Gheenoe with young kids advice

IM thinking it may be a little to tipsy, but I dont have any seat time. Cant say enough about a J16. all it needs is a 25hp. sides aren't much higher though. 1650 Alum would be about the same.

As stated above, the Gheenoe s have less room but it sounds like he is making it work with 3 people.

Gheenoe is pretty stable. You can get thrown out, but it won't flip. We took it on a float trip down the upper Amite. Due to a tactical error, the wife and I hit a log just under the surface when we were going sideways down the river. It flipped us out and the side went under water momentarily, filling the boat 1/3 with water. However, it didn't flip or sink. Besides that, in 2 years, even with kids and the dog in it, I never felt like we could flip it.

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I have a 19ft bay boat with my dad. I'd like a smaller beater skiff to easily fish backwater, nice back bay days, rivers, ponds, etc. Basically a kayak with a motor. I need to just pull the trigger and stop kicking tires honestly.

But my choices are between something like a 1650 Alum or a Gheenoe. I was thinking something like a J16 at one point also. I'm really thinking Gheenoe and get some use for a year and then sell and upgrade. Satisfy the hunger and move on.

I'll probably end up with all 3. I already have a hobie kayak also. But I want something to fish the places you can't launch a boat or at least a big boat. I love to kayak fish but with a 5 and 7 year old that's too damn hard. The bay boat is great for all day, but if I get off work early its too much work to go fish for 2-3 hours with my kids. With kids it would be stuff like throwing shrimp for specs or river fishing crickets for bream, exploring back waters looking for wildlife. That type of thing. Obviously a bigger boat is better, but I really want something as small as possible.

TLDR; is a gheenoe a terrible idea with kids?

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I have a 13 foot low side Gheenoe I have owned since 1983 or so. Thing has been used and abused and still is used and abused. I love the thing...for the purposes you describe it would be perfect for 2 adults....it would work for an adult and 2 kids I would think.

Gheenoes are perfect skinny water boats....I have heard they get a little squirrely with a long tail motor on them but they do fine with an outboard or even a trolling motor. They are INCREDIBLE stable for their beam and they are easy to launch from just about anywhere although mine is a little heavy now for me to handle by myself....I can do it but its harder than it was when I was 18.....I blame it on the Russians...my wife says its because I am an old man now but she has always been mean like that....


They also paddle well. I use a kayak paddle when alone and sitting in the middle of the boat and a sculling paddle when someone is with me and I am in the stern.

They make INCREDIBLE one man duck boats...I can lay down in the bottom of mine, drag some burlap and grass over the top of it and birds have NO idea you are there...a floating layout blind but better because very few ducks have ever seen a man pop up out of the water....they see it in fields on the regular by very few live to tell the tell about the time they were lighting amongst a bunch of birds and a man suddenly sat up and went BOOM...

The only drawback I have with mine is it will sink like a stone when swamped....even today they have NO Floatation to speak of due to the design. This doesn't seem like it would be a problem for most boaters cause who has ever swamped a boat, right??? I have swamped mine MANY times driving it over beaver dams and levees and not transferring from the back to the front quick enough. I have also swamped it paddling it from the stern in rough water. I have also swamped it by over loading it 3 full grown men and one of the 3 getting to far to port or starboard and driving the gunwale under....if you ain't stupid it won't happen....I am, and it has, more times than I can recount.

They are also pretty good in white water...I have used mine to float some pretty big western rivers and while it ain't ideal it will work...the biggest problem is the low gunwales and taking a wave over the side....but mine is the lowsider version...the highsiders aren't nearly as bad.

I think you will enjoy it...they do well in the back of a truck or a trailer, can be stored for years outdoors without any issue and will do all sorts of shite....I think it is the PERFECT hull...

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I'd probably prefer the 15'4". I go on 6 or so float trips down river/ creeks a year so that's another consideration here. Is I can remove the motor and use it for those also.

I'm hoping with a kid that weighs 50-70 lbs them moving around won't rock the boat much. Lot different than a 200 lb guy after 8 or so busch lattes. Interesting point about them sinking. Most of the time we'll probably be in under 3 ft of water so not a huge deal, but something to think about.

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The 15-4 would be far better than mine but itd be a bugger bear t load in a truck by yourself....but fine on a small trailer.


Kids that size won't effect it much...not nearly as much as a jon boat with the same beam. I think youll enjoy it...I know I wouldnt swap mine for a baby ruth bar...I have almost sold it 20 times at least over the years just to make room for something elese around the place but I always find myself slinging it in the back of the truck and heading to a creek or river or pond somewhere....I have really enjoyed it

Had a Gheenoe with a trolling motor as a kid, shared with my cousins. We were hell on that thing but it was a champ and you could not flip it.

Would say its an excellent idea for kids.