Last year my hunt club had our 1436 jon boat and JB Mud Motors 6.5hp surface drive stolen, and we've REALLY missed having a powered boat in our little creek. Insurance wouldn't cover the theft and we don't have the money for full replacement so I'm trying to do something cheap for this winter. Here's what I'm looking at, so please feel free to shoot holes in the idea or whatever:
We have 3 or 4 canoes that we use on the creek, but no jon boat anymore. I toyed with the idea of building one of the Mini Swamp Runner longtails (2.5hp) and trying to run it on a canoe. Not sure how well that would work or the best way to mount without making it really tippy or back heavy.

One other big consideration is that we had a longtail out there before and really preferred the surface drive due to turning radius. Like I said, we don't need speed on our creek, just enough power to get through some weeds, move upstream, and make frequent tight turns. Is that too much to ask for a 2.5hp longtail on a 80# 16' canoe? Anyone with actual experience with this setup?

The mini kit will run me about $450 all set up, versus $2,500 or more to replace what we had. If we had a jon boat I would probably step up to the 6.5hp longtail for just another $100 or so, but if I can push a canoe with the 2.5 it might be just what we need to get through another hunting/trapping season or two.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

These guys put a mud buddy on a double ender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5ciwQo_Clc

I've been very happy with my small Swamp Runner on my freighter canoe. It has a transom, but it's the wine class stern.
canoetransom.jpg If you do a google image search of Frontiersman freighter it might show a better picture.

Basically a transom on the back of a double ended canoe. The efficiency at paddling of a double ender, but able to put a motor on it. I would like a freighter with a real transom, wide enough to plane out better and go faster and shallower.

I think, with care and planning and proper loading of weight in the bottom of your double ender for stability, you'll get what you're looking for. Swamp Runner has a weedless prop for the small kit, I believe they're working on weedless props for the rest of them as well, but I don't think they're available. Since it's a displacement hull it won't go fast, but it should still go.

Too bad about the theft. Rats everywhere I guess.

depending on the width of the canoe, id be really skeptical of getting into a mudmotor. you are going to have a lot of weight regardless due to the shaft length.

sell a canoe or 2 and buy another 14' FB. you can get one w/out a trailer on CL for $200-300. then make the 2.5 or 6.5HP with the SPS kit (will cost $500). you will be ready to go.

Yeah, I wish I had the ability to test a mini or small kit out on my 16' Old Town Guide before buying. It is plenty wide and the extra length and weight would help. Just no way of knowing how it will handle that load in the rear without just doing it. I suppose I could build one up and try, and if it doesn't work well, then maybe we could find a 14' fb. Only problem is all the canoes are personal property, not club, so unless someone is willing to sell/trade for a fb, that probably won't happen until club has funds to replace. Maybe someday.

How long are the shafts on the 2.5 and 6.5 kits? I couldn't find that info. I know the weight difference is only 10-15 lbs, which makes me think the 6.5 might be the more versatile build. Not sure a 2.5hp would push a 14' fb with 2 adults very well. Again, not looking for speed, but sometimes you need a little power to get through the weeds/grass or get upstream.

Shafts are 85 inches long for those kits.

http://mudmotorkit.com/parts/misc-parts.html?p=4

Thanks, man. Didn't think to look there. 85 is pretty long. Turning might be tough in our little creek. We used to run a 9hp GoDevil longshaft, and it was a bear to turn in that place.

No problem.

I've run my small kit on that freighter, a 12 foot Larson skiff, and a 15 foot Grumman Sport Boat. I haven't found where I could fit the boat that I couldn't run the motor. Once, when I wasn't paying attention, I wound up sideways against the bank in a beaver side channel and couldn't put the prop in the water to push the boat away because there was no water on that side of the boat that far away. I turned the engine off and used the tail to maneuver the boat and was running again in no time.

You can watch that struggle here around the 9 minute mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbJ9ZdeyKag

Approximately what is the total weight of the "small" rig? I see the 6.5 harbor freight engine is 37 lbs dry, but didn't see a weight for the small kit. I figure the total weight will be around 50-55 lbs?
Might try to load some weight on rear of my 16' canoe and see how it handles it.

I believe the small kit weighs about 50 pounds, putting the weight of the fueled/oiled set up in the low 90s. With my freighter and my Grumman, I need weight in the bow to offset the weight of the motor and me in the back. My scale broke when my uncle was weighing luggage to take meat back home, I'm going to buy a new one and weigh the set up.

Something you could do, that I've been wanting to try, is putting 2 double ended canoes together as a catamaran with the motor on a bracket in the middle. Here's a commercially built version
https://sites.google.com/site/twocanoetransom/

I figure I'll give it a shot when I talk my wife into an extended family float trip. I'll try to time it with some hunting season or other...

I've seem a Thompson skiff run dang near 30mph. Also saw it look like a cork with a fish biting in the neches lol

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

on another forum there is a guy with a 79 cc predator and a home built long tail pushing a final attack with a hunting load 5 MPH

Mark F. Cheney

Wow, 50# for the small kit? That is surprising.
90 lbs hanging on the end of my canoe would definitely be a stretch.
I like the catamaran idea!

the small kit is every bit of 50lbs + motor weight. as said before, wouldn't recommend for a canoe.

A square stern lacks flotation at the rear due to the narrow bottom. with any motor of significant weight plus the operator, battery and fuel the stern goes down and you need a periscope to see over the bow. The alternative is to put the wife, dog and a box of rocks as far forward as you can to level the rig out. The other restriction is when making a sharp turn at low speed, the narrow stern leaves little room for the operator to maneuver and the tiller is almost outside the boat. The square stern canoes that seem to be best are 20 to 24 footers and the operators learn to deal with the limitations. I have seen clamp on transoms for double enders that will take low hp motors and Briggs makes a small air cooled outboard that is really light. Google "canoe motor mount" and "Briggs outboard". You may get some alternative ideas. Good luck.