• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Fre Shava Canoe

Nutterbuster

Nutterbuster

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Messages
10,064
Location
Where the skys are so blue!
Went canoeing with a buddy this weekend. I was initially a little hiney-hurt because I quickly found out that the main reason he invited me was to get some secrets on access points to a water locked piece of WMA, but he reimbursed me for my time with a few beers and a free 17' Mohawk canoe! The thing has apparently been sitting in his yard for a decade, and hasn't been used at all in the past 3 years.

I could see a few cracks in the fiberglass when I loaded it up, and the thing was FUNKY. However, it cleaned up pretty well, and a float test revealed that it is still dry as a powderhouse, and handles pretty well solo. I made a 1.5 mile trip in a little over 20 minutes. This is my first fiberglass canoe, and while it's heavy, it is much quieter than my Grumman.

I'm hoping to trick it out as my main duck hunting canoe. Floor mats, padded gunwhales, camo job, and maybe some gun holders and deke slots. More updates to follow as I get her worked on.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20190820-103733_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20190820-103733_Gallery.jpg
    214.1 KB · Views: 246
  • Screenshot_20190820-103735_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20190820-103735_Gallery.jpg
    165.3 KB · Views: 255
  • Screenshot_20190820-103745_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20190820-103745_Gallery.jpg
    228.9 KB · Views: 251
  • Screenshot_20190820-103750_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20190820-103750_Gallery.jpg
    186.6 KB · Views: 245
Nutterbuster said:
Went canoeing with a buddy this weekend. I was initially a little hiney-hurt because I quickly found out that the main reason he invited me was to get some secrets on access points to a water locked piece of WMA, but he reimbursed me for my time with a few beers and a free 17' Mohawk canoe! The thing has apparently been sitting in his yard for a decade, and hasn't been used at all in the past 3 years.

I could see a few cracks in the fiberglass when I loaded it up, and the thing was FUNKY. However, it cleaned up pretty well, and a float test revealed that it is still dry as a powderhouse, and handles pretty well solo. I made a 1.5 mile trip in a little over 20 minutes. This is my first fiberglass canoe, and while it's heavy, it is much quieter than my Grumman.

I'm hoping to trick it out as my main duck hunting canoe. Floor mats, padded gunwhales, camo job, and maybe some gun holders and deke slots. More updates to follow as I get her worked on.
Click to expand...

A bargain!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Nice score! I hunt out of a SportsPal canoe occasionally, snd having a quiet canoe is deadly. I could stand up and shoot shoot in it (not really recommended), but the price is she paddles like a pig. Can’t wait to see how you decorate that rig up!
 
Nice score! Fiberglass is the way to go for hunting, unless you want to go retro with a wood/canvas canoe. They are much quieter. We river hunt for deer and I don't let anyone use an aluminum canoe that hunts with us. The plastic ones are quiet too but are heavy and slow - might just be the model they use compared to my fiberglass.
 
Tuhlmann said:
but the price is she paddles like a pig.
Click to expand...
I passed on a used sports pal a while ago for that reason. @Vtbow told me I was silly.

@DanO, I can hunt out of an aluminum boat ok, but get another guy in there who doesn't spend every weekend in one and stealth goes out the window. Sounds like Tom Waits' percussion up there in the bow!

Plastic canoes have been universally dookie in my book. Polyethylene just isnt stiff enough, and you end up making design sacrifices to make the material work. They are pretty tough though.

Fiberglass canoes are kinda like 2 stroke outboards in my book. Good thing is they're easy to fix. Bad thing is they always need fixin'. We'll see how this one holds up to cypress knees and submerged logs.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I passed on a used sports pal a while ago for that reason. @Vtbow told me I was silly.

@DanO, I can hunt out of an aluminum boat ok, but get another guy in there who doesn't spend every weekend in one and stealth goes out the window. Sounds like Tom Waits' percussion up there in the bow!

Plastic canoes have been universally dookie in my book. Polyethylene just isnt stiff enough, and you end up making design sacrifices to make the material work. They are pretty tough though.

Fiberglass canoes are kinda like 2 stroke outboards in my book. Good thing is they're easy to fix. Bad thing is they always need fixin'. We'll see how this one holds up to cypress knees and submerged logs.
Click to expand...
And they're FREAKIN HEAVY!

.... Now that Radisson...that was light...and the inside was sound dampened wiht thin foam....yes, its a tank, but you would have learned to love it.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I passed on a used sports pal a while ago for that reason. @Vtbow told me I was silly.
Click to expand...

That was silly. It’s not that bad. I probably wouldn’t want to do the Boundary Waters with it, but it can haul a deer carcass, piles of ducks & squirrels, and even a few kids and Snoopy poles. Definitely not as sleek & efficient as the OP’s new ride though.
 
