Zach Matthews
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That’s a cool shot Ronnie. You ought to post us one that shows their rig too – I’m curious how you’re keeping them.
Zach
Great post Ed and they do look pretty tasty. I think they’re actually grown in aquaculture in Asia. And obviously we need to be killing as many of them as we can over here.
Aaron –
Flip your boat, sand it gently with 400 grit sandpaper. Apply a primer coat. Sand again to smooth the primer. Paint using the “roll and tip” method with a boat paint OR use a spray gun if you have one. I would be surprised if a car place would really paint a boat for $200 — if they would though, that’s a fair price, especially if you can get a catalyzed paint. Wraps are going to cost a lot more.
If I ever need to redo the paint job on my Gheenoe I will probably look into getting it gel coated. Gel coats are essentially a colored epoxy and are stronger and more scratch resistant than any kind of paint.
Zach
That’s generous Gary; I appreciate that. I know of a place where I ought to be able to stack them in a cooler like cordwood but not at this time of year. Mostly I just want to camp on this island in Lake Blue Ridge that Tracy and I found and have something to fish for. Walleye seem to be the name of the game up there.
Zach
Steve –
One thing about that list: Metro Atlanta has a fuel standard that requires stations within a certain radius to sell ethanol gas. I am not sure whether the fuel standard actually helps promote clean air or whether it is a sop to the corn lobby, but either way, we Atlantans are kind of hosed.
I am pretty sure the outfit selling gas in Marietta is skirting the standard somehow – I know it’s not a proper gas station but some kind of refinery type deal.
Zach
Billy –
I know exactly what you mean. FWIW I cleaned my motor up a lot and improved both starting and idle performance simply by dumping an entire bottle of carburetor cleaner into my gas and running it through. I plan to do this once a year going forward to keep the gunk buildup to a minimum.
Zach
This is the first time I had heard of this kind of motor.
My Gheenoe has an 8hp 4-stroke Mercury on it. It will run ~3 hours on its three gallon tank at full blast, going about 15 mph.
Figure the gas is $3.50 a gallon so that’s $10.50 roughly for a full tank.
Assuming that website is reasonably accurate, they’re claiming 5 hours of 4600 rpm use (full speed, I gather, and slightly less than the “5000-6000 rpm” claimed by Mercury) on a 9.9hp propane engine using a regular grill tank. I filled my propane tank up the other day for $17.50 or so. Those are very close equivalents between gas and propane. Cost new is $3k for a Lehr 9.9 versus about $2300-2500 for the gas motor.
Very interesting though. My 8hp weighs about 85 pounds. I have had to take heroic measures to offset that weight since the Gheenoe was really designed for a 2-stroke, which is about 55 pounds for comparison. (I use a tiller extension, a jack plate, and trim tabs, all of which have helped).
However it looks like the Lehr 9.9hp at 87.7 pounds is about the same as the Mercury 9.9 hp at 84 lbs. Is the idea that you save weight on the fuel load? Gasoline weighs six pounds a gallon, which is 18 lbs in my 3 gallon tank. That’s very close to the 20 lbs. of the grill tank option–but the grill tank does get you about 40% more range.
Zach
Billy –
Mine is the Highsider, which I think is 15’9″. I spent the afternoon running around Lake Blue Ridge in it today. The 8 hp will push it about 15mph with a cooler, a dog, and my girlfriend Tracy.
Had a great time incidentally. Used Gretchen as a float tube motor. 1/2hp will move you surprisingly well. đŸ™‚
Great post and beautiful fish Kent. If you were going to recommend a canoe float for shoal bass, where would you tell someone to plan to put in and take out?
Zach
It’s hard to tell what’s going on from the picture but maybe block it out with foamboard and wrap to that?
Hey, I appreciate the discussion but there’s no need for anyone to get offended in any way. These are just opinions about boats here.
Thanks to all those who have participated in this thread.
Zach
That’s because that’s not me. That’s Dave.I’ll likely never get to that size again short of an apocalypse.
Hahahahahah! My bad, Mike.
Got a Musky in the middle of nowhere.
Mike I know I have told you this before but no BS I thought for a split second that was a pic of Hugh Jackman. You look like a completely different person these days–well done.
Zach
Those bicycle contraptions do look ridiculous, but if I remember the ad video from when they debuted at the Show properly, they are really, really fast. This dude appears to be truckin’!
This is very interesting and I like seeing how everyone has rigged out their boats. I know it’s old fashioned but have any of you guys tried a plain canoe? I have converted Scott Kitchens to the stand up canoe.
Many of the advantages Mike points to are present with the canoe: stability (a flat bottomed versus round bottom canoe is the key here but in the right boat they are very very stable), storage space aplenty, and the ability to rotate your position to cast one way or another.
If I were going to traverse long distances, I’d use a kayak, because they skim along so much better. For moving water, I would (and do) use a flatbottomed, relatively short canoe like my Old Towne Guide. I haven’t found a place I would fit in a SUP yet but I know those of you who like them must do so for a reason.
Zach
That looks awesome Travis. I fixed the image links for you – I am trying to figure out what went wrong there.
Zach