from: TWBryan on August 23, 2017, 10:54:58 AM
I've seen a few manufacturers that make solo canoes out of Aramid and the canoe weight is listed at 30 pounds or so. I can't lift very much anymore so I found that interesting. Anyone got experience with them? What are the downsides?

Thanks For Looking:)

One other thing to keep in mind. Most canoes have a tendency to flip over and leave you and all your equipment in the river. I once thought about getting a Gheenoe cause they are a really neat boat. Not sure on the weight but I believe is more stable when turning around inside it.

SteelHorseCowboy · August 23, 2017, 02:24:11 PM

I don't know about that. My lady and I rented a cheaply built plastic canoe at the lake, and we couldn't flip that sucker unless we tried. Actually, the only tippy canoe I've been in are my homemade pirogues, a project that's on the back burner due to enthusiasm killing failures and theft. Even then, they didn't flip, even with a squirmy kid in the first one, and I was able to stand in the second. Before it broke in half and went to the bottom, leaving me to swim ashore with all my gear and 3 pound hog leg in tow...

It's all about hull shape.
As far as the weight concern goes, princeton-man spoke my thoughts. My pirogues were about 50-65 pounds. I didn't weigh them, and it's hard to guess when you've got that much weight in a 15' length hoisted over your head. But they were wind sensitive. That could also be due to the length and amount of freeboard though.
Again, that's all about hull shape.

Princeton_Man · August 23, 2017, 02:42:28 PM

I've used the Old Towne's ABS and fiberglass canoes and they were very stable. I know nothing about the ultra-lights but I'd be concerned about stability until at least trying one.

TWBryan · August 23, 2017, 02:44:11 PM

I have wondered about the wind sending me spiraling off into the distance. One description said they were only for "flat water" .

The canoe I had was about 18 ft long and very flat wide bottom. No fears of flipping. I guess it could happen if the water was rough though.

For me the max I could drag,a short distance,to the water would be 50lbs.

I did consider buying some cheap thin plywood and making a very small boat. Haven't figured out how to put bends in some of the wood though. That and I have an unreasoning phobia of being in a boat small enough for a gator to mate with it...

I toured the mohawk factory once.It was neat. I do wish I had spent the money to buy a solo canoe back then.

What would you buys say is a minumum weight for a single-person canoe? Or another way would be,what is a safe material to make one out of? I am leaving out aramid and the one Cortman mentioned.

SteelHorseCowboy · August 23, 2017, 07:49:49 PM

Well you saw my thread on the homemade pirogues. As far as sturdy goes, they're fine... so long as you don't let the wood get water damaged before you build it and seal it. And I cut a lot of corners on mine, for the sake of saving money and time.
And I'm not done! I still have this pile of cedar planks. Just haven't had the time to fool with it.
Also did some more checking into it, and apparently I DON'T have to register a homemade, unpowered boat. I got pretty ticked off when I thought I did.
It's not hard to build them, and not very strenuous. The gators left me alone. Except the one very small one that wanted to come investigate, and we scared the teetotal hell out of each other.
Lipripper's age old advice to me in that thread is golden, and it's some I've heard a thousand times or more. Measure once, cut twice.

PM me your email, and I'll send you the plans I based mine on. You can look it over and think on it.

Edited to add: I got that so wrong... it's measure twice, cut once!

TWBryan · August 24, 2017, 11:45:13 AM

Steelhorse,honestly if I could work on anything I would try making one of those cedar strip canoes. If you get them right they are pretty fantastic.

I've looked through my local craigslist ,but picking are slim for the poor boy.

I suspect if I can't lift one of the darn things I probably don't have the strength to paddle it anyway...

Princeton_Man · August 24, 2017, 02:20:51 PM

I got to looking at the prices for those ultralight things and I don't think I could go that route.

If I were going to spend that kind of money I'd go the kayak route. They must have high liability insurance.

