Being an avid bass fisherman on small ponds/floodplain/etc, a light boat is best. Ie Jon boat, kayak, canoe or tube. Would a Jon boat be something to consider post event, applying if your bol or current location is near water? A Jon is light, easily Carried by two guys, shallow hull, push/paddle if when engine dies. You won't be hiking in the woods with it on your back but.night could see it aiding in getting away from threats or resource gathering. Thoughts?
Well, obviously a boat only works on water. So if there is a continuous path of water between where you are and where you need to go, then it's possible.
The old French Canadian Voyageurs traveled half way across Canada in canoes. The used rivers and creeks and lakes where they existed. To cross from one of these to another they frequently had to portage. You can experience this in northern Minnesota nowadays in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
I'm not sure I even understand the point of the OP. Obviously, any tool, especially one that provided transportation, and ESPECIALLY one that did it without requiring fuel,would be advantageous, post SHTF. What,you're asking for independent confirmation of this ?:xeye:
I favor the Kayak more as you can buy a cart that attaches to the back of it to make it easy for even a teen to wield a good distance before putting it in the water.
Im biased though cause I am a big time Kayak fisherman. In fact my current ride is a Ocean Kayak Prowler 13, with an anchor trolley system, Fish Finder, Auxillary lighting, 7 amp hour gel cell battery to power it all, Bait Tube, 2 rocket launchers, 2 scotty rod holders, 360 degree night light for night time fishing required by law, high back Gel Seat.
Its a fish killing machine!!! Yes I even venture out on milder winter days here in North Texas on a large lake and can usually score a decent stringer of fish. Yes you can catch big fish in it too! My biggest Saltwater fish was a Black Bass estimated at well over 100 lbs (protected and has to be released in California) caught off the La Jolla kelp Beds a couple of miles off shore on a 7 inch live Sardine fly lined off a Penn GS 353 and 20 lbs test line. My biggest fresh water catch was a 38 lbs Blue Catfish on a night float using a large Spinning set up with 25 lbs line and a 10 inch live shad under a 3 ounce weight drift fishing.
On smaller bodies of water I would consider a 12-13 ft SOT Kayak that is paddled. On a larger body of water such as a lake I would seriously look at the Hobbie Revolution or Out Back or Pro-Fish as the mirage drive gives you the ability to cover ground fast and you still have to option to paddle. Otherwise I would consider a narrow beamed SOT in the 13-15ft range such as Ocean Kayaks Trident series paddle kayaks. On bigger waters seriously look at models that have a good bit of "rocker" to their design especially if your on saltwater and going beyond the breakers!
There is a lot to be said about a Jon Boat though I will admit.
I second the kayak, camped for two weeks out of a 13 ft trident kayak. Doable. Not luxury , but doable. Check out kayak kevin on you tube , he has gone all over on trips in a yak Mine is definitely part of my BOV. Collection
If you're looking for a motorized boat, look for an old (mid 1990s and older) Boston Whaler. Not only is it one of the choice boats of police and fire depts, but they are "unsinkable". Their hulls are constructed similar to a cooler with expanded foam filling the space between the outer and full inner hull. You can punch a hole in them or cut them in half and they won't sink.
They're a bit heavier than an aluminum Jon boat, but certainly worth it.
These boats were available in 13', 15', 17' and 18' lengths. (Yes, they also made bigger boats, but that's not really a SHTF type of craft.)
I just purchased this as a camping/fishing machine, but being one obsessed with preparedness I thought I should join this site and share my new water stead.
Its a 16' viking explorer. Made right here in utah. Dry weight is 89lbs but can carry up to 1000lbs!!! This one does have the outrigger which for me is great for standing and fly fishing but really makes the boat insanely stable. it does have a flat back, can accept up to a 5hp motor. Also has a mast step to accept a sunfish style sail, with the easy addition of a rudder and a dagger board this will sail on free wind for as long as you want. I know what you are saying, you live in utah, where the Fare you going to go!?!?!? hahaha this is true, but I grew up on a large river and when SHTF, Im heading towards water to get wayyyyy away from all the crazies on land. Havent you seen waterworld!?!?!
