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Simple Lift on a Freighter Canoe for Northern Travel.

Joined
Jul 6, 2019
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Location
Whitehorse, Yukon
Here in the North many of us are re-learning the possibilities of the Freighter Canoe as a work horse. A 100 pound freighter like the Clipper Mackenzie Sport can haul 1500 pounds of gear and still be portaged, by one man. For remote operations like moose hunting or gold sniping the Freighter allows you to work both up and down stream and mine goes 11 mph, with a 6HP 4 stroke Suzuki, that sips gas. However the outboards sit very low in the water and require some depth to use. Some of us have gone to long tail motors or surface drives but they are hard to portage and awkward. One potential old style solution is to lift the motor by either a simple extension on the stern transom or a more complex adjustable lift. I went old school with a non adjustable 2.5" permanent lift made of an African hard wood on my transom. Nothing difficult here and the Paduk wood even looks good. The 2.5" lift makes it possible to get in a bit less trouble in shallow water, while still avoiding cavitation problems.

Also with so much weight at the back it is pretty easy to unbalance the canoe when travelling light. It's a good idea to sit amid-ships as low as possible and steer with a tiller extension. This makes fast turns tricky and requires a sprawl to shut off or pivot the engine but adds a lot of stability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTNpqYwnQAg
 

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OMG.. Portage a 100 lb canoe? Not me.. I could only lift one end of McCrea's Esquif Miramichi another freighter type canoe but from Quebec.

Memaquay is another big canoe guy..

I may not pass up another Grand Laker.. Those are big canoes and can't be portaged well at 20 or 22 foot and cedar and canvas.
http://www.themaineoutdoorsman.com/2...ake-canoe.html

Seems most canoeing areas have their own version of freighter canoes.


NOOOO!! https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/m...919031925.html

https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/st-hilaire-grand-laker-canoe-with/6898692933.html
 
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Once it's up on the yoke it's not too bad for a while. For moose hunting we need something that is big enough for carrying an extra 700 pounds of quarters. The MacSport 18 is about the minimum for this and two guys with a camp. The extra weight is worth it but I should have saved 20 pounds and went Kevlar.
 
To travel with a moose broken down adds a lot of weight. This is my son's first moose taken when he was14 years old, 2 years ago. The Big Scott Hudson bay swallowed the load with out floating a whole lot deeper. We were able to leap a beaver dang without unloading Love a big canoe.
 

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The one I built is roughly the same size as yours, and I have the suzuki 2.5 on it. It's more than enough motor, and fits very nicely. I use it for moose hunting, camping and tooling around.
BJezQZs.jpg

I'm currently building a 20 footer, 54 inches across, 20 inches deep, a modern asymmetrical design, but with the dimensions of a typical big freighter. I've got a six horse suzuki for that one. I wouldn't put that six on my 17 footer though, it would make the thing go too dang fast, lol.

Playing with freighters is a lot of fun...here's the build thread for the one I'm making now.
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/forum/paddlecraft-construction/86461-20-foot-freighter-canoe
 
To travel with a moose broken down adds a lot of weight. This is my son's first moose taken when he was14 years old, 2 years ago. The Big Scott Hudson bay swallowed the load with out floating a whole lot deeper. We were able to leap a beaver dang without unloading Love a big canoe.

Nice . It always warms my heart to see that usually the first moose taken in the fall is by a young'un.. We have had several 8 year olds bag one the first day.. Of course they have help!
 
I've been lusting after a freighter canoe ever since encountering them in Maine about 10 years ago and then traveling in them for a bit in the far northern Ontario on the way to the Sutton river. I stumbled on this Scott Makobe on craigslist in South Florida for a steal and snapped it up! My little 3.5 Tohatsu pushes her about 9 mph and I'm working on an 8 hp longtail mud motor for trips on Lake Okeechobee and down in the glades.
 

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I have this one that I hope to get in the water shortly....16.5 foot Y stern copied from I think a chestnut prospector....very deep, extra thick planking...@ 80 lbs? Got a 4 hp johnson for it. The Y stern arrangement keeps the motor higher so I dont lose skegs.
I got a lot of comments trailering it home from southern Ontario.
 

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I have y-stern envy over that last canoe Iskweo, lol. Almost finished planking the party barge, never again will I take on a a project this big, lol.
 
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