Gheenoe Build

[OXN939]

Been down in the panhandle of FL for the last 18 months where the fishing is bigger than hunting. Started seeing these things called "Gheenoes" around- think the love child of a canoe and a flats skiff. Found a used 90s model online last year and have enough time on it now to know that I'll never own another profile of watercraft in the lower 48 again. So, I sold the starter rig and am putting one together from scratch. The original, a 1991 15'4" NMZ highsider with Mercury 15 EFI and a ton of other upgrades.




New build is a Custom Gheenoe LT 10. Picked it up as a bare hull from the factory in Titusville last week. Upgrades list is a long one, but first on deck is a total of 10 coats of Gatorglide hull protectant to both add abrasion protection and increase efficiency. Will keep this thread updated as things come together.

 

[IW17]

Good stuff. I love gheenoes. Grew up in Florida. If I built one I'd go front seating for the driver with stick steering. Very responsive, and being further forward will help with scanning while you drive and balancing the weight. Plus stick steer is a blast when you just want to get out and enjoy the water.

 

[WBT]

I’ve always thought these little boats look like a lot of fun. Interested to see what you do with yours.

 

[Ferrulewax]

Nice man! Excited to see what you do with it. Had a ton of fun with a 13ft gheenoe. I have a towee now which is a pretty similar microskiff that I absolutely love.

Another thing I will say, I’m not sure of the beam and draft and size of your boat, but for some reason guys seem to love cramming as much crap as they can in one of those gheenoes and it just ends up being a tippy mess. Center consoles, poling platforms, graphs, giant motors, trolling motors, casting platforms, etc. Less is more so long as it serves your purpose, just like your backpack on a backpacking trip. From your photos it looks like you have it figured out, those are slick looking boats, very clean.

Here’s my towee

 

[nettereo16]

How is side to side stability on these? A few people have them in the Carolina’s. I always thought they look pretty cool!

 

[Ferrulewax]

How is side to side stability on these? A few people have them in the Carolina’s. I always thought they look pretty cool!

Pretty dependent on the model, with the 15’ 4 probably being the most tippy- followed by the 13’ and then the much more stable 15 classic and the super models. I don’t have much knowledge of the custom gheenoe models but I think they are probably wider and less tippy. With the 13 we had, you definitely had to be aware of your movement as well as your buddy (it was flipped once, when two guys set the hook in the same direction at the same time), but it could also be stood in if you were careful.

 

[doc holiday13]

I've seen those labeled as a scanoe . Aka skiff canoe

Very stable design. A lot heavier than a canoe though

 

[MNBill]

I had the 15’4” model for several years. Duck hunted out of it. Very stable. Had myself and a buddy both stand to shoot and my 80lb lab go over the same side and while it caused some jitters, we stayed dry! Great boats!

 

[eamyrick]

Nice. Let me hop in and go fly fishing for tarpon this summer

 

[Mt Al]

Very cool and thanks for bringing us along on the build!

 

[flathead#2]

I've had a 15' Classic since '01.
Caught everything from Sharks, Snook and Grouper to
Bass and Bluegill in it.
Got a 9.8 Tohatsu on the back.
Great little boat.

 

[robtattoo]

I've built out a 13 & 80% of a Classic.....
Unfortunately, I ran out of motivation during the Classic & sold it on. All that was left to do was wiring & paint.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Lotta good memories from high school in Florida with a bud who owned a Gheenoe!

Gheenoes and Jeeps…

GOOD times!

Flipped an overpowered one on the St Johns once.

 

[OXN939]

Thanks dudes! Super cool seeing eveyone's pictures, keep em coming. The goal for this build is refined simplicity. No power steering, no hydraulics, minimal electronics and maintenance in general while still providing a super capable microskiff platform for fishing tidal rivers and bays. Think I was sold the first time my fuel bill for an entire day of fishing was shy of five bucks. Anyway.

Did the second round of GatorGlide today for a total of 10 coats... man that is a process. I did five coats of "gator base" in black and five of "gator glide" in battleship grey so as to allow me to see when the outer layer wears through and touch it up. Hell of a labor intensive process, probably six hours of just painting. Should be a cool end product, though. They say you gain a good deal of efficiency as well as abrasion protection.



Next up this weekend- jackplate and outboard installation, sounder wiring, flexdeck installation, power pole and cleats, decals.

 

[Loper]

Living in Florida I see a lot of Gheenoes. I love the look of these boats but i don’t have one. One day i will. I like to get on the Microskiff forums and various FB groups and see all the builds. Glad you are sharing your build on Rokslide. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[flathead#2]

Thanks dudes! Super cool seeing eveyone's pictures, keep em coming. The goal for this build is refined simplicity. No power steering, no hydraulics, minimal electronics and maintenance in general while still providing a super capable microskiff platform for fishing tidal rivers and bays. Think I was sold the first time my fuel bill for an entire day of fishing was shy of five bucks. Anyway.

Did the second round of GatorGlide today for a total of 10 coats... man that is a process. I did five coats of "gator base" in black and five of "gator glide" in battleship grey so as to allow me to see when the outer layer wears through and touch it up. Hell of a labor intensive process, probably six hours of just painting. Should be a cool end product, though. They say you gain a good deal of efficiency as well as abrasion protection.

View attachment 684075

Next up this weekend- jackplate and outboard installation, sounder wiring, flexdeck installation, power pole and cleats, decals.

I did mine in GatorGlide, the hull and the sides. NOW I cant get my registration letters and decal to stay on the side.

 

[Afhunter1]

I just bought this one…

 

[Darryle]

I did mine in GatorGlide, the hull and the sides. NOW I cant get my registration letters and decal to stay on the side.

Get some mule hide and cut out the stencils, sand blast and then use weatherstrip adhesive on the stickers, you'll hate the removal process. Second option is to have a cabinet shop route you a piece of plastic from a cutting board to apply the stickers to and then attach the plates to the hull.

 

[OXN939]

Sorry for being slow everyone- insert the typical excuses about life and stuff here. Good news is, she floats! The other side of the coin is that this was a LOT more involved than I was expecting even after exhaustive research, and there are still a few kinks to iron out. Think she came together nicely, though, and will be a great platform. Only found one on her inaugural trip, but sometimes that's all it takes! Will post some pics of how she turned out and an AAR on the build here in the next few days.

 

[doc holiday13]

View attachment 692641

Are you Tiger Wood's body double?