I don't see the practicality of a small boat. Water is much more restrictive in terms of where you can go unless your BOL is a small tropical island. Plus, on most water ways where you would be able to realize your advantage, you'd be a sitting duck (literally) for anyone wanting to just shoot someone.
When I lived in the Chicago suburbs I figured out that I could use a canoe for evacuation no mater how crowded the freeway/highways were. A nearby creek would take me to a canal then to a river which ran into the Mississippi from there I could take water routes to a good part of the US (including to within a mile or so of my present location here in Colorado).
Advantage include;
lack of traffic
no fuel necessary
no need for bridges
silence
ability to portage
food(fish) while en route
Just look at good maps and you will see that, over the central US, many places can be accessed by water routes with a moderate hike.
Undoubtedly not the best choice for everyone but certainly viable for some folkes...
Jon Boat or Kayak for sure... Jon Boats are just more convenient if you're on a river/lake and want to run a trot-line, drop some jugs or just want some company. I love my Kayak when the river is flowing fast, on smaller lakes or on really calm days when I just want to float, fish and relax.
Very interesting idea to have an outrigger. I've done a lot of river & lake canoing and kayaking; also ocean sailing--but never with an outrigger.
I can certainly see how that would add a lot of stability, not only for standing up, but also for carrying larger, heavier & more precious loads. Also would make it much easier to travel with a dog.
(And pls don't give me grief about keeping a useless dog--natives in the Maritimes were using the Labs' ancestors for fishing with nets before the white man came--and I'm already seeing how easy it would be to teach her to haul in fishing nets using weights and floating balls, as long as I could then haul the dog aboard without losing the catch!) Never was sufficiently Canadianized to, as they say, make love in a canoe without tipping, so never could see how to make this work with a dog.)
Wind can be a huge hindrance to canoes and rafts; sailboats have keels or daggerboards to resist the sideways pressure of the wind and drive the craft forward. Have you had a chance to use the sail feature? Does the outrigger or mast step have any vertical edge to counter the cross forces? How high into the wind are you able to go?
How wide is your rig with outrigger? Anything else you can tell us about how the outrigger changes handling, paddling, bilateral strokes, draught with weight? Any other trade-offs you see?
I probably don't have the upper body strength to paddle this contraption very far on my own, and I would definitely have to have a trailer/cart for it on land, but the potential for wind power and the added stability have got my attention. Thanks for this idea.
youd be screwed in a gun fight...id rather hike...i live in minnesota and ive been in the boundary waters and to portage is a bi&#h...like i said id rather hike so i dont have to rely on a continous water path
I consider all of my tools and recreational hobbies as possible resources for shtf..it'll just depend on what the scenario is...ask the folks in floods after hurricanes or river swells and they'll tell you how valuable a jonboat can be.
but i agree that trying to make it down a river...folks on shore can pick away at you with their rifles and most boats provide little actual cover.
I'm an avid boater too...currently don't own anyting bigger than 22ft with 220hp and have a 14ft jon with 20 merc and a 10ft jon just for the pond with trolling rig.
love my canoes and yaks in the past just don't own any at this time.
my big boat has a 60gal tank so it has served as reserve fuel more than once and we have camped in it many times...have a full cover bimini with side curtains rigging for it....
since zombies and several forms of alien invader life don't like water... (grin)... i'd surely consider a boat as a tool
Have a plan for portaging whatever water craft you decide on. Here there are so many locks and dams that it really restricts your movement unless you can get around them. Also keep in mind that river travel isn't particularly fast, especially with the locks and dams. Currently it takes a month to go from Lake Guntersville in Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico, longer than it would take to just walk there. As with any equipment there are pluses and minuses.
yes Duck...was making fun references to the various hollywood efforts over the years...zombie flicks where the survivors take to a boat to flee, or Mel Gibson's Signs...where they specifically don't like water ...yes... we ALL watch too much TV when it comes to this crazy hobby we call prepping
Lol ok good lol...thats the biggest problem about forum and these end of the world topics...people reference too much hollywood crap from tv to create plans that dont make sense at all
jon boat require a trailer that is difficult to manouver in a shtf situation.
