I'm a BWCA rookie-to-be, but I'm crafty and a smallmouth guru. My first trip in is thru Mudro to Crooked, first week of September. I'm bringing a Garmin 73sv fishfinder with two Nocqua batteries (15hrs each run time) and a magnetic transducer mount from fishfinder mounts dot com.

Two PVC pipes with holes for bungees, capped ends filled with a couple back up rods. I'll strap the PVC pipes with bungees to make a two canoecatamaran here and there. Very excited.

Going with two 25 year BWCA vets. I'm in charge of fishing.

Best of luck to you. ;) If you're portaging, you may want to discard the canoecatamaran idea. You would want duct tape over bungee cords, providing your canoe has a couple of thwarts.

I'm hoping that the PVC pipes could remain strapped to the side of the canoe whenever they aren't rigged up for my catamaran brainstorm.
The engineer of the group has the final say as to wether or not they stay or go.

You are psyched! Hope you have the best of times. September is a splendid month to trip.

Admittedly, I may not be entirely grasping your setup, but bringing extra PVC pipe for the purposes of carrying your fishing rods is extra weight and bulk that I'd rather not carry.

I would suggest carrying the rods tied into your canoe with Bungee Dealee Bobs with the butt end forward in the canoe so the rod tips don't catch a branch on a portage.

As jackfish stated PVC pipe can be heavy (and bulky) but if you leave it behind you can always find a couple of sturdy branches that would serve the same purpose. Downed wood of course. Then you can burn them or discard. Gather more when needed. Just my .02 worth

???

Jackfish: "???"

:-D

I would practice fishing from a canoe until you are comfortable and scrap the catamaran/sponson idea with the heavy PIC pipe.

bobbernumber3: "I would practice fishing from a canoe until you are comfortable and scrap the catamaran/sponson idea with the heavy PIC pipe."

That seems like a win-win. More fishing leading up to the trip and less to portage on the trip.

FatLunker: "I'm hoping that the PVC pipes could remain strapped to the side of the canoe whenever they aren't rigged up for my catamaran brainstorm.
The engineer of the group has the final say as to wether or not they stay or go."

Catamaran? Why?

We did a very similar canoe catamaran on Seagull Lake a few years back and it was a blast. Even used a couple paddles and a tarp for a sail on a windy day and we could all just chill while the wind took us along. Also fun for diving off.

I saw a group on seagull a few years back now , that had 2X4 they duct tape to the thwarts with one motor , but I don't believe they were camping or portaging.

Well, I didn't think 2 inch PVC would be hardly any weight strapped to the canoe. Also felt like it would be so stable and safe when rigged as a catamaran.

The two bwca vets haven't been too keen on the PVC idea either.

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And if the PVC pipe weight is a concern, check out carbon fiber pipe.