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Old 10-10-2011, 09:25 AM   #1
mazilla
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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.










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)


Last edited by mazilla; 10-10-2011 at 10:41 AM.
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Old 10-10-2011, 09:32 AM   #2
sdfisher
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That looks pretty cool. make hooping in the bay easy.
Do you have to register it since it has a motor on it?
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Old 10-10-2011, 09:37 AM   #3
mazilla
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Originally Posted by sdfisher View Post
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.
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Old 10-10-2011, 10:28 AM   #4
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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.

Probably not a big deal to register it.
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Old 10-10-2011, 10:40 AM   #5
mazilla
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Originally Posted by StinkyMatt View Post
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.

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.
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Old 10-10-2011, 11:50 AM   #6
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USS MAZ haha. I'm going to tie a rope to you next time. The reverse on that thing is comedy..
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Old 10-10-2011, 05:06 PM   #7
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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.
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:52 PM   #8
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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??
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Old 10-11-2011, 08:25 PM   #9
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Im liken it, good luck on the battery..
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Old 10-11-2011, 08:56 PM   #10
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Look into an oddyssey battery it's supposed to be like an optima with 1/4 of the weight. About $150 that is a great rig .great inventions were born in a garage.good job.
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Old 10-12-2011, 12:19 AM   #11
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Yeah, I need a CF #. :
Talk to George.... he is known around here for helping folks out with this....
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Old 10-12-2011, 04:10 AM   #12
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Talk to George.... he is known around here for helping folks out with this....

Should I get out the price list and my Zimbabwe billing address?
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Old 11-15-2011, 04:00 PM   #13
mazilla
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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.
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Old 12-19-2011, 01:58 PM   #14
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my brother wants to do something like this to his. How much did it cost ya?
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Old 12-19-2011, 10:14 PM   #15
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the price is on the bottom of the 1st post
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Old 12-19-2011, 10:42 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by mazilla View Post
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??
Costco
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:08 AM   #17
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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.
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:48 AM   #18
mazilla
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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.


Did I mention reverse is about the greatest thing you could have in a kayak? I'm loving it!
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:51 AM   #19
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Not a big fan of your reverse .. Next trip out wire cutters are a must haha..
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:51 AM   #20
mazilla
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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.


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


Quote:
Originally Posted by mazilla View Post
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.










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)

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