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I would like to fish in some small lakes or reservoirs (New Jersey)
that only allow the use of electric motor. I am wondering whether I
should use a rowboat or a canoe. Regardless whether I will use a
rowboat or a canoe, I will mount an electric trolling motor to its
stern as the primary propelling power.


Get the biggest trolling motor you can afford.

I need some info in order to help me to make a decision:

o Is this realistic to use a trolling motor to push a rowboat for a
distance of 1 mile back and fro?

Sure, it can do it. I run a 20' bass boat miles and miles on the electric
int he course of a day. Then I am running a 36Volt off three batteries in
series. My 24 Volt motors running off two in series work ok too.

I have a feeling that the combined
weight of the rowboat, two adults, an anchor, and the wide
cross-section "may" be a drag for the trolling motor. Will this be OK
afterall?

Its not too much, but if you go with a small cheap motor you won't go very
fast, and you may find a strong wind will over come the force of your motor.
Go big and you won't have that problem.

And I don't intend to use the oars as the backup propelling
power because I don't have any luck doing this.

You need to practice using oars on a row boat because there is always the
chance your motor or batteries could fail on you at an important time. A
cnoe ont he other hand paddles much easier.


o Seem like we cannot put too many stuffs inside a canoe as comparing
to a rowboat.

Depends on the canoe and the people using it. My Unlce Paul and I used a 16
foot Old Town wood frame and fiberglass canoe for two day river trips with
waterproof stuff bags filled with sleeping bags, a tent, cooking and camping
gear, and food for the trip. We also fished along the way. With a little
planning I imagine we could have done upto about five or six days
comfortable. With a water purifier and a little luck fishing more.

This may mean that I cannot put a big trolling motor and
big batteries into the canoe.

Well, a canoe moves so easily you won't need as a big of a trolling motor.
Batteries on the other hand are quite heavy. If you plan your load well you
can easily handle a couple batteries. You may need to make some long cables
so that you can position the batteries far forward if running solo, or int
he middle with a partner. You can offset this with how you load the rest of
your gear. We carry a quite large icechest in the middle of my 16 foot
square back (profile of an 18 footer) lake (wider beam than a river canoe)
canoe. As you can tell canoes can vayr widely from one model to the next.
In general a canoe will move a lot easier than your rowboat, but the row
boat (depending on its profile) will be more stable.

Does this restrict the distance that the
canoe can go to less than 1 mile back and fro?

Battery life, trolling motor size, speed selected, and craft selected will
all be factors to determine your range. A canoe will move further and
faster on the same batteries and motor than a row boat.

o How do we anchor a canoe in the middle of the lake? Putting an
anchor inside a canoe "seems" like putting a lot of weight of the
canoe.

You don't need much anchor to hold a canoe in place. I used a relatively
light mushroom anchor in mine it works fine in any circumstances I have
tried so far. When you consider your weight, the weight of your partner and
all your gear the weight of a small mushroom mud anchor is negligible. If
the weight still bothers you there are other tpes of lighter anchors that
may be of use to you. My Uncle Paul has an anchor that looks like a big
grappling hook. It has a pull ring in the middle. If you pull the ring the
hooks fold flat to take up less space.

This "may" make the canoe hard to control if the anchor is not
placed at the dead center of the canoe.

Weight may be an issue, but the nice thing is you can shoft your ass on the
seat and make huge adjustments on the position of the canoe. Much more than
the position of a tiny little anchor. I usually leave my tiny anchor in a
handy location near the bow so the guy in the front can deploy it easily.


Will the use of an anchor and
cross-blowing wind cause the canoe to capsize?.

DO NOT ANCHOR FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE CANOE. Waves and wind will hit you
broad side and you will risk capsizing. Anchor from the bow, and be ready
with a knife to cut loose if current or wind pushes you down against the
anchor rope. Deploy plenty of rope and this is also unlikely. My canoe has
a bow eye. I run my anchor rope through it and then tie off the rope inside
the canoe. This way any pull is directly against and inline with the canoe.

If you anchor from the middle of the canoe. ABSOLUTLEY. You will sink
eventually. If you anchor from the bow as I described. I doubt it will ever
be an issue.

Am I worrying the wrong
things?

No, you are worrying the right things. Canoing is a great way to cover
water, but you must take the time to practice and learn how to do it safely.
By posting your questions and concerns here you have already demonstrated a
higher than average intelligence and some of the proper steps towards safe
boating or canoeing.

Do people have a different mean to anchor a canoe without using
an anchor?

In shallow water I have seen guys clamp a steel tube to the front of their
canoe. The carry a light weight piece of ten foot conduit around with them.
When they get someplace they want to fish they slide the long piece of
conduit down through the tube and stick it into the mud below to hold it in
place. I have no opinion about this as I have never tried it, but I don't
think it would very well anyplace there is strong wind or heavy current. I
imagine fishing swamps and bogs it might work great.

Thanks for any info in advance.

Jay Chan

You are welcome. Now can I suggest something else. If your primary
motivation fishing go larger. Get a big wide beam flat bottom john boat
with lots of room to fish. Mount a fishing seat in the front and go with a
bow mount foot controlled trolling motor. I have a 65 lb thrust mounted on
a Waco 2050-16 and I can fish all day with it going almost non stop. I am
using two group 27 Trojan batteries on that boat. By the end of an 8 hour
tournament its getting a bit weak, but it does the job. Its a very stable
boat and I can keep fishing even when the wakes of passing wake board boats
start to bounce me up and down. I do have to hold onto my fishing seat.
LOL. I think the basic boat is less than 2 grand, and mine can also handle
upto a 50HP outboard (which I have on mine) There are other jons in that
size range which can be had cheaper. Mine has a conxole, 20" transom, and
an extra platform mounted up front for the trolling motor. Eliminate these
and possible look for another boat and you can get the price down further.

Waco 2050-16
http://www.wacomfg.com/205016.html
Dealers will sell it for less than the suggested price.

Tracker of similar size
http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/ind...v=15&boat=1542

Note: The wider the boat the more stable it will be.

--
Bob La Londe

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