Tuhlmann said:
That was silly. It’s not that bad. I probably wouldn’t want to do the Boundary Waters with it, but it can haul a deer carcass, piles of ducks & squirrels, and even a few kids and Snoopy poles. Definitely not as sleek & efficient as the OP’s new ride though.
Click to expand...
Except tha tMohawk is going to weigh in at over 70lbs, dry.... you been eating your wheaties and jumping rope @Nutterbuster or just good ole 12oz curls?
 
I typically lay two 3x4 foot chunks of old carpet in the floor of my grumman (under both sets of feet) and put some pipe insulation on the rails when I'm hunting out of it. It works well for noise damping and keeps things as quiet as they can be considering it is an aluminum boat. Adds some weight but its worth it to keep it quiet.
 
Vtbow said:
Except tha tMohawk is going to weigh in at over 70lbs, dry.... you been eating your wheaties and jumping rope @Nutterbuster or just good ole 12oz curls?
Click to expand...
It's about the same weight as my grumman, which I car topped 3 times over the course of last weekend. I'm pretty used to it.

I still wonder who got that old sportspal/radisson. If it hadn't been 4 hours away I probably would have just bit the bullet.
 
We have a long uphill hike to get the canoes out of the river at one point. We try to avoid it as much as possible, but sometimes you just have to take out at that spot. I can throw my lightweight 17' fiberglass up on my shoulders and pass the two guys carrying their plastic canoe. I did own a heavy old fiberglass at one point, so it all depends on the model I guess.
 
DanO said:
We have a long uphill hike to get the canoes out of the river at one point. We try to avoid it as much as possible, but sometimes you just have to take out at that spot. I can throw my lightweight 17' fiberglass up on my shoulders and pass the two guys carrying their plastic canoe. I did own a heavy old fiberglass at one point, so it all depends on the model I guess.
Click to expand...
I hear ya. For a composite boat, I just prefer Kevlar(not to be snooty). Its lighter, and actually much more abbraision resistant than glass. for a "plastic" boat it's royalex all the way. I do have 1 glass boat, but its super thin walled and has mahogany ribs and floor for stiffness. IT's 15' and 39" wide. Weighs in at 58lbs.

That mohawk will serve you well. Only downside really is the weight. I think you'll end up liking it more than your grunman.
 
Vtbow said:
Except tha tMohawk is going to weigh in at over 70lbs, dry.... you been eating your wheaties and jumping rope @Nutterbuster or just good ole
Click to expand...

The SportsPal I have is 14’, 44” wide, & 58lbs. I’ve solo’d that for many years, hauled on top of my truck, dragged through marsh, & monster trucked over countless snags and downfalls. I’m only 5’8”(in boots) and 175lbs(mostly composed of blue twisted steel) and I’ve never really thought it was heavy. If you stripped all of the foam off of it I bet it’d be 50lbs or less, but I’ve found the added utility, silence, and stability (untippable) to be well worth the inefficiency in paddling. There is no free lunch in hull designs and for a hunting canoe it fits my requirements nicely. The only better hunting canoe IMO would be a free one like OP’s! YMMV.
 
Last edited:
Hey canoe snobs feast your eyes on this 45 lb wenonah swift boat

IMG-0974.jpg


:)
 
Not to derail any, but have any of you guys been in or around a old town discovery 119 solo canoe? Specs look pretty nice for what I have in mind, and theres a guy locally trying to sell one I think I can get a good price on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NDH
No time with that model myself but Old Town is a respectable company. They don't make the lightest stuff but I saw lots of their boats in BWCAW. At a good price it's probably a no-brainer.
 
austin1990 said:
Not to derail any, but have any of you guys been in or around a old town discovery 119 solo canoe? Specs look pretty nice for what I have in mind, and theres a guy locally trying to sell one I think I can get a good price on.
Click to expand...
Discoverys are poly boats. The 119 is going to be just under 60lbs for an 11ft boat and it's going to paddle like a bathbtub. If you want a solo ot, find a pack 12 in royalex. 12' solo boat, just under 35lbs.600lb capacity.
 
Vtbow said:
Discoverys are poly boats. The 119 is going to be just under 60lbs for an 11ft boat and it's going to paddle like a bathbtub. If you want a solo ot, find a pack 12 in royalex. 12' solo boat, just under 35lbs.600lb capacity.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll probably have little to no luck finding a royalex locally but dang sure will keep an eye out! I'd just like something that I can use on a few spots I hunt for easier access and to float the river and fish for Kentucky's and largemouths during the summer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top