jon boat are also difficult to carry on top of vehicles.
plastic kayaks are lightweight but carry very few load and doesnt offer much protection from water
canadian canoes seems to be a good choice since offer square stern models that accept up to 4 hp outboard motor, and the stability issue could be fixed with outriggers.
a 17feet kevlar canoe can weight as much as 50 lbs and can be ported by one person, being easier to remove from water and hide away from other people eyes.
are boats useful for SHTF? Yes. Are they practical, that depends. If you're able to get to a river rather quickly and the river can take you to where you want to go then yes get a boat. If you're debating towing a boat behind your truck in case you might use it, dont waste your money because it'll probably get ditched in your travels.
Well I live in a seaside town in england so for me a sail boat would be very practical, I think a small boat could be really useful to get out of many citys, or anywhere with rivers, if you had to get out of central london the best way would be small boat or plane .
you could look at the sort of techniques the sbs might use in a canoe, during world war 2 they were able to creep up on people and evade pretty well
I actually had an 8ft v-bottom "dingy" wash up and sunk on my boat ramp after a storm. I pulled it up and left it for a month in case anyone came looking for it. After looking at it for a while, I think I will fix it up a bit and use my lil 9.9hp on it. If SHTF, I figure a solar panel, battery and small trolling motor will make a nice lil fish getter. Worst case I'll mount some oar swivels and give it the old back ache.
Sitting duck on a small boat, BS. Using one is one of my options, traveling during darkness on the main channel- quiet and unseen. During daylight you can duck into a small stream or even a thicket on the edge. You may be able to walk strait line faster but not with the weight capacity that a boat offers. What is the hurry, the trappers that crossed this country were in no hurry, are we talking race or surviving. Surviving is not related to speed. Might be able to walk someplace faster now but after SHTF that will get you dead, can effortlessly go 30 miles during darkness without making a sound and lets not forget someone in a boat can shot back, especially with an outrigger.
Well i live in minnesota and if you use a boat here...your screwed..our rivers run chest deep maybe deeper but then you go 100 yards down river and you have ankle deep water...if you have to portage that much with all the gear youll have...then yes you are a sitting duck
I built a dory. The plans said it worked well for motor, rowing, or sail. I didn't build it with a centerboard, but it is very good for motor, it will plane with two guys with a 6hp motor, and it rows very well. Later I added a centerboard. It made it a bit crowded for a second person in the boat. BUT it is also a good sailor. I made a spirit sail so the whole rig can lay flat in the bottom of the boat.
Being able to sail could be a very nice option in SHTF.
As someone who has lived alone on an Island for the past 14 years, I spend most of my time
in a boat of one type or another. Canoes and Kayaks are nice, but they don't carry a lot. Boston
whalers are fibreglass, and repairing them requires supplies. I have 3 of them. ! have 10
canoes of various quality, 6 aluminum boats, 9 cedar strip boats and 3 diesel tenders ( U.S. Mk 28 whaleboats)
And my go to would be an 18 foot lund with a 10 hp. You can paddle or use oarlocks by the way. I can flip it over and move it by myself. no portages mind you, but I can and have carried 2000lbs + in mine. I can fix hull holes with bark and pine pitch. A Boston Whaler weighs a ton, and needs a few humans to move it, or a
comealong or chain hoist. A boat or canoe/kayak is for getting from A to B. living out of one means constant
resupply, and EVERYTHING in Dry bags. If I was in an urban enviroment, I would look at a good Zodiac inflatable
tender. Most fit in a hockey equipment sized bag, and can carry a lot. I had a cheap Zodiac express 250 that was
7 feet long, and I had almost 1000lbs in it. They are light, stable, and much better made these days. Sailboaters
are a good source of well maintained used tenders, Most are 3000 to 6000 new, but I bought mine with an 8 hp
Yamaha 2 stroke for 1200 bucks, and I still have the outboard. In the States, I would think you could find something
decent for 500 bucks. Just make sure to research the brand online first. Force 4 from New Zealand also make very
high quality inflatables.
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