Nucanoe or square stern canoe?

[jakehardgrave]

So my ussual boat on here is my Native Slayer 14.5, but Ive got a little 2hp outboard and im looking to play around with getting to some spots a little further from the ramp. For a while now, I've had my sights set on the Nucanoe Pursuit kayak. Seems very similar to my Slayer, but it includes a little transom and an outboard motor rating. But just when I was getting ready to pull the trigger, I found out about these square stern canoes like the old town sportmaster.

They are less than half the price of the nucanoe, and to me it seems like it would accomplish something very similar? What am I missing here? In my experience with regular canoes, they seem over all more tippy than my Native, would this be the case in the sqaure stern canoe? I like to stand up and fish alot.

If anybody has experience in this let me know! Im ready to pull the trigger on one or the other.

[Kayak buddy]

Look into the Solo Skiff those look awesome as well

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[DumpTruck]

Haven't been in a pursuit, but have spent quite a bit of time in the nucanoe frontier 12. The nucanoe gets my vote. Great stable standing platform. Lots of open space for any rigging you want to do, and very easy to add a motor. I fished out of canoes my whole life, and to me they do not compare with the fishibility of the nucanoe. The tall sides of the narrow canoes and usually awkward seating - for fishing - are what I dislike on the canoes.

[jakehardgrave]

Look into the Solo Skiff those look awesome as well

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I have, those things look awesome, but If I sell my kayak and get a solo skiff, my fear is that Im now limited to either fishing alone or with other solo skiff owners. If I get the Nucanoe or Square stern canoe, my thought is that I can still fish will regular kayakers like I do.

Maybe Im over thinking this lol.

[jakehardgrave]

Haven't been in a pursuit, but have spent quite a bit of time in the nucanoe frontier 12. The nucanoe gets my vote. Great stable standing platform. Lots of open space for any rigging you want to do, and very easy to add a motor. I fished out of canoes my whole life, and to me they do not compare with the fishibility of the nucanoe. The tall sides of the narrow canoes and usually awkward seating - for fishing - are what I dislike on the canoes.

Thanks for the input! Have you ever tried adding a motor to the frontier?

[DumpTruck]

Haven't been in a pursuit, but have spent quite a bit of time in the nucanoe frontier 12. The nucanoe gets my vote. Great stable standing platform. Lots of open space for any rigging you want to do, and very easy to add a motor. I fished out of canoes my whole life, and to me they do not compare with the fishibility of the nucanoe. The tall sides of the narrow canoes and usually awkward seating - for fishing - are what I dislike on the canoes.

Thanks for the input! Have you ever tried adding a motor to the frontier?

It's just got a bassyaks trolling motor setup.

[vstrom650]

I have a very old aluminum Grumman 17' canoe that I rigged with an electric trolling motor. Picture the old two-person canoes you'd see at summer camp and that's it. With the motor, it's slightly faster than kayak, but I'm not going be able to run off and leave anyone behind. The standability is good, almost as good as a PA12. It will roll a bit more, but not much. It is a very large heavy canoe. The fishability is also very good, I like it. The taller canoe does catch more wind, thus windy days can be a pain. Plus with the motor off-set from the centerline, steering and docking is more difficult. I'd trade to a square-stern in a heartbeat for that issue. there's ton's more open area for storage, but no safe below deck storage. And it's not unsinkable.

In addition to the motor, I moved the back seat more toward the center of the canoe (making it more of a one person vessel) and lowered it slightly for better balance. I also removed the cross-members and made new ones at new locations to better fit my gear. I removed the front seat. I mounted the batteries to better off-set my weight and keep the canoe balanced front-to-rear.

Because of the size, the canoe will actually float in less water than a PA12, but at that point you'll need to pull the motor up and paddle.

With the side mount, a gas motor will cause the canoe to roll, requiring some type of out-rigger to stabilize. The electric trolling motor is light enough to be ok. With a square-stern that's not a concern.

All in all, I like it. I have a kayak for kayaking and a electric-powered canoe for when I'm lazy.

[jakehardgrave]

Thanks for the input, Im going to look at a fiberglass 14' square stern mohawk tonight. Its cheap enough that its worth the experiment to me even if I end up liking the kayak better. Ill let you guys know how it performs in comparison to my Native Slayer.

[Kayak Kid]

As a canoe instructor for four years at a girls summer camp in Tennessee, I became quite familiar with the Grumman aluminum canoes we used.
I ran white water in them, cruised the wide waterways of Tennessee, used them for three day camp outs, and, caught many a bass from them.

