motor on kayak?

[adamjthompson]

Hello,

I've played around with the idea of adding an eletric motor to my fishing kayak (a Manta Ray 12) to extend my range on large lakes, bays, etc.

Would that be advisable or not? Would it extend my range? How many miles might I expect to get out of a battery?

Thanks!

-Adam

[PerryC]

Welcome to the forums .

Most of the people I know who use a trolling motor on a kayak do so on a Cobra FnD, which comes with inserts from the factory to facilitate this. I'm not sure if the Liquid Logic kayaks are meant to be motorized. I know the 12 foot Manta Ray is a few inches narrower than the FnD or xFactor, but I don't know how much in the stability department you would lose. Plus I think the rated weight capacity for the 12 footer is 375lbs, but I dunno how accurate that is. Some manufacturers rate capacity on the shy side so if a kayak says it will carry 400lbs, you can load 400lbs in it and still have a few inches of freeboard left no problems. Other manufacturers, when they say 400lbs and you get 300lbs in it you wonder what hat they pulled the 400lbs figure out of.

Some anglers who use trolling motors use them as the main propulsion, and other turn them on low to assist in their paddling. Sorta like a kicker motor would be. The ones who use it as an assist definately get increased range because the motor helps in the glide.

How many miles can you get? Really, I can't say as there are just too many variables. If you look at a motor spec sheet you should be able to get some idea of the current draw and look at a battery spec and get a rough idea from there. Hope this helps,
PerryC.

[adamjthompson]

I was thinking that I could use the fittings for the attachment of the rudder to attatch the motor to. Haven't looked into finding the correct hardware, though.

Weight shouldn't be a problem. I weigh about 160 and I travel pretty light as far as gear is concerned.

What thrust would you suggest? One site I found said that 3-5 lbs was the correct thrust for a kayak. I've never seen a motor that small, though.

Thanks!

[seaslug]

Thrust figures on electrics are maximum thrust.

You can run any of them almost dead slow. The current usage is directly proportional to the thrust being used (low thrust = longer battery life).

I would worry a bit about the weight of the motor and having a mount that will take full thrust in case you use it.

[greyloon]

I have a 30 year old sears trolling motor of 6 lbs thrust. For a kayak, a 30 lb works well. But, most rudder mounts are too flimsy for a trolling motor. You get lots of vibration. The mount needs to have one member go across the width or the kayak if side mounting, more difficult on most kayaks is rear mounting, the mount has to be custom made. With a side mount, a simple mount can be made from 2x lumber. Most likely, you'll be drilling holes in the kayak for the mount. Unlike a canoe, you don't have gunwales to clamp on to. With a LL, I wouldn't want to mess with it. Find an older kayak maybe one that's a barge to paddle and play with it. You'll most likely go back to paddling your LL unless you have shoulder or back problems. Be sure if you do it to buy a deep cycle battery thats sealed, don't want battery acid floating around in your foot or tank well.