Motor on a Fish N Dive?

[KillItNGrillIt]

I was trying to decide between getting an inflatable or a kayak and noticed on the Cobra website that they listed "motoring" for the Fish N Dive. I called Cobra and they said that you could put up to a 3Hp outboard on it. I was thinking of the Suzuki 2.5 which is only 30 lbs. Does anyone have experience with putting a motor on a Cobra Fish N Dive? I was wondering how entering the kayak would be with the motor on the other side. I guessyou would have to be sure to not flip the Yak all together and emerse the engine. Is the Fish N Dive stable enough? The kayak/engine option would be the best of both worlds for me because some of my dive spots are close to shore and I don't always need the engine.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Dave

[zenspearo]

Tohatsu is lighter..you can get a 2-stroker from ebay for around $300.

I had it on my inflatables kayak, never on my hard kayak.

[RLdiver]

A guy on Big Island put a 2.5 merc on a 15ft prowler. He mounted it to the back of the yak. You could easlily make a fiberglass mount to bolt the motor to the back. I'm not sure how he turned the thing, since he was in the center of the kayak. You would need an extended throttle/steering controll. I saw it on craiglist about 2 months ago, he claimed it would go 8-10kts almost all day on 3 gallons. On youtube a guy put a remote controlled trolling motor for a bass boat on the front of his kayak....It had 55lbs of thrust. Either front or back you wouldn't need an outrigger. :thumps:

[So Cal Shaggy]

Just an FYI but if you put a engine or motor on your kayak it has to be registered just like a normal boat your kayak would be considered a motorized vessel just like any other boat which would limit where you can launch from. You cannot launch motorized vessels from swim areas or from many beach areas you might be limiting yourself to launching from launch ramps. I am not trying to burst your bubble just giving you some information to consider.

[Sherpa_fab]

so-cal shaggy is right. when I was 13 I bought a 4man inflatable and a 3hp
outboard... I had to register the boat running that motor.

the Calif DMV requires boat registration IF the motor is greater than 1.5hp.
any motor smaller than 1.5 DOES NOT REQUIRE REGISTRATION.
So you can run a 1.5hp outboard without registration.
--Sherpa

[bluewatermafia]

what about a big electric trolling motor?