Motorized my Cobra Fish and Dive.
 

I really enjoy paddling, but I also have a love for tinkering with things...so I tossed a motor on my Fish and Dive just because.



http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/ad1fccf9.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/16e17ee9.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/856253fa.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/18d1591e.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/a63695cb.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/a7bb5b3d.jpg

I did a 4 hour test run on Saturday night in the big bay, worked like a charm. The motor is a BassPro Prowler 30LB, it was 99.00 so I figured it would be the best candidate to be cut up. In the bay I can keep a steady 3 MPH, seems like I could go faster in reverse however...which was kind of funky to test. It feels weird hauling ass backwards! haha


I came up with the design over the three days I spent working on it, I planned it as I went. The entire system comes off in about 3 minutes, leaving only the two "L" brackets on the boat. The remote control for the motor is just a random plastic box I had lying around, I mounted the speed control switch and the on/off LED and sealed it up with Goop, then attached the box to the boat with a velcro rectangle. In the future I plan on doing something a little more slick, I just wanted to see if it would work before putting too much effort into it.


I'm still working on a way to bring the motor up, I have a latch release in place but it only works in the full down position...I have to work on that still.


COST:

BPS "Prowler 30" - 99.00
foot peddals - 35.00
Steel - 25.00
Paint - 7.00
Misc hardware - 30.00

Approx 15 hours(mostly wasted staring at the kayak thinking ;))



Fire away with any questions(except any having to do with the Vessel Assist measuring tape on my hull! LOL)

:D

That looks pretty cool. make hooping in the bay easy.
Do you have to register it since it has a motor on it?

Yeah, I need a CF #. Which is kind of ironic considering I was happy to be free of the CF # burden when I sold my boat and switched to kayaking 100% of the time. I'm going to mount the Cf# to the motor mount so I don't have those fugly numbers on the yak when I'm motorless...so I can still be part of the cool crowd. :biggrinjester:

Will anyone ever say anything to you about having a little silent electric on a yak?

Maybe...

Probably not.


I had my 3 person Canoe with a motor out in Newport and San Diego bays numerous times, talked to harbor patrol and DFG for various reasons and not once did they even mention it.:D

Probably not a big deal to register it.

I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of "test runs" on the motor "I just installed last night". ;)


And yeah, it is very very quiet...my buddy couldn't hear me until I was a few feet away during the test run. I kept sneaking up on him and doing fly-by's while he was jigging. LOL

Right now I'm hauling a HUGE deep cycle battery, 125AH...it must weigh 65 lbs by itself, I'd like to see the difference in speed when the yaks not hauling 400lbs(I'm 250LBS myself). I need to get out today and find a suitable battery, both lightweight and with enough amps to power the motor on the 6+ hour sessions we go on.

USS MAZ haha. I'm going to tie a rope to you next time. The reverse on that thing is comedy..

nice work on the steel.

I put a troling motor on an outrigger canoe it went about 5mph till it ran out of juice. had to paddle back with the extra 80 lbs:mad:.

I'm still looking for a battery, trying not to spend 200.00 on an Optima deep cycle if I don't have to. I have this brand new giant walmart deep cycle if somebody wants to trade for a smaller deep cycle....



Any suggestions on an affordable battery that will last??

Im liken it, good luck on the battery..

Look into an oddyssey battery it's supposed to be like an optima with 1/4 of the weight. About $150:you_rock: that is a great rig .great inventions were born in a garage.good job.:cheers1:

Talk to George.... he is known around here for helping folks out with this....:D

Should I get out the price list and my Zimbabwe billing address?:D:D:D:D

Just an update, still running strong with no issues to report...and I still haven't switched batteries, this dang Walmart battery has gone over 6 hours with plenty of charge left. I can't get myself to sacrafice battery power for weight, it seems stupid IMO given the amount of work it takes to paddle this load now. :D

my brother wants to do something like this to his. How much did it cost ya?

the price is on the bottom of the 1st post

Costco

Nice setup. Very impressive.
We also use a deep cycle marine battery purchased from Walmart, only when we go on bug trips. It's called EverStart. The good, well under $100, the bad, they weigh over 50lbs. My digital scale only goes to 50lb (supposedly). I just weighed it, it showed 52lbs, but I always believed it to be 60-65lbs, which may be more accurate.
Also, supposedly, it's been known not to keep a charge very well, according to some blogs we've read. While it charges to about 12.8 or 12.9 Vdc, after 3 or 4 days it may dip down to 12.5 Vdc, or thereabouts. We just slap on a fresh charge right before leaving (maybe 10-15 minutes), and we're good for about 5 miles using our Minnekota "Endura" 30 lb. thrust trolling motors, which are mounted on a 2"x4", which is mounted on one of our milk crates. The 2"x4" extends off the side of our 'yaks. The crate also holds the battery in it, plus a 5 gallon bucket for holding our bugs. We occasionally will fish for halibut prior to bug fishing at night. When we do, we substitute a different 5 gallon bait bucket modified with a pump (also from Walmart) to keep 'dines alive.

Update: The speed control switch was apparently damaged during the install and I was missing the #5(highest) speed. BassPro sent me a new switch(free) and I got it on the yak a couple of weeks ago.

New speed results= 4-4.5MPH on #5...I've run it over 6 hours and still haven't had to paddle back with a dead battery. :D:luxhello:


Did I mention reverse is about the greatest thing you could have in a kayak? I'm loving it!

Not a big fan of your reverse :).. Next trip out wire cutters are a must haha..

01/2012 Update: The speed control switch was apparently damaged during the install and I was missing the #5(highest) speed. BassPro sent me a new switch(free) and I got it on the yak a couple of weeks ago.

New speed results= 4-4.5MPH on #5...I've run it over 6 hours and still haven't had to paddle back with a dead battery. :D:luxhello:


Did I mention reverse is about the greatest thing you could have in a kayak? I'm loving it!