What is the voltage and capacity and what type of battery have you been using? If it is 12v and you don't need a lot of range, you might just get a good quality group 24 or group 27 deep cycle lead acid battery. That would weigh about 60 or 70 lbs, I guess, maybe a bit less for AGM type, which can tolerate shifting, tip-overs, etc much better than flooded cell. A group 22N has a bit more than half the capacity and a bit more than half the weight. For this type of application you could maybe make a floating battery box out of an ice chest, in case of capsize. Be sure to include a circuit breaker. For 24v, just connect two in series and maybe go down a size. If it is 36 or 48v, there are some great lithium battery packs for e-bikes available. My boat is 48v, both of my e-bikes are 48v, and I will be adding electric power to my pirogue at 48v. My 20ah bike battery packs cost just over $400/ea, shipped. They are light and compact, and come with a charger and should give me a good 5 years or more of service. They are all over ebay. You can get bigger or smaller packs, of course, for more or less money. If you really want to go cheap, buy cells and build your own battery. For a 12v LiFePO4 battery, you only need 4 cells in series, or 4 groups of parallel cells, in series. You will need a charger designed for this type of battery. More cells in series for higher voltage, of course. Bigger cells or more in parallel for higher capacity and longer range, naturally. You should have a BMS integrated into the battery, for safety and efficiency. (Battery Management System) Always install a fuse or circuit breaker in the circuit. Lithium batteries on rare occasions will have the most amazing meltdowns/conflagrations imaginable, and a good BMS can reduce the chances of this happening practically to zero.
I would not go with a gel type battery if you anticipate periods of rapid discharge. AGM offers the same benefit I believe, and can take higher charge/discharge rates than gel cell batts.
My boat is powered by flooded lead acid batteries, 8 6v 220ah golf cart batteries from Sams Club at $85/ea, mainly because that is all I could afford, but I would not hesitate to go with a Lithium chemistry if they were as cheap because you can discharge much more deeply into a lithium bank than a lead bank. Cost was not so much an issue with the bike batteries since they are so much smaller and weight was a concern, too.
If your system is 36 or 48v, I recommend Lithium or possibly NiMH, which you would have to build out of cells. For 12 or 24v, lead is practical though I would strongly favor AGM in a canoe rather than flooded cell. Cheapest at any rate is flooded cell lead batteries, connected in series for the required voltage but you might not like the weight penalty at higher voltages, and you can't exceed 50% discharge without significantly shortening battery lifespan so your pack needs to be about twice your actual needed working capacity.
Also consider whether or not the range was sufficient with the original battery, or not sufficient, or more than was needed, and adjust capacity appropriately.
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