I used a sixteen foot square end Grumman with a 5 hp outboard to haul the gear and to pull a string of canoes on river trips when the gang got tired.
I never experienced a turnover, or a failure of any kind. Should one turtle.....,and, it would take work to do so.......,it is not difficult to remove the water and re enter the canoe.

They are lighter in weight than the Mohawk (a fine boat by the way), and, not quiet as expensive. The Grumman doesn't paddle as easily as the Mohawk, but is considerably more stable. When solo, it is wise to weight the bow as much as is practical (true of any square back). Weighting the bow elevates much of the wind problem.

Check it out. I would imagine that there are used ones to be had.

[thinshavings]

I have the Frontier as a first yak.
I run it with a 2.3 Honda and at times with a Minkota trolling motor.
I have had this thing in the bays, on rivers and lakes.
When on the river it was just paddle power and I was with a buddy that is a seasoned canoer.
The Frontier handled the river with moderate rapids FAR better than the canoe and would float much more shallow.
To me the Frontier is a very versatile boat.

[jakehardgrave]

Thank you all for the input, I pulled the trigger! Here sits my 14' 5" Mohawk Square Back canoe, beautifully refinished by a man in San Leon who is a dealer for new Pangas. He is in the process of refinishing a few more similar to this one but a little longer if any one is interested. I plopped my little Yamaha on the back and as soon as this wind dies down I'll give it a test run.

This thing will be my new fly fishing machine.

[vstrom650]

That's a perfect looking little boat. If I wasn't already in the dog house, I'd look at adding something like that to my fleet. My Grumman is nice, but the square stern would definitely be better.

[Kayak Kid]

Beautiful outfit. Enjoy to the fullest.

[Yaklash]

Nice!! I got some buddies in Louisiana that would put that to good use. Please shoot video with sound. I want to hear that little Yamaha purr.

[jakehardgrave]

Ill make a video as soon as I have a chance to test it out after work sometime this week.

Taking bets on top speed? 6 mph? 7mph? 10mph?

[Bradleto]

I have a Native Slayer Propel 10, a Jackson Cuda Lt and . . . a Meyers Sportspal S-15 fishing canoe. Each has its merits and place for fishing.

Regarding my canoe, it has a square stern (the S-16 next size up is double pointed) and I use mine with a trolling motor, a Minn Kota 55. I am thinking about putting a little outboard on it. There simply isn't a better fishing canoe than a Sportspal. It is very wide at around 38" and it has foam sponsons (sort of a boat wrapper) on each side that make it 42" or thereabouts.

Stability? You can stand in it all day long. I was fishing with a friend in very heavy wind on Wheeler Branch, decided that I'd cross over to an island, the waves were heavy . . . and I crossed over a couple of hundred yards standing the whole way. It is much more stable than a PA 12 or 14.

I was out today in a cove in Galveston fishing with my bros-in-law and we were in his canoe, a 15 or 16 footer, Old Town I believe and this particular model was very unstable. He side-mounted a trolling motor near the stern and the canoe responded oddly, never could get it to steer straight.

So, the good and the bad. A wide canoe paddles poorly so plan on using a trolling motor or a small outboard. This one is rated for up to 5hp but I think a 2 or 2.5 would be just perfect. And, it catches a lot of air so one needs to think through ways to stick on the water, a nice anchor trolley works great . . . but you will need to drop an anchor to not drift or blow around. So, if you plan to work along a bank like one would do in a kayak, this is not the best fishing platform.

Not sure where you are located but if you want to strap on your small motor and give mine a whirl, let me know if you are near Lake Athens south and a bit east of Dallas about 70 miles.

Google Meyers Sportspal and look at the photos, lovely vessels. And, there are quite a few Youtube videos of Sportspals with trolling motors and small outboards. They handle them great. For me, I think for anyone who knows they plan to use a TM or an outboard, not getting a square stern is a mistake.

Huge carrying capacity, I think it is rated 600 lbs. or thereabouts . . . so you can bring a friend out for fishing, too.

Brad

[hipshot]

"I have, those things look awesome, but If I sell my kayak and get a solo skiff, my fear is that Im now limited to either fishing alone or with other solo skiff owners. If I get the Nucanoe or Square stern canoe, my thought is that I can still fish will regular kayakers like I do.

Maybe I'm over thinking this lol."

FWIW I have a Solo and I still fish with a lot of kayakers. And they love getting a tow when the wind kicks up; I've never been so popular.