Right kind of powered boat for float trippin' in MO?

[Dashunde]

Hi all,

I'm trying to zero in on the right kind of lazy days float trippin' boat that'll fit well with a pickup and small camper set-up (no boat trailer)
Ideally I'd like to put in and motor up-stream till I run out of gas (or battery), maybe camp overnight at the turn-around, and float on back to where I started.
I'm considering something like a flat-bottom Lowe L1240 that can ride the truck bed or on top of our RV trailer.
It seems the best option is the wide flat bottom for stability, especially with a young kid climbing in/out and some gear aboard,  but I have no idea how well it'll really do on typical float trip waters here in MO (especially in the shallows?)

I'm 230 LB, wifey is around 120, daughter is 50 pounds and growing fast.
(Plus whatever gear we take)

What would you guys buy for use with a tiller trolling motor or 4-5hp 4-stroke?

Thanks!

[jdmidwest]

I would buy a short shaft gas motor.  Trolling motor would not get you up stream, gas motor might if current not too strong.  A 1240 would be small for 3 people and camping gear.  You are pushing 400 lbs in body weight.  Not sure what the yellow label on the 1240 is rated for.

You would be better off getting a few kayaks and float down stream and arrange a shuttle.  You would probably have less money in boats and have room to pack like a backpacker for camping.  They  could be carried on a truck or rv.

Most streams have current and riffles that limit upstream progress in a motorized boat unless it is a jet.  Then you start talking bigger boat, trailer, motor.  They could carry you upstream and have room for camping gear.

[oneshot]

Ok had a 12 foot Jon for years. Always wished I had a 14/48 with 5 HP Motor. Real good putting in a Pickup. Trailer is much easier, so later something to think about.

 

Have seen people with 16 foot Boats but that is a bit much.

oneshot

[MOPanfisher]

Personally I would move up to at least a 14 ft or 16 ft boat and get a trailer.  10 HP motor or so.  A bigger boat will displace water more and float in shallow wate quite well.  Shallow sections that it can't run require you to get out and pull it through.  Keep an extra prop and feed it ethanol free gas.  Oh and definitely a 2 stroke motor.

[Bushbeater]

Years back when I was young and tuff we would put the 16' Jon on roof racks and the outboard and tank in the trunk and go.

[Dashunde]

I already have a 2hp Yamaha 2-stroke that runs really good.
So, maybe I should consider a flat-back canoe?  It would fit well with any shuttle service, so would the tiny motor, and its obviously the right boat type for intended use.
But.. its a lot more tippy and its notably longer which will be an issue when trying to haul it anywhere with a Tundra crewmax shortbed.

My neighborhood frowns on trailers and misc stuff sitting around the house, and I'm not going to pay storage for just a Jon boat, I sold a really nice Champion F&S mostly because of storage issues.. cost, covers, mildew trying to get a foothold, darn mice, etc.. 

 I don't want another Jon boat/trailer hogging up my 3rd car garage, thats the main reason I sold my like-new 2008 14' Lowe w/15hp Yamaha in the photo below.. and it really just wasn't the right kind of boat for anywhere I wanted to go - too small/slow for cruising large water, and it was way too nice for banging around on rocks.

I'm in STL and we're starved for good small lakes.. no public lakes like KC's Longview, Blue Springs/Jacomo, Smithville or Hillsdale, otherwise I'd have kept that nice little Lowe in the photo.. In fact, I'd probably still have the Champion if decent lakes were close by. 

 

 

[Al Agnew]

Several considerations...if it's you and your wife, can she help you load and unload it? A 12 foot john is too small, a 14 footer is about minimum size but you could do okay in it.  But halfway decent 14 footers are rather heavy, so you couldn't load and unload it on your own.  That pretty much goes for just about any powered craft other than a square stern canoe.  The old 19 ft. Grumman aluminum square stern canoe would suit your purposes (it is not tippy and is capable of carrying a lot of weight) but it's pretty heavy, too.

Whatever boat you have, you won't get up shallow riffles using the motor, so don't even plan on it, plan on wading and dragging the boat up riffles.  Trying to push it with a prop motor will result in motor repair!  The motor would be strictly for going up deeper pools.  There are sections of the Meramec below the mouth of the Bourbeuse where, if the water isn't too low, you could travel quite a ways with the motor, but no other Ozark stream within easy driving distance is that big until you get to the lower Gasconade.  So are you and the family willing and capable of getting out and wading frequently?

[Dashunde]

Yea, she can help load/unload, but that's a secondary issue.. first I'd have to figure out how to haul any boat over 12ft in a short bed truck.

We have a family house at the 7 mile marker on LOTO and we go frequently but its far too rough for anything smaller than 26+ foot, but we also like to float and wanted quick day trips for a change in scenery... in hindsight I kind of wish I'd have kept the Champion for traveling use on Mark Twain and Table Rock.  Then again..going to Mark Twain.. it takes longer to hookup/drive/unload/load/drive and finally unhitch/cover/secure at storage than it does to just drive 2.2 hours to LOTO where our larger boats/seadoo's are sitting there waiting on the hoists and usually full of fuel courtesy of Dad.

Speaking of Dad.. he wants a little fishing boat for inside their cove.. maybe I'll just give him the 2hp Yamaha and rent whatever I need for floating MO's rivers?

[TroutRinger]

You can get a bed extender to haul a 14’ boat in a short bed...maybe a tad longer depending on weight and weight distribution. 

[TroutRinger]

When I was on the Lower Buffalo a few weeks ago, we saw several Jon boats with 9.9HP motors. As Al said, they were about useless in the fast riffles. 

A couple of them tried to do it and made all kinds of god aweful sounds as the prop whacked on the rocks.