Collecting Via Water--Kayak, Canoe, Jon Boat?

[Sharks of SC]

Hey, y'all; I know I'm reviving an old thread, but I had to put this out there. We used a 17' Grumman canoe for fishing and then later when we started fossil hunting on, specifically, the Peace River in Florida. We spent a lot of time getting unstuck from rocks and sandbars when the river was really low, but that was fine until the day I flipped it trying to get in while standing in 2-1/2 feet of water in the Peace and all our fossils we'd collected went down the river never to be seen again, including two very nice small mammal partial jawbones with teeth. A short time later my husband found a used River Hawk on a trailer and bought it. It is perfect for fossil hunting. For those of you who don't know, a River Hawk is similar to a ganoe/gheenoe; it's wider and more stable than a canoe -- you can easily stand up in it on water and not flip, and my husband often stands in the stern and steers with an extender bar on the motor -- and, since it has a square stern, you can attach a motor. We have a small outboard we use for deeper water, but when we're on the Peace in collecting areas we use a trolling motor. Sometimes we have both motors on the boat, but usually we just leave the outboard in the campground when we see the water is very shallow. It is easy to carry a battery for the trolling motor, and we have a small solar panel that we connect while out to trickle charge the battery during the day while we're digging for fossils. There is plenty of room for everything you need for fossil hunting. We take a cooler, sieves, shovels, buckets, seat cushions, life vests, paddles, fishing rods, anchor, and still have room left over for two dogs. Oh, and with the aid of a couple of brackets we attached we have a beach umbrella we put up to offer the dogs some shade during the day. To me the River Hawk is the perfect fossiling boat. We like it so much we just bought a second used one, a smaller one, that we'll be able to put on the truck for travel; that way we can leave the trailered boat at home when we travel with our popup camper.

Well done! That's an awesome setup. My buddy and I recently rigged up a gheenoe + trolling motor + solar panel combo ourselves - the perfect calm-water fossil hunting rig.

[pinkpantherbeekeeper]

I've been wanting to get a canoe or kayak for a couple of years now. I have been looking hard at an Old Town 119. Dlcks sporting goods has them for $499 (cheaper on sale). 11 ft 9 inches, solo canoe, 450-500 pound capacity. It is more narrow at the seat so you can use a double paddle. Seems to be a good blend between the benifits of a canoe but picks up the perks of being smaller like a kayak. What do you guys think? Oh I have also seen people set them up with floats on the side for greater stability.

Edited July 22, 2013 by pinkpantherbeekeeper

[Auspex]

A lot depends on wind and water velocity, and how nimble you want it to be. Generally, canoes can carry more stuff.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

No boat is perfect for all conditions. I like my canoe or jon boat on big water, but my plastic kayak sure does slip easily over gravel bars when drought has reduced smaller streams to intermittent pools. My aluminum boats are heavier, and the kayak's lighter weight plus lower sliding friction allow me to cover more distance in low water conditions. So many factors to consider! Working solo vs. with a buddy vs. weight of the boat, vehicle used for transport, ease of launching into a particular waterway (ramp vs. unimproved put-in, height and steepness of bank). Being on the water is a blast in any conditions. But effort required to get gear from vehicle to water and back will test your resolve and should play a major role in your decision making.

[kurdelmb]

I do the majority of my collecting anymore along small rivers, streams, creeks in northeast Iowa and I use a 10' SunDolphin sit in Kayak pretty much every day. It's cheap, stable (for beginners) and has lots of room to carry slabs inside that wont fit in the small waterproof storage area or in my backpack. Most of my prime collecting areas are bordered on all sides by private land with no good access so the Kayak works awesome! Also its just added fun! (as if that is necessary when we are out in the field doing what we love) ;-)

[Ridgehiker]

A canoe is my first choice and canoe is my second. Easy to manhandle, transport, etc. Then again, what do we Canadians know of canoes and kayaks.

I agree with a posting above about renting a boat first. Also, usually good deals on line in local buy/sell ads. This boat need not be pretty.

[RickNC]

I've been wanting to get a canoe or kayak for a couple of years now. I have been looking hard at an Old Town 119. Dlcks sporting goods has them for $499 (cheaper on sale). 11 ft 9 inches, solo canoe, 450-500 pound capacity. It is more narrow at the seat so you can use a double paddle. Seems to be a good blend between the benifits of a canoe but picks up the perks of being smaller like a kayak. What do you guys think? Oh I have also seen people set them up with floats on the side for greater stability.

Exact one I have. Other than my initial issues I noted earlier it works great. Takes some practice getting in and out though. I think something like this will work better than a kayak as the deepness allows you to haul a lot of stuff. I can easily fit two full size shovels, screen, backpack etc in there. It is very light and I can easily drag it to the water.

Edited August 16, 2013 by RickNC

[Brushy Bill]

I have used canoes for 46 years. I am partial

to them. I did own an Old Town Otter sit in

kayak for a few years. It had no storage except

what you could stash behind the seat and in the

bow.

I have used several different sit on top kayaks

that belonged to friends. I prefer the sit in style.

If you look in craigs list for a canoe in the

15 foot range. They can haul 2 people and

supplies for a 2-3 day trip easily.

( many times my mom would drop

my dad and I off at a bridge on a Friday

evening and pick us up down river on Sunday

afternoon. This was using a 13 foot grumman)

The foam core Old Towns are pretty decent.

they really need to be stored out of the sun.

Big problem is car carriers. You can get dangerously

close to the cost of a used canoe when shopping

for one.

The "foam blocks" looks tempting but while

they promote their "non slip surface" that surface

is very quick to pick up and hold grit and grime

that will make a clear coat look awful in a hurry.

Don't hesitate to take a serious look at a fiberglass

canoe should you come across one. I have a 12 footer

that I bought used 11 years ago that I have put countless

miles on in both river and lakes. It weighs about 40 pounds

and have done up to 5 day solo trips in it.

Kayaks are really popular these days. For not much

to no more weight, you sure get a lot of hauling

space with a canoe.

Of course this just my opinion, I am sure

your mileage will vary.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Brushy Bill

[cynroux]

I'm an avid kayaker and I have to agree with the older posts. A sit-on-top, rotomolded kayak is probably the best way to go. Preferably a fishing kayak. The initial stability is superior to most watercraft which makes getting in and out much easier, as does the lack of sprayskirt or a cockpit to work around. Most SOT kayaks have a little "open" storage, as well as at least one covered hatch. You can stand on top of a good, balanced fishing kayak. I also say rotomolded because pulling up on sand/pebbles, though it will still scratch, won't cause scraping and dinging problems on rotomolded hull that it will on fiberglass or kevlar hull. The trade off is they are much heavier to load, carry and unload. Invest in small kayak anchor, a paddle leash, a dry bag or two, bungees, a cargo net, and most importantly, a PFD as well. Kayaks can get into small spots and shallows that most other watercraft can't manage to maneuver and paddling is just plain fun. Many kayak/canoe/outdoor merchants have demo days as well, so you can get a feel for what it's like to paddle different boats. Just my very biased 2 cents worth.