rowing canoes

[Troutman]

<p>I&#39;m debating on getting a canoe and rig it for rowing. I am wanting to be able for a front seat passenger to be able to&nbsp; fly cast&nbsp; while the rear seat controls the positioning much like a driftboat.</p>
<p>I&#39;m looking at the Old Town Rockport for its width, stabilty and price.&nbsp; The rivers I will be floating are class 1 with the occcasional riffle and small class 2 rapid.</p>
<p>Anyone have any reviews on fishing canoes? I&#39;ve owned a Mad River explorer in the past and while its a good river boat, the fishing stabilty was not good.</p>

[FlySlingerCole]

Are you sold on a canoe? What about a 2 man toon?

<img src="http://www.creekcompany.com/products/1220-a-lr.jpg" alt="" />

<p>To get the width you need for "balancing"* the oars for forward and backward movment, you will want a wide distance between the oarlocks.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, the wide distance apart usually means a wide hull, which is more difficult to turn.&nbsp; Further complications occurs when you move your oar station out of the center of the boat.</p>
<p>For fly casting and rear rowing station, I think I would be looking at like a gheenoe type boat as it gives the front person the ability to stand (another problem with most canoes).&nbsp;</p>
<br />
<p>* General rule for inflatable is 1/3 the length of the oar is inside the oarlocks.</p>

[Boyscout]

<p>Troutman, figuring out the right canoe setup is a hard task.</p>
<p>I&#39;ve got 2 canoes right now and still planning what the next one will be (couple of years out).</p>
<p>I used an Old Town Discovery 158 for years with 2 people in it. Very stable boat but I got really tired of having to switch with one person paddling while other one fished. You loose half your fishing time. I also got tired of one person wanting to fish a spot longer than the other and differing on what spot to fish.</p>
<p>I eventually put a center seat in my Disco and went solo. Man, I&nbsp;haven&#39;t fished&nbsp;with other people in my boat since. However, I did leave the tandem seats in so that my daughter can go with me. That boat is very much like your Mad River but the "shallow vee" bottom in your Explorer does not help stability at all. My Disco has a very shallow arch bottom and I can stand and fish out of it...in slow water. I lean over and lip fish without thinking about it. Both our&nbsp;boats are roughly same width and length but the shape of the bottom makes a lot of difference. BTW, I am about 5&#39; 11" and 210lbs.</p>
<p>If you must have a tandem boat, I suggest trying a double blade kayak paddle (around 240cm length) before buying oars. I use them in both my boats (other boat an OT Pack). Also, iif tandem, that Rockport is only 14 ft. I would want 16 ft minimum between me and the other guy. I have had hats come off from the other guys lure when he reared back to cast. The more distance, the better. Take a look at the Wenonah Kingfisher 16. It&#39;s 40" wide, 16 ft long and weighs only 65 lbs in Royalex.</p>
<p>All that being said, you should try out as many boats as possible. There is nothing like an hour in a boat to tell you what you need to know. Find an outfitter on some close river and rent various boats to see.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would also try some solo canoes. Man, it is sweet and like my Disco, many tandems can be made into a solo with a wood board bolted under the gunnels.</p>
<p>Good luck in your search!</p>
<br />
<p>Disco converted to solo mode...</p>
<p><img src="http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/scenery/disco01.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<br />
<p><img src="http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/scenery/disco02.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Look at all that room for fly line to lay ready for the next cast.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/scenery/disco03.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Me flipping the Disco on purpose to show daughter how stable it is. She took the photo exactly at the right time!</p>
<p>Note the very flat bottom. I leaned it to the gunnel and had to force it over.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/scenery/joc001.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<br />
<p>My favorite ride for tough access points. Yes, the 33lb OT Pack! I do not stand in it but stable enough for strong hook sets.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/fishpics/fish09/broad013.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[Boyscout]

<p>Cole brings up a very viable option...the toon.</p>
<p>The toon is the perfect fishing machine if you only fish fast flowing rivers and very light headwinds. Most rivers here in SC have a mile or 2 of dead calm water every mile or 2 and 80% of the time we have a headwind and about 30% of the time, a very strong 15mph+ headwind.</p>
<p>Depending on your rivers, the toon may be best. They sure are a joy to fish out of.</p>
<br />
<p>Ain&#39;t no perfect boat. Everyone needs a fleet! I&#39;m still waiting for the Lazy Boy chair with antigravity. <img title="Cool" src="/site/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif" alt="Cool" /></p>

[Troutman]

<p>I&#39;ve had a toon already and while it was great for floating the river, I have the problem of finding someone to do a shuttle for me and it was a 1 man so I could not take family with me. I still have my inflatable yak to fish from and until I can find a boat to fill my needs , I will stick with it. I would love to get a Gheenoe but with a son starting college in 2 years and my wife needing a car soon, a real boat will have to wait. I thought a canoe rigged with a trolling motor and oars for positioning might fit the budget till then. I&#39;ll keep on the search. Hog Island Boat works was supposed to have a river skiff out soon but I&#39;m sure It will be pricey.</p>

[BasserDrew]

<p>Don&#39;t know how it compares in price but what about a Native Ultimate 16?&nbsp; They make it with a propel drive, a volt drive and just plain for paddling.&nbsp; Of course you can use a paddle on the propel and volt versions as well because both systems pull up into the boat.&nbsp; I would think a 16 propel would be perfect since they are stable enough to stand and fly fish out of (thats what they were built for) and the person propeling the boat could even back peddle to hold in a spot for a second if they needed to.&nbsp; Or, they could use a drag chain to save their legs some energy but you get the idea, could work.&nbsp; Both systems work well and you could get back upstream easy in both of them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>troutman,&nbsp; I noticed this the other day.&nbsp; It should be close enough to you for a look.&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://chattanooga.craigslist.org/boa/1207282085.html" target="_blank">http://chattanooga.craigslist......82085.html</a></p>
<br />
<p>Also I saw a riverhawk, I believe in the east nashville area.</p>
<br />

[Troutman]

<p>Thanks Blake . Thats a pretty good deal for a Gheenoe. Someone will snap it up quickly.</p>
<p>I bought a used Mohawk Nova 16 canoe this afternoon from a guy down the road from me. It has been kept dry and hanging from a hoist in his garage for a couple of years. Stll iin great shape and he threw in a wood motor bracket and a 20# thrust troll motor for 3 Benjamins. Now I&#39;ve got to do some mods to make it more fishing friendly.</p>
<br />

[blake]

<p>I would have thought the ghenoe would have moved quick too, but it has been listed for a couple of months.</p>
<br />
<p>I think for your water a canoe is going to be a much better choice than a fiberglass boat.</p>

[blake]

<p>I saw pictures of an oarsaddle.com on an Aire Traveler (<a href="http://www.mountainbuzz.com/swap/showproduct.php?product=13236&amp;cat=22)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mountainbuzz.com/sw.....mp;cat=22)</a>. &nbsp;If the canoe doesn&#39;t work out for you, maybe the oarsaddle might work on your existing tandem inflatable.</p>