# trolling motor



## 3154tm

hi all,
i have a WS tarpon 140 i'd like to add a trolling motor to. maybe something like the torqueedo but hopefully for a lot less money. it'd be nice to simply buy a cheap small motor and cut the tiller/controller off the top and fabricate a quick and dirty stern mount. i have a rudder so i don't need to steer the motor. just need a remote switch/controller i could operate from the cockpit. be nice if it was a PWM type. anyone here seen anything like this? any ideas for a controller, especially something after market?
thanks,
frank


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## Big Red

Here’s a link to a guy who makes trolling motor kits for all types of Yaks including the T140.
He also sells the controllers.
In the end you can buy the entire kit for about the same as you would pay to DIY, with a lot less aggravation. 

http://www.bassyaks.com/


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## 3154tm

big red,
thanks for the reply. i stumbled onto this site last night:
http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/community/

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=133

tons of good info.
frank


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## Rockntroll

Don't quote me on this but I think if you put a trolling motor on your kayak you will need to register it and get a boat sticker. Something to consider


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## captken

I just installed a Watersnake Asp on my Mini-X. It weighs 7# and has 18# thrust. 

Ok, the Mini is tiny but--on the lowest speed, the yak goes too fast for trolling the lures I use. On the highest speed, it goes faster than I can paddle. (it only has 2 speeds). I have a 28# 35ah battery which should be good for about 5 hours on low speed. I need to know for sure, how long the battery lasts at both settings.

As far as a mount goes, I used the hinge portion of an old bass boat seat. It was super simple to install. Rather than go through a bunch of crap, I removed the head from the motor and put it under my seat so I have speed and reverse control. I have a momentary switch(foot switch) I can use when standing. Steering is done with a loop of line rigged to a home made stick. Again, super simple. I have an extension so I can steer while standing.

BTW, the motor cost $79. The battery was $50. All the other parts were scrap.

Oh yeah, you will need to get a title on the yak and get it registered. Letters and numbers are a painintheass.


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## 3154tm

rockntroll,that's my understanding as well.captken,i may end up doing just that to get back on the water. long term, i'd like to do something built in for the controller and use some type of electronics to help extend battery life. there are some cool after market PWM controllers i might be able to adapt. frank


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## Big Red

3154tm said:


> big red,
> thanks for the reply. i stumbled onto this site last night:
> http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/community/
> 
> http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=133
> 
> tons of good info.
> frank


Yeah, not long ago kayak fishing stuff was also one of the best on-line sites to get kayak gear.
The forum is still one of the very best sources for DIY info.

Here are a few other links you may find interesting.

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/

http://www.southernpaddler.com/

http://kayakfishinggear.com/

http://www.kayakfishinghole.com/ (This one is mostly "Yaker B/S artists, but fun none the less.)


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## 3154tm

big red, thanks for all the great links.
this one, http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/, sure has a lot of threads.
i'm still hoping to build my own or use a generic after market controller. i talked to these people today:electricmotorsports.com. lots of great stuff. now i'm thinking of building an electric atv.
frank


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## captken

*Trolling motor installation*

I've been working on this installation for a little while.

Here is my motor mount. It is nothing but the hinged aluminum portion of an el-cheapo folding bassboat seat. I screwed it to the yak with 6 #10 screws. The motor only weighs 7# so it ought to be fine. I run the motor in the locked down position but the seat hinge mount will allow it to kick up.









Motor screwed to bracket. The angle bar is the home made steering arm
.








Steering line hooked up.








I'll have to take a couple more photos to show the stick steering and the extension for stand up steering.


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## captken

*Mor on istalling the trolling motor*

Maybe these added photos will answer some of the questions I have been asked via IM and E-mail.

I removed the head from the motor, lengthened the wires and have the head under my seat so I can have speed control plus forward and reverse.









Here is the stick steering I made from scraps. It is made from a broken window opener from one of my past boats. The pivot point is mounted on the side of my seat by my left hip. I have a length of PVC that I slip down over the stick to use for steering while standing. I store this piece inside my StandNFish.









I have this switch box in addition to the motor head switches. One switch is a simple on/off toggle ad the other is a momentary push button that I use when I am standing.









Somebody asked how I mounted the bass seat to the top of my yak. You ought to be able to see how it is done from the photo below. Again, I used some scrap plastic I already had. I think this also illustrates how high I sit in the Mini-X.


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## 3154tm

now we're talkin:
http://www.lencomarine.com/joyridedualdigit.html


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## SteveK

3154tm it's 24 volt's it's too heavy, I looked into it.
Red the original owner of Kayak Fishing Stuff is coming back, they plan to open around the end of the month, *Kayak Fishing Store* is what's it's going to be called, all TOP SHELVE stuff specializing in Electric Kayaks.
Here's what your Tarpon should look like
What year is the Tarpon? I have some take off parts for the Bassyaks Kit.
Bassyaks also sells a D.I.Y kit if you already have a Minn-Kota Endura for $299

Tight lines
Steve


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## penskayak1

WTF is that on that boat? Do you go shrimping on that thing.


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## need2fish

Dang - Capt. Ken is MacGyver


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## 3154tm

thought i'd revive and bring this thread up to date. so i got a deal on a Torque that was to good to pass up and abandoned the idea of adapting a trolling motor. this was nearly 3 years ago and for various reasons i'm just now getting to use it.anywho, i love it. for an old guy with arthritis it's the cat's pajamas. i alternate between paddling and motoring. if nothing else it extends the range and the motor's good for hands free trolling.i have a very expensive lithium ion battery for it that i don't want to trash so i'm looking for some kind of small (cheap) digital display that will give me some idea of my power consumption in real time: volts, amps, and cumulative amps.any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.thanks,frank


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## Jay39833

3154tm said:


> thought i'd revive and bring this thread up to date. so i got a deal on a Torