Canoe outriggers?

[Hammerojustice]

The newbie again,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience putting any outriggers on a canoe?

I'm getting a canoe on Saturday & was looking for your input. First off, this is the canoe I'll be getting. It's the Wenonah Kingfisher: https://www.wenonah.com/Canoes.aspx?id=110 and I'll be getting it in a Royalex skin & vinyl braces/gunwale/trim. It will be an olive drab in color not that it matters.

Ok, as far as Outrigger ideas go, here is the first option to which there are some variations. https://flyfishinchristian.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/diy-canoe-stabilizer-outrigger-float-or-something-like-that/

Someone in the comments shared a video of his set up. https://youtu.be/RYTaZEq1DXQ Start watching at about the 2:20 mark to see it in action. Needless to say, it gave me some ease as he's a big guy...

But then there's this other idea:https://youtu.be/39GUDlBnRno This design is more permanent in that it drills holes into the canoe's hull wall & is in a set position, but the arms are more maneuverable and can more quickly be adjusted. It's called the Bird of Prey design.

So, my question to you, is can you think of a way to combine the first idea & the Bird of Prey ideas? It like it to be flexible to be placed wherever I need & on another canoe if needed, but I'd like to ba able to adjust the height & distance from the outer wall.

I know for the distance from canoe to the buoys I can just use longer conduit sections, but the height is what has me stumped.

What are your thoughts?

My dad had this thought:
"First build the Bird-of-Prey apparatus, but omit the part about bolting it into the canoe gunwales. Just make that 4" wide aluminum angle piece long enough to extend slightly beyond the gunwales at the wide mid-ship point. Then drill two holes at each end to allow you to insert the U-bolt through, then put the clamp plate and nuts on from below, holes properly spaced to allow the clamps to grab the underside of the gunwale rim. You might want to replace the hex nuts with wingnuts.

The only problem will be that the boat is of a different width at different locations, so you might need a couple pairs of holes or consider slots instead."

I then found this: https://paulangling.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/canoe-stabilizers-complete/

And while I like the last idea, if I'm taking the canoe out solo, then I would be sitting in the bow seat backwards and then that thwart in which I would clamp it onto would be out of reach. I don't think I would be able to clamp to the yolk. And if I'm going tandem, it would be in reach as it would be about 2' in front of the stern seat's front edge and likely not in the way of the stroke.. So it would work in a tandem situation, but not a solo situation unless I'm not thinking clearly.

So, I'm liking my dad's idea of the 4" aluminum with multiple holes with the U-Bolts and Bird of Prey style... The question becomes where would I get the aluminum?

And do you think it makes a difference whether it's 3/16", 1/4", or 3/8" thick? And then 3", 3.5", or 4" wide?

Penny for your thoughts

 

[ocfisher]

Great canoe. I am surprised that there aren't more people fishing out of canoes. I went through the same process with mine, trying to figure out best option. Ended up going with the Spring Creek Canoe outriggers. http://store.springcreek.com/Spring-Creek-Stabilizer-Floats-Hydrodynamic-HD-Complete-Package-for-Canoe-p1580.html

They work great for stability, can be easily moved around, switch boats, extend in or out, up or down.. Pricey, but i have seen them go for less than half of retail on CL and close out sales. Not crazy about the round pins on the floats that allow them to rotate, that can be a pain if they aren't tightened. Otherwise very happy.

I am tall and not very stable, but still find that I skip them when solo.. If you reverse the boat as you plan and spread your feet you should be fine..
Also recommend getting a SUP paddle if you plan on using to sight fish.

 

[kbobb]

This is a short, wide canoe. Always wear a life vest, stay low and move slow and I really wouldn't worry about flipping it.

before spending the time and money on outriggers I'd definitely paddle it around a while and get the feel for it. then I'd fish out of it on a small, shallow pond or lake to see how that goes.

 

[Hammerojustice]

Thanks oc! Those are more than I was hoping to spend, but I appreciate it!

Kbobb, they are more for when my young boys are in the boat with me. If one of uas lands a fish, I'm sure they'll all lean to the same side, so this is the to stabilize for them.

 

[Dave_W]

Hammer,
I fish out of a canoe and frequently use a sponson set-up. This is to facilitate standing up. The version I use is made by Spring Creek and involves a cross brace and two foam floats that are about 30" in length (it's an older version than the one that can be seen in Ocfisher's the link above). I made some mods on the system and set it up to be at the back of the boat.
It doesn't make the boat completely stable, but it does provide more stabilization so that standing up is easier. The drawback is that it increases resistance in the water making paddling a bit more work; fighting fish can sometimes get wrapped around it. On rivers with more current, these sponsons can be a problem in that they can snag obstructions and get damaged by rocks.

Of course a good sponson system is removable and you can decide based on conditions whether you want to use yours. I like 'em and think they are worth experimenting with.

 

[Hammerojustice]

I'm thinking I'm going to go with a modified bird of prey.

It will be clamped on like the first (the FlyFishingChristian idea: https://flyfishinchristian.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/diy-canoe-stabilizer-outrigger-float-or-something-like-that/) and instead of using the conduit, and instead of mounting it into the side of the canoe like the bird of prey. It will either be a plank of Cedar or other similar wood, or it will be a thin piece of metal... Just need to figure that part out.

The beauty of the bird of prey design is that with those flag pole holders, they arms can be lifted up like the doors of a DeLorean and then lowered when I get to where ever I want to fish. The braces can even slow the drift too if I lower them enough.

I just need to figure out what to use as the piece going over the width of the canoe...