Have a friend with a small tackle store who started selling yaks this year. For around $2000 you can get one dang nice kayak, retractable wheels for pulling like a wagon, comfy height adjustable seat, and two trolling motor options; pedal power or electric.

cortman · August 24, 2017, 03:10:50 PM

Quote from: Princeton_Man on August 24, 2017, 02:20:51 PM
I got to looking at the prices for those ultralight things and I don't think I could go that route. If I were going to spend that kind of money I'd go the kayak route. They must have high liability insurance.

Have a friend with a small tackle store who started selling yaks this year. For around $2000 you can get one dang nice kayak, retractable wheels for pulling like a wagon, comfy height adjustable seat, and two trolling motor options; pedal power or electric.

I'd hope it's nice for $2k. My entire jon boat setup cost a little less than that.

TWBryan · August 24, 2017, 05:15:03 PM

Princeton-man, it sounds nice,a friend recently got a kayak to take out for wildlife photography. It has a special trolling motor mounted up by the center of the structure that you can steer with pedals. Very nice rig. Problem is the battery he needs to run it is over $300. He paddles a lot.

Cortman, I'd use a jon boat as well if I didn't have to haul it about.

I think I will have to learn how to enjoy fishing from shore..

SteelHorseCowboy · August 25, 2017, 10:09:45 AM

Nah, you're just in the same boat I'm in, so to speak! Keep hope, you'll get there!

How much do you think you can lift, how much you reckon you can drag, and how you gonna haul it?

bigjim5589 · August 25, 2017, 10:36:29 AM

I know of many folks who have gone to kayaks. They're making them quite stable now & fairly light weight, with many accessories for fishing. Not something I've tried, but have seen some that had me thinking about it. I have a friend back in MD who guides from a Yak. His has the peddle drive, so he can fish without having to paddle. That's a very cool feature IMO.

I have an older Gheenoe. It's almost 16', and heavy compared to kayaks, but it is very stable. I have a trailer for mine, but can move it around in the bed of my truck (8' bed). I've added pedestals & better seats, so that makes it even heavier to move, but even at my age I can still do it. For how long, I don't know!

I usually paddle it, but have had a 9.9 outboard & a 36 lb trolling motor on it, & both move it along very well. Paddling is not too bad either, but I'm tall, & long arms, so even with the raised seats I can still paddle without any difficulty. I went to the pedestals because my knees are not good, and sitting too low with my knee's up hurts my knees & my back.

In wind, any light craft is going to be more difficult to handle. My Gheenoe has anchors front & rear that can be deployed from the rear seat, so even when I've fished alone, and in windy conditions, it's not been bad to fish from it. I've fly fished a lot from it, and can do that sitting down. Of course, I don't like being out there in it if the winds get over about 15mph anyway. That makes it a real chore & work, and I don't go fishing for that!

TWBryan · August 25, 2017, 12:07:59 PM

Steelhorse,I am thinking at this point I will need to get a second hand solo canoe. At the moment after buying a new clothes dryer,and looking at repairing truck a/c I don't think it's gonna be a huge priority for some time.

I can probably lift 50 pounds,if I have something to lean against. Dragging it depends on the handle I put on it. If I had to lift the canoe off the ground and drag it that would be about impossible for me. If I tied a rope on it I could go maybe 30 yards before I had to stop and rest.

Bigjim,always want gheenue myself they are a nice small lake boat. I would not try it in a bigger lake,nor in the ocean.

Here I am not to far from the St John's River.I would not try going down it in a canoe.Too many huge barges use the river and they simply don't care if they crush a small boat or kill someone.

I think my requirements (what I would look for) is a kevlar canoe about 14' ,solo would be nice ,but I dont much care. A kayak type paddle would be the way to go I think. The only thing I might try to do is make sure it had a comfortable seat.

My truck is a 1996 toyota tacoma,with steel work topper. Bought it a few years ago with 166,000 on the odometer. It's in nice shape. The a/c going out is the first major issue I've had with it.