  Fred Bear (1902-1988) is an American legend and considered the father of bow hunting and founder of Bear Archery. Bear Archery's manufacturing facility has a great archery range for those of us, like Hoginator and I that need lots of practice, enjoy shooting on a professionally set up range and having the occasional conversation with other archers. We sincerely thank Bear Archery for allowing us to practice at their proving grounds range in Gainesville, Florida and encourage bow hunters and competition shooters to check out the high quality bows that Bear produces. I own a Bear long bow that is great quality and a pleasure to shoot.  Although Fred Bear didn't start bow hunting until he was in his late 20's he became an accomplshed archer and deadly bow hunter, killing small and big game including dangerous game around the world. Just about of us that bow hunt have been influenced by and benefitted from the talent and innovation that Fred Bear brought to our sport and industry.  One of the 40 yard shooting lanes at the Bear Archery Proving Grounds in Gainesville FL.  A weird grouping at the range...acceptable hunting group but I'm sure it can get tighter with more practice.
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January 2020
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Repair notes:
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A marine grade filler was applied
Then sanding and multiple coats of cloth, resin and sanding
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Then a final light sanding and spay can / palmetto paint job
The first trip we put in near Cedar Key and worked our way up a couple creeks that would have been inaccessible in a larger boat. We found 15 or more Redfish and a couple nice trout.
Gear used:
- Old 1980’s Gheenoe, classic model purchased at a garage sale for $150.
- Trailer assembled from parts
- Yamaha 6 hp purchased new
- Gheenoe’s are excellent backwater boats. Their shallow draft, excellent stability and maneuvering are boats you can take just about anywhere in relatively protected waters. And you can pull, push or paddle them if needed.
- The Yamaha 6 hp 4 stroke is a good balance between weight, portability, economy and power. The engine is not yet fully broken in, so it hasn’t been run a full throttle but I’m guessing it will move the loaded Gheenoe between 10 and 15 mph. The 6 hp is not a speed demon but seems fast enough and in the rocky backwater creeks, speed is the last thing you need. Easy to tilt up, shallow draft, and easy pull start are more important to me. As far as fuel economy goes, I don’t know how many hours I can expect from the 3 gal. remote tank because after a two or three hours running time the gauge hadn’t budged from full.
- The ride of the Gheenoe is great in smooth water and fair in a chop. The boat and motor are sensitive to load distribution and the loads should be adjusted to be when heading into the wind and waves to keep the boat dry. I expected and did notice some hull cavitation when in rougher water. The hull could be strengthened in some areas but I doubt I will make many hull modifications.
Paul with a couple nice trout from the first trip