Fishing kayak with an electric motor

[ocean_314]

I have a friend of mine that i looking to buy a kayak for fishing out in the ocean. He is almost 70 and needs one with an electric motor. Which is the best ocean going kayak for him that he can mount an electric motor to?

[Diablo Loco]

Well, there are several options that I have looked into. I was interested in setting my kayak up with a motor also and wanted to see a few options. Most motors will work on any kayak, depending on the motor mount. Here are a few options, some expensive, some not-so expensive. Hope it helps. :thumps::beer::beer:

http://kayak-excursions.com/kayakmotor.html

http://ioutboardmotors.com/universalkayakmount.html

http://www.islandhopperoutboards.com/basickayakmount.html

http://www.paddle-fishing.com/fos/rigging/trollmotor.htm

[AKmik]

If he has the coin the Torque from Ocean Kayak looks pretty sweet.

I think at his age the purpose built OK my be easier than messing with rigging something up. I would love to have one of these things.

http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/angler_editions/torque.html

spendy but cool.

I have a WS Tarpon 16I that I would love to motorize somehow. I have been researching motors for a while now.

I like the torque, and have been looking into the outboard mounted trolling motors as a starting point for a custom project, still undecided.
Amazon.com: Minn-Kota 55 Engine Mounted Trolling Motor (55lbs of Thrust): Sports & Outdoors

[Joe.A]

Hobie has a very nice electric option for thier kayaks. It's pricey, but I'd get the Hobie Revolution and add the Evolve electric option. The motor fits into the spot where the pedals usually go and can be put in or taken out while on the water. Makes surf entry/exit easier without breaking anything if an ooops occurs.
The whole thing is light and designed for kayaks, the battery is a very light lithium system, and if it goes dead, just replace the motor with the pedals.

yes, I'm biased,
Joe

[Diablo Loco]

I have a WS Tarpon 16I that I would love to motorize somehow. I have been researching motors for a while now.

I bought the Tarpon 160, which is the newer model (2010). I have been looking for mounts that will fit this. I have not found any that really suit my liking. The ones that look really good are not cost effective to me. I will probably make my own. If you see any excellent designs, post them so I can see them. I might use the idea to make my own design. :thumps::beer::beer:

[LunkerBuster]

just remember that a yak with a motor is no longer human powered craft.

in FL that means you need a registration, all safety equipment for boats, not yaks, and you no longer have full right of way.

just a heads up

[Diablo Loco]

just remember that a yak with a motor is no longer human powered craft.

in FL that means you need a registration, all safety equipment for boats, not yaks, and you no longer have full right of way.

just a heads up

It's pretty much the same in California. I have a catamaran kayak that I am tricking out for diving. I decided that I also want to use it up at the lakes for fishing. So, I tried a 2 1/2 hp motor on the back to see how well it would work out. Worked perfectly. I have a 5hp motor also and I believe it will also work very good. The back of the kayak is designed to put a motor on the back. Maybe I will take pictures later of the kayak and post them. I know you live in FL, but for those who live in Calif. and will be diving at the Triton X tournament, you will be able to see it. It is almost impossible to flip and glides over kelp like its not even there. But it will not have the motor (only man powered craft allowed). :thumps::beer::beer:

[LunkerBuster]

damn B that sounds cool, sorry i wont get to see that..please snap some pics

[exilenj]

hobie makes one now. its a pretty penny but looks sweet. can hook it up to the drive or rudder i think. a guy i bought my kayak off of got a good deal on one from a dealer. $2500 with a brand new outback. expensive but they re definitly worth it (regardless of the eletric motor) the paddle yaks. i love my revo for hands free fishing

[Samik]

I've been looking at motorizing my WS Ride 135. Anyone have any experience with Bassyaks? I like how they can be removed quickly, so when I don't require the extra range I can leave the motor in the truck.

http://www.bassyaks.com/

[GaribaldiStoner]

Just got a bassyaks motor for my malibu X-factor. Haven't had a chance to install it yet, but I will post a report about it in a couple of weeks.

[BenSpearing]

I haven't used a Native Watercraft electric kayak yet, but the stability of their kayaks is great, and I think stability is something a 70 year old man might like. I can stand in my Native Watercraft in 5ft swells fighting big fish with no worries. I'd at least checkout some reviews on them to see what is said about their electric kayaks.

Here is a link that has the Volt Kayaks fro Native Watercraft.

[ocddeerhunter]

keep An eye out for used Hobie cat's .I got 2 and rigging them for diving both sail and motor ( in Florida ANYTHING 16FEET is supposed to be reg. regaurdless of motor or not not fair but there it is )they reseached the numbers on my hobie 18' and I bought the reg. I'm buiding a motor mount now .I wanted to learn to sail anyhow ,also rigging windsurfing sails to yaks (sailboard sails)allways have projects going .Cya

[ocddeerhunter]

Thats why genuoes (spelled wrong) are only 15 foot 4 inch (10 hp)or 15foot 6inch(25Hp) I've got 15'4" never been in gulf but great at springs .
Also if a docter or chiropractor tells you ,you need an MRI DO IT DON'T WAIT A MONTH TILL YOUR RIGHT ARM ALMOST QUITS WORKING TO DO IT like I did after surgery I need alot of therpy for arm streangh to come back THIS SUCKS .LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE .

