anyone ever used a small outboard on a canoe ?

after trying a 30lb thrust trolling motor on my canoe, Ive almost decided to move on to a small outboard.

to me it almost seems like the prop would be a bit lower from the canoe, then on a jon boat. am I incorrect on this? I dont think these little 2-2.5 hp outboards have a feature where the shaft will give if it hits something, so could using a little outboard be a little iffy when cruising in the shallow saltwater creeks that I hang out in?


here is the motor mount I will use, its rated up to 3hp.

I've seen small outboards used on canoes, but in the center of the stern, never seen a bow mount. Not sure how that would work.

I put a 2.5 in between two Kayaks and it cruises along bretty good. As far as the shaft hitting something. Our 2.5 (Nissan if I remember right) will rotate up out of the way...meaning it isnt fixed down. It worked out real nice for Canada..not to many soft things to hit in those lakes either. Ours didn't seem to deep though...just depends on the motor..we've talked about lowering it in the water some for our setup.

That's an interesting setup with the kayaks! Very inventive!

I don't see an outboard working as a bow mount...

The canoes I have seen with it have a squared stern and a mounting plate for the outboard.

I've seen a few of the side mounts in use. You can't hang a big motor on them but work fine with the small motors.
The motors are mounted on the starboard side at the rear of the canoe.

I've seen them on the rear as well ....at least as the boat was moving...I saw on here somewhere that if your by yourself in a canoe turning it backwards and sitting on the front seat (when using a motor) distributes your weight more evenly...makes sense but I don't have a canoe so i have not tried it...

I've actually thought about trying to set our motor up on just one of our kayaks Just to see if I can do it.... :LOL2:

I used to do that with a 17' canoe. Built a side mount with pivoting motor bracket so if I hit something in the river it didn't destroy everything

Jdholmes said:

That's an interesting setup with the kayaks! Very inventive!

I don't see an outboard working as a bow mount...

The canoes I have seen with it have a squared stern and a mounting plate for the outboard.

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I believe the motor mount is a side mount at the stern, not the bow. Should work fine, but I would go as small as possible, 2-2.5hp will be plenty. If you are worried about the shaft being too low in the water, you could modify your mount to raise the motor up--just make sure your water intake doesn't suck air (if using a typical water cooled outboard that is, some small outboards are air cooled.)

There is no way I'd put a 850 dollar motor on that mount.

jasm2 said:

There is no way I'd put a 850 dollar motor on that mount.

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If the mount is used and attached correctly, it should be fine... I would never spend $850 on a 2 horse motor lol. Craigslist is my friend :mrgreen: This time of year, up north here in the dead of winter, a 2-3hp in good working condition will only sell for a couple hundred bucks even if its only a few years old... an oldy can be had for like $150 or less in good running shape.

I have a 15ft aluminum grumman canoe. Last year I sold my boat and wanted to go crabbing in the back bay. I bought a side motor mount and a 2.5 Suzuki. The motor only weighs 35lbs. It worked ok but could not go very fast with the motor mounted to the side. Also the sides are not very high so you have to cut the bow into any waves or wake. To make it more stable I bought a pontoon kit and it worked good. But I would only use it on calm days and if by myself I had to put a cement block in the front floor to ballest it down.