Bought large canoe

[crappiefrank]

Well, I finally did it, last week I bought a used 17 foot aluminum canoe, a heavy used one, bought paddles, life vests and had it registered and put on new numbers I was issued by the dmv....

Now I realize my little car with a roof as small as a volkswagen is just too small and dangerous to carry it, I can not load or unload it by my self...

I may have to find a lake where I can keep it at, but take the chance it will be vandalized or stolen...find someone with a truck to fish with and carry it, or Sell it.....guess I should have gotten a kayak...

my small car is a chevy metro can not put a hitch on it as it is a unitised body......anyone know of a large lake where I can pay to keep a canoe near alliance ohio?????

[catfish1998]

We picked a canoe up last weekend.I'm in the same boat as you. It is much bigger than i thought it would be.

[crappiefrank]

Yeah Catfish, the last canoe I had was back in the 60's and it was made of canvas or something light and was about 12 feet long or so, this 17 foot aluminum one is a heavy beast, I need the small chevy metro i have for fuel economy ease of parking and maintanance and cheap insurance, but can not do much in the fishing and hunting sport, like when I owned a large van or pickup truck.....

I will have to make up my mind soon, either sell it, find a lake to keep it at or someone I can have transport it and fish with...

My thought on buying it was I could go to a lake alone paddle around fish enjoy nature and then pack up and take it home....not as easy as I thought it would be.......

[groundhawg]

im pretty sure that there are roof racks made that will solve your problem, do a google search or look through the cabelas/bass pro catalog and i bet youll find what you need.

[CritterGitter]

I am guessing a 17' canoe would be twice as long as Chevy Metro and I am not sure if the roof could support the weight of a 17' aluminum canoe so that would not be practical at all.

I am thinking sell it and look for a used kayak. You should be able to find a used Old Town Otter for around $200 or so and that would transport on the roof of your metro just fine I would think. If you're not a big fella, then an Otter would make a great craft for fishing rivers and small ponds and such. Just a little food for thought.

Kyle

[davies2097]

I think you can dock your boat at Mogadore Reservoir. I don't know how much it cost. But I have seen plenty of small fishing boats and canoes docked there. You may want to check that out. I know its a little drive from Alliance, but it's not too bad! Good Luck

[deerhunt45]

What make is it and how much will you take for your canoe? :mischeif: :D

ps...just curious but did you really think you were going to haul a 17 ft aluminum canoe, let alone paddle it by yourself :confused: You knew before you bought it you had a Metro car :confused: You really got me there Frank.

[Lance]

http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/rec04.html

The link above will get you a start on a boat stake for Mogadore. They're located on the south side of the lake not too far off State rt 43. You can cover the entire lake from rt 43 all the way to the dam from those stakes and the fishing can be pretty good. :)

[huntsem]

*

You'd be better off putting a trailer hitch on your car and trailering the canoe.
I'm fairly certain there's a hitch assembly for the chevy metro

http://www.drophitch.com/browseproducts/95-00-Metro-Hatchback-(Geo).HTML

[Papa Smurf]

CrappieFrank,

The roof rack idea may solve your problem. I have a 17' Grumman aluminum canoe that I carried on a 13' Honda Civic hatchback on a Yakima roof rack. It looked ridiculous but it was secure, even on windy days at expressway speeds.

I've since traded in the car and left the rack on it. I now use a Highland Universal Car Top Bar Carrier which is an extremely cheap knock-off of the Yakima, but at about $20.00, I figured I could buy a new one every couple of years if I needed to, rather than spend around $300.00 for a new Yakima system.

http://www.buyautotruckaccessories.com/product.cfm/cf-bin/pn.highland-universal-car-top-bar-carrier/

This cheapo rack has worked well for me for three years now.

I use straps scavenged from my old Riverside Cartop Carrier kit which is still available at Dicks Sporting Goods:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1325763

Make sure you secure the front tip of the canoe to your two front tiedowns and the rear tip of the canoe to your rear-center tiedown with the S-hook straps from the kit. Use the 18’ utility strap from the kit to secure the middle of the canoe to the roof (the strap will wrap around the canoe and roof and run through the inside of your vehicle).

Note: Center the canoe on the rack and not the car! This should provide equal weight distribution on the roof but may draw stares as the canoe may be protruding several feet off the rear of your car (my canoe stuck out four feet behind my hatchback).

Also, I bought two additional 18’ Riverside utility straps. I use these to secure the rack bars to the roof instead of the skimpy little straps that come with the rack. Just thread them through the slots in the base of each rack support and run them across the inside of your vehicle. This provides a very secure rack mount, but the straps will wick in rain very quickly.

Best of luck!

[crappiefrank]

This post is almost a year old, I sold the canoe 3 weeks after I wrote this....people just do not put new posts in this forum , at this time it is march 27-2008....
come on guys put some new fishing articles in here...

[jackalope]

I put a 14 foot john boat on the roof of a geo metro. With the 9hp Evinrude and the gas can in the hatchback.

Put it on upside down and tied it on the front an back. Then had to redo it when we noticed the sides of the boat wouldn't let the doors open. Rolled down the windows and retied it. Then climbed in through the windows....... bada bing 14 foot flat bottom john boat on an 8 foot car....