Muskrat-
#1- no. Setting from upstream, downward. I don't have an outboard motor.
#2- average depth= 4'-6'. Average width= 50'(?)
#3- yes, but I don't have one.
#4- about 7 miles on average (on the water. River has many sharp curves/bends)
#5- I park on the road, have to carry the boat and all my gear down the bank and launch from there. I come out of the water in a similar way.
#6- not terribly strong, but could not paddle upstream very far.
#7- not much fluctuation without rain/major snow melt.
#8- quite a few. Mostly rat, mink and coon sets. A few beaver and fox/coyote sets thrown in.
Hope that helps.
#1 - So we assume somebody is meeting you downstream or you're leaving a vehicle downstream and someone is giving you a ride upstream to the start of the line.
#2 - That's a nice size river, probably have others on it too?
#3 - That narrows the options.
#4 - That's a decent stretch.
#5 - No landing. So that should limit competition. But also limits what you can launch.
#6 - Okay, so it's a one-way shot.
#7 - That's nice. Some rivers you can count on dropping slowly without rain, others seem to have a mind of their own, and some are regulated by dams downstream.
#8 - Smorgasbord. That means lots of gear.
So you've got the transportation worked out? When you finish the line there's somebody waiting for you or you've already taken your vehicle downstream with the help of someone else? An option I did many years ago was to offload gear at starting point, including canoe, then drive the vehicle to the pickup point, then pull my bicycle out of the vehicle and bike back up to the starting point and stash the bike in the weeds. Seven miles on average with lots of bends, I assume the road runs along the river? How do you have this part worked out?
So you're hauling your boat up and down a bank. That rules out any big flat bottom boat. I've skidded 14' jon boats up and down banks, but they were very light and narrow. I even laid PVC pipes in the ground parallel to the river and made my own "ramp" that way on private property. But you're hauling this boat back up the bank at the downstream end of the run. A 14' jon boat would get old hauling back up the bank.
I'd say you're in the market for a canoe. I wouldn't buy a new one. I'd pick Dave Plueger's mind and inquire what he uses. Experience of his caliber is gold. Might even give you some ideas you hadn't thought of yet.
Best keep a secure dry box on board with spare clothes and a click style propane torch for starting a fire to warm up. Spare pair of hip boots in a dry bag secured inside too. Sooner or later you're going to roll that canoe and you'll want to be dry and warm and soon as possible.