Hello,

I am hoping my friend here can help me. I have a square stern Old Town 16' canoe. I have a 36lb thrust 12V trolling motor and it does ok. I'd like to have a more powerful motor. I have been reading but am having a hard time coming to a conclusion.

My canoe says 4hp outboard is the largest I can go. I don't think I need 4 hp. But, do I get a bigger trolling motor? If so, how big 55lb, 62lb, or 86lb thrust? Do I stick with 12V or move up to 24V? What brand? Minn Kota, Newport or Goplus?

Then, if I do a gas one, do I do 2 or 4 stroke? 2, 2.5, 3 or 3.5 hp? Are the little motors on ebay good enough? If not, where would I look to buy such a motor?

I have looked at Cabela's and Bass Pro but didn't see anything.

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

Those little gas outboards are neat with the integrated fuel tank.

Not sure if you can even get a new 2 stroke any more in the US. You can still find them used a lot though. The 4 strokes are pricey and they are considerably heavier than a equal HP 2 stroke. This makes a difference on small vessels like your canoe. When you have you + a heavy motor on the back your bow sticks up and it's hard to maneuver in wind, let alone ever get on plane.

What is your intended use for the canoe? Pond fishing would be entirely different than traveling a river.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gene Hillman,

Yeah, I didn't think of the weight.

I use it primarily on large old stripper pits but I can/will go to larger lakes and possibly rivers.

The way I am thinking is I will have my trolling motor for small lakes/pits.

I have a 15'9" Gheenoe,
squareback fiberglass canoe, basically,


it is supposedly rated at 10 hp max, but I have heard of folks running 15's w/o issues,

I don't have a gas motor cause I just don't have too many places we can use a gas motor,

so I have a 30 yr old MinnKota 36 lbs,

was told that 36lb equals 3 hp,, no idea if that is true or not, but that motor with a fresh battery will make that Gheenoe scoot on flat water,

I've used it on the James and had no problems in fast currents,


one battery, in the back if I have another person in the boat,

if I am by myself, I'll stand (Gheenoe's are known for stability) or sit in the middle or front,

Good info. Thank you, lyman.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
I have a 15'9" Gheenoe,
squareback fiberglass canoe, basically,


it is supposedly rated at 10 hp max, but I have heard of folks running 15's w/o issues,

I don't have a gas motor cause I just don't have too many places we can use a gas motor,

so I have a 30 yr old MinnKota 36 lbs,

was told that 36lb equals 3 hp,, no idea if that is true or not, but that motor with a fresh battery will make that Gheenoe scoot on flat water,

I've used it on the James and had no problems in fast currents,


one battery, in the back if I have another person in the boat,

if I am by myself, I'll stand (Gheenoe's are known for stability) or sit in the middle or front,

Yamaha makes a very nice 2.5 HP motor.

I just looked that up. Very nice indeed!

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Yamaha makes a very nice 2.5 HP motor.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
I have a 15'9" Gheenoe,
squareback fiberglass canoe, basically,

I just sold a 15' 6" Gheenoe hisider. I have an 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke that was on it. On a trip into the Everglades, I clocked it at 17mph, on plane, full throttle.

8hp!? On a canoe!?

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
I have a 15'9" Gheenoe,
squareback fiberglass canoe, basically,

I just sold a 15' 6" Gheenoe hisider. I have an 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke that was on it. On a trip into the Everglades, I clocked it at 17mph, on plane, full throttle.

new little 2 stroke is no. The last year of small ones was 2006. I bought enough to last me my lifetime then and some still sit in crates. But in any case the little 2.5hp Yamaha is a mint engine. Oddly the 4hp one is junk and the larger ones really don't fit your application. I think you would be totally happy with it.

Well you have several options. How often do you use this boat?

Electric is the easiest and 24 volts is the most efficient and more powerful ones require it, but requires 2 batteries to make 24 volts so more weight. The largest 12 volt you can find is an option. Minn Kota or the other one that's been around 30+ years (forget the name).

Gas 4 stroke. You really need to run those little outboards, like every 2 weeks, use stabilizer, or you'll be buying a new carb for $365 +/- as the passages are so small they get clogged just sneezing at them. They also vibrate a lot.....electric is peaceful.

I do like that the electric are so quiet. The largest minn Kota I see is a 55# thrust. I must not be looking in the right places.