Thoughts on the SportsPal (Raddison version)?

[smithmal]

I've been eyeing this canoe for awhile to use @ Liberty Reservoir as a solo canoe with a 55lb Endura Max trolling motor. It's 38" wide, 12' long, 35lbs in weight, aluminum construction, 600 lbs capacity, the hull is lined with foam and also has foam pontoons attached to the side. Supposedly stable but a pain to paddle/row (which I wouldn't be doing).

Here's a brochure of it: http://www.bwmarineproducts.com/imag...%20English.pdf

A CL poster is selling his 12' for $250 (Raddison version)

There are two types of Sportspal canoes:

• Raddison SportsPal, from Canada is the original manufacturer but lost its trademark in the US. Uses lighter gauge aluminum but is also lighter in weight
• Meyers SportsPal, from US thicker marine grade but heavier

Cons about the Raddison is that it is thinner and more fragile vs. the Meyers. This canoe would be relegated to the Reservior only so basically it would see pretty gentle conditions for the most part.

Anyone here been on a Raddison SportsPal and have any thoughts about it?

[bignose]

I'd be leery about the gauge of the aluminum.
Sounds like it isn't much thicker than a beer can. There is a reason the craft has 3 keels, probably to create some stiffness...........
Gentle conditions aside, you wouldn't want to poke a hole in it if you bumped a rock or log.
Also, looking at the top view of the canoes on the website, where do you put your feet when you are soloing? The yoke seems to be right where your legs would go. The guy paddling the canoe solo in the picture is kneeling in front of the seat.

Finally, a 55 lb thrust motor is probably overkill in this case..

[smithmal]

Thanks for the response. The thickness is 0.022" (vs a beer can which is 0.004"). The Meyers version is 0.032" so a bit thicker. Raddison reviewers both love and hate on this boat. Hunters generally like it since they use motors. Paddlers generally do not and indicate it works much better as a rower than a paddling canoe. Interior foam helps silence noise, and insulates user from cold metal. Wish I knew someone that had one so I could test it out.

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[smithmal]

So I ended up driving up to PA to purchase the boat. Though I realize the canoe has it's limitations due to the gauge of the aluminum and paddling difficulties my decision to purchase was for the following reasons:
1. It was cheap (if it doesn't work out... i'm only out $250) and this canoe will exclusively be for Liberty Reservoir
2. Aluminum canoes are known to be pretty easy to fix by the owner if there are leaks or holes
3. It is very light (35lbs) and supposedly pretty stable (due to the inner foam and pontoons). I've decided that I'd rather car top all my yaks then trailer them. Having a light weight boat allows me to store and get on/off the water with ease.
4. Wanted a solo canoe with a pretty wide open flat hull to give me lots of options in terms of storage and moving around in the canoe
5. Inner and Pontoon foam look to be in good condition (which is pretty hard to find with older SportsPal models (Pontoons were replaced last year)

The cons of this canoe are as follows:

1. It's a pretty atrocious paddling canoe from many accounts that I have read and should not be used as a wilderness canoe. It's target audience are hunters and fishermen. The 14' is the "goldilocks" of SportsPals whereas the 12' is less stable and harder to paddle. As I mentioned before, I intend to add a trolling motor to this so I can get access to distant areas of the Liberty Reservoir easier (will most likely get a Minn Kota Endura Max). For this reason, the paddling issues with this canoe should prove to be a minor issue.
2. The aluminum material is light gauge and is known to be fragile. Personally, if a Meyers Sportspal were available I would have gone for that (since it's aluminum is 32 vs 22 gauge) however Sportspal's do not come up very often on CL and they tend to keep their value pretty decently. Since I'll be using this in a relatively gentle environment (Liberty Reservior) that isn't know for having lots of underwater obstacles, I'm hoping the fragile nature of the Radisson Sportspal won't come in to play

From what I've read, if you are a Fisherman/Hunter, the SportsPal rates very well with their owners. If you are a Wilderness/Nature/Tripping user, the ratings are pretty dismal. Here's a decent video review from a fisherman using the Sportspal as a bass fishing canoe.

My biggest issue (as bignose pointed out) is the location of the yolk. Since there are ribs all along the boat to keep it's rigidity, I'm wonder if I could remove it and maybe put some thwarts in which would be located behind my seat (i.e. out the way) and toward the bow of the boat (again out of my way). Thoughts?

Mods I intend to do:

1. Add a foam rubber mat down the span of the interior (like this) to provide more traction and protect the foam liners from further decay.
2. Install a drop in seat (from Spring Creek; product here). Very light weight which uses clamps to attach to gunnels. Added stability for the user since the seat drops down into the canoe when attached.
3. Add a swivel seat which can easily be added and removed from drop seat. Will add a piece of plywood that can be strapped to the drop in seat. The plywood will act a base for a swivel (this product) which will attach to a swivel seat (this product). I'm hoping this will provide additional back support and comfort and will be lightweight and easy to add and remove.
4. Using a 2' strip of aluminum attached to these clamps I'd like to screw on Yak Attack Geartracs (like these) on both sides of the canoe gunnels to hold my rod holders and fish finder. This will allow me to move my Geartrac and gear easily from my kayak to my canoe with little issue.

Mod's I'm thinking about:
1. Add outriggers to the canoe to further increase stability (thinking about purchasing these which can be installed into a Geartrac system)
2. Add a bimini top to keep the sun off me (something like this). Anyone ever looked into this? I wonder how much this get's in the way of the fishing.

Once I get me mods in I'll report back.

smithmal

[Memory Maker]

I don’t think Liberty will let you put an engine on a canoe. I know they won’t let you put one on a yak. A Bimini top will not work easily because it will work like a sail and push you places you won’t want to go and a wind gust may make it unstable.

[smithmal]

I don’t think Liberty will let you put an engine on a canoe. I know they won’t let you put one on a yak. A Bimini top will not work easily because it will work like a sail and push you places you won’t want to go and a wind gust may make it unstable.

Liberty will not let you put a motor on a kayak but will on a canoe. Yes, wind issues with a bimini top would be a major issue. I'd only use it on calm days. That being said, I haven't seen any designs that would let one fish with comfortably. This one looks promising though.