A good trapping boat?

[furiouzgeorge]

Hey folks,

  My wife and I are really interested in getting into trapping in the next couple of years. She's encouraging me to build a ply-wood Jon Boat to hunt water-fowl from and eventually start trapping with. I'm a boat-builder so I'm pretty confident in the finished product, but am curious what you guys trap from (if you use a boat at all). Jon Boat's are great swamp runners, but what do you recommend for length / width? Is there anything in particular you wish you had? Anything I should specifically avoid? Mainly, how do you haul cages / gear and how could you be doing it better? Thanks in advance for any input!

[furiouzgeorge]

http://www.grandpasarchive.com/boatplans/jonboat/jon-boat2.pdf

[scout/sniper]

I was heavy into trapping for a long time.
I used a 12' jon boat.
It small enough to drag across land to get to other areas and it could take a beating really well.
I had a small 9hp shallow drive motor.
The boat was really stable to work from.

[Trapper John]

A lot to consider when looking at trapping out of a boat.  I like a 12' Jon Boat and at times a 10' works great too.  The only difference I see is that the 10' you can't carry so much gear.  If your trapping beaver with handcock beaver traps, they are going to take up a lot of room plus their weight.  The 10' your not going to pack to many, maybe one or two.  If your using colony cage traps and floats your going to need room again.  10' boat is good if you have to drag it a long way and your not carrying a lot of gear.  A 12' most of the time you need a trailer if you are going to have a motor on it.  There are con's and pro's on each size.  Weight always comes to mind.    I am planning on getting a Jon Boat Sled to run some of the big rivers.  I'm looking at 16' or 18' and a jet prop.    A lot to think about when your thinking about water trapping.
JC

[Machias]

Since you are a boat builder, I'm sure you've heard of the Glen L boats, This would make a killer trapping boat!

http://www.boatdesigns.com/18-Little-Hunk-power-fishing-dory/products/531/

[onetrapper]

I'm planning on borrowing Johns boat after he buys it...perfect

[scout/sniper]

A lot to consider when looking at trapping out of a boat.  I like a 12' Jon Boat and at times a 10' works great too.  The only difference I see is that the 10' you can't carry so much gear.

Great point.
Back when I was trapping we could still use leg-hold traps with drown sets. I had no cage traps.
Would need more room for all of that.

[Da stump]

trapped for years out of a 17 1/2' coleman canoe and loved it.  You can haul a fair amount of traps with it and get into tight spot too

[furiouzgeorge]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll post some pics as I build. I'm thinking 12-14 ft should work well for me FOR NOW. I might realize it's not what I want but the classified section should fix that for me!