I’m beyond excited to finally get to write about my Gheenoe LT10. I purchased this fishing skiff all the way back in 2019 but for a variety of reasons I just wasn’t able to get it out on the water much until now. All the same, before I bought it I researched gheenoes extensively because I was looking for a very specific sort of vessel and found that this hit all the buttons. Let’s talk about My Gheenoe Low Tide 10 and why I consider it the ultimate family fishing skiff!
Why I Purchased a Gheenoe LT10
As long time readers are aware, I own a Lund Impact as my main boat. While I love it, it just isn’t the appropriate boat for many situations. As I live in Connecticut and am surrounded by many small lakes and ponds, several with limited launch access, I really wanted something smaller that could get me away from shore in places like Spring Pond, for example. After doing some research, I decided I wanted to buy a Gheenoe of one type or another.
If I lived in Florida, this would be easy, as Gheenoes are a dime a dozen down there. People love them because they make great skiffs or flat boats to fish from. Unfortunately, in Connecticut I had very few options. There was one dealer in New Hampshire, and another in Virginia. Neither appear to still be dealers so I’m glad I got when the getting was good!
Because of the scarcity, I really had to just grab what the gentleman had. Luckily for me, it was a model I was very interested in, the Low Tide 10. Here’s why I love it.
Gheenoes are Renowned for Their Stability
The main reason I wanted a gheenoe was because I’d prefer to fish standing up. While you “can” do this on some kayaks and canoes, I wouldn’t recommend it. Gheenoes, however, are specifically designed to allow you to do this. Their hull design is such that it basically gets wider on the bottom enhancing stability and keeping you safe.
I can confirm in practice that this is true. My Gheenoe LT10 has a bow and aft casting deck and while I would argue you need some balance to stand there, if I’m standing in the actual base of the canoe it is perfectly stable and I really don’t have issues. Transferring around to help my son out when he has a difficult fish to unhook or got a tangle hasn’t been an issue.
My son on the other hand had no problem balancing just fine on the casting deck. This helps him get better casts out and a better view and keeps our rods far enough away from each other while we are casting. As you can see from the photo above, he doesn’t have a ton of room but at 8, he’s fine. You can appreciate why I’m not too keen about standing there, however.
Size
A Gheenoe LT10 is 15’10” long with a 3’9″ beam. It only weighs 190 pounds though distributing this across nearly sixteen feet makes it difficult to maneuver into a pond without a boat launch by yourself. Two men can easily handle it however, so when Tristan gets a little bit older I fully expect we’ll be exploring even more remote locations with this skiff.
The Gheenoe LT10 can carry 3 passengers or 300 pounds according to its safety plate. This is fine for a dad and small children such as myself which made it another appealing option for the “fishing father” in me.
A Wide Variety of Propulsion Options
The Gheenoe LT10 gives you many different options for power. When I took it out last year, I hadn’t registered it yet so I was stuck paddling. To be perfectly honest it doesn’t track as well as a normal canoe, which should be expected since it was designed for stability before speed or hydrodynamics. However, it can accommodate a 10hp motor in the stern, and it’s also possible to mount a trolling motor in the bow. This gives you the same options for boat control as a regular bass boat! To me, that made the Gheenoe LT10 a much more intriguing option than a kayak.
How Can You Customize a Gheenoe LT10?
Another great thing about these skiffs is how customizable they are. For example, here is a link to the different configurations as well as prices for a Low Tide 10 like mine. As you can see, you have multiple different options. For example, the following deck options are available:
- Low Front Deck
- Raise Front Deck (No Hatch)
- Raise Front Deck (1 Hatch)
- Rear Bench Seat
- Back Foam Boxes (Not Bench)
- Raised Rear Deck (1 hatch).
You also have several options for a center box:
- No Center Box
- Small Center Box
- Center Box Fore & Aft
- Center Box Divided
My Gheenoe LT10 is equipped with raised front and rear decks with a hatch in each, as well as what I assume is a “small center box,” though to be honest I’m not totally sure.
There are plenty of other options, including mounts for trolling motors so you can even accommodate a vaunted Minn Kota Terrova if you wished. Maybe some day!
How I Configured My Gheenoe LT10
I had to buy my Gheenoe new, but “as is” given that there just aren’t many dealers in my neck of the woods. Even so, the fact that I have an aft and bow casting deck with hatches as well as the center storage box gives me many options.
I power my Gheenoe with a simple Minn Kota trolling motor that has (I believe) about 36lb thrust. While I’m not going to win any speed races with it, this is sufficient to get going fast enough to troll spinnerbaits if I’d like. I power it with a 12v battery that I keep in the hatch right next to it. This is also where I keep my anchor. There’s a little open space in front of the hatch and I slide a few plano boxes in there. Basically, like any other tiller, I have everything I need “in my office.”
In the center waterproof box I keep my records/registration as well as life jackets and cooler. There’s a good amount of space in here and you could put a larger tackle bag in as well. I just try to cut down on what tackle I’m using on this.
At present in the front I don’t have much. I put my wheel chocks there for now. There’s another hatch so at some point if I moved to have a bow livewell, I could keep its battery there.
Do You Need to Trailer a Gheenoe LT10?
While I’ve heard that some people car top these boats, at 190 pounds, I’m not! I bought one with a trailer. I will note that it is so lightweight you want to be disciplined above using the rear tie downs even for short trips. One important consideration is that this is such a narrow beam, you might have a hard time seeing the trailer in your mirrors while you’re backing. It might not be the worst idea to buy some longer trailer posts like these just so you can see it easier while you’re backing it up. I’d also just say it’s such a lightweight boat with such a small draft that these posts or load guides are going to make your life a lot easier on retrieval.
What Upgrades Should You Get for a Gheenoe?
There’s a whole list of upgrades you can get for your Gheenoe at customgheenoe.com. If you wanted to, you could even get a live well to put on one. For me, that’s a little much. However, I’d love to get the trolling motor mount for the bow so I can put a Terrova on there one day. While the trolling motor I have works fine for propulsion, I’d really prefer an option that allows me to fish with both hands while still controlling the boat.
Another thing I’d really like to buy for my Gheenoe is a proper push pole. My Gheenoe has a 5″ draft meaning I could get it into extremely shallow water. It would be very helpful to have a push pole to silently move through there on the hunt for bass. I’d probably pick something like this telescoping push pole up from Amazon given that it can go from 6 to 12′. I like the idea of being able to minimize it and store it away when not in use.
Is a Gheenoe a Good Boat for Kids?
I think a Gheenoe is a great option if you have kids. After all, that’s why I bought it. My LT 10 is stable, easy to trailer, and has enough room to put both my kids on. My Gheenoe came with 4 rod tubes to keep them out of the way which is plenty when fishing with kids, and there are places you can put a worm cooler. If your kids are little, they can sit “in” the Gheenoe as opposed to “on” it, which is helpful.
While I’d be hesitant to take small children out on a big and busy lake in any canoe-like boat, a Gheenoe is just about perfect for the smaller lakes and ponds kids cut their teeth in. While at 190 pounds, it is fairly heavy and difficult to launch by hand, I “have” done it (with trouble) by myself. Thus, you could get this into even little known kids ponds if you needed to.
Conclusions
Hopefully this helps you out in deciding if you should buy one of these. As the summer progresses I hope to have much more to say about fishing out of a Gheeno!
Thanks all,
John Paxton
Want to learn how to take your kids out fishing? Do you have a friend who might need a hand? Click the pictures below to purchase my helpful books!