[GaribaldiStoner]

I finished installing my Bassyaks motor on my Malibu X-factor, and got it in the water. The thing is fast and quiet. It really helped out when the wind picked up big time. The motor is really easy to remove. It can be done in less than a minute. The thing has 5 speeds going forward and 3 in reverse. This is my first time using a trolling motor on a yak, but I really dig it. If you are interested in getting a motor for your yak, check out bassyaks. They have around than 30 or so kayak specific motor mounts.

[jondavies]

I used this site for inspiration to set up a trolling motor on my Malibu Extreme. It's a great rig for fishing and I can chug along at 5 knots+.

http://www.martialartsacademy.org/quietmanelectrickayak.htm

Ultimately, I decided it was too much hassle for diving. There's too much risk for capsizing when diving and righting the boat with the battery/motor would be a PITA. I tried putting adding some stablizing pontoons and while they addressed the risk of capsizing, they slowed down the boat considerably.

[bluesquids]

Ultimately, I decided it was too much hassle for diving. There's too much risk for capsizing when diving and righting the boat with the battery/motor would be a PITA. .
Hey Jon,
Was it tippy because the motor weight was off to the one side?
I had an extreme and found it really hard to capsize.
Is your set up something you might want to part with, if your not using it anymore?
ps- check pm

[jondavies]

Hi Pete,

The motor didn't seem to throw off the balance much as it's very light compared to the weight of the yak, me, the battery and all the gear.

But I did manage to tip the kayak when I was getting geared up for a scuba dive when I didn't have the motor on board (fortunately, I had everything tied off and didn't lose any gear). I guess it doesn't speak too well to my agility or innate sense of balance :(

Just the thought of trying to right the boat with the motor on boat (or having the tie downs break off and losing the whole set up) was enough to put me off the idea of trying to do a dive with the motor set up.

Now that I have the inflatable, I don't really have a need for it and I'll consider selling it (I'll shoot you back a PM).

Jon

[Atlantean]

Man that is a toughie. I actually fabbed all that onto my yak for fun. I used a saltwater trolling motor (a must), broke it down and went from there. Made waterproof boxes for the electrical and potted them etc...

Probably waaaayyy better to just buy a hobie mirage drive. Much lower weight and almost no maintenance comparatively. Don't forget that you have to have a large battery for the motor and that gives only an hour or so. The old guy will have to lug around a bunch of heavy gear for this set-up.

Also. there are guys who used a 2x4 and C-clamped that to the hull on the side. Clamped the motor to the 2x4 using the regular transom mounting hardware.

My kayak is so friggin heavy with all of that set-up 99% of the time I don't use it. I'm just a techie engineer and did it all for fun. I made all that selectable so I can run with or without it with just a few very quick adjustments.

If I were to start over I would forget all that and just get a hobie. They are faster anyway and troll better. Plus the massive weight difference and low maintenance. The only draw back is the cost of a hobie. But...how much will you spend modding the yak anyway? You can maybe find a used hobie around the same pricepoint. And the hobie will hold value for resale.

Oh one last thing. Ask some of the guys at Kayak4fish (dot com). They are all into that stuff too and many there have done these mods. Also there are tutorials for modding this.

Don't forget that once you put a motor on the yak you have to register it with DMV and get tags etc....huge pain. Think twice.

[jondavies]

I found the registration process was actually quite easy. I called Malibu Kayaks and they sent me a bill of sale (even though I'd bought it used). I took that and the hull ID to the AAA and they processed the registration for $20, gave me a CF number and the stickers.

Getting the registration tags to stick to the rough plastic surface of my kayak -- that was the hard part!

[Atlantean]

I found the registration process was actually quite easy. I called Malibu Kayaks and they sent me a bill of sale (even though I'd bought it used). I took that and the hull ID to the AAA and they processed the registration for $20, gave me a CF number and the stickers.

Getting the registration tags to stick to the rough plastic surface of my kayak -- that was the hard part!

Well you still had a process to register it. Also AAA is a membership requirement. Imagine the DMV knucleheads trying to register this when they only deal with boats. Then you have registration bills coming in the mail even if you are not running the motor anymore.

Yeah, almost nothing sticks to the yak. I put my sticker under the clear map flap on my crate jr. Very handy. And I don't have to display an old tag if I am running with just a paddle.

Still for an older gent I would recommend another avenue. Like a little bass buddy or other tiny boat. Although you may not like a trailer etc...

Hobie is still my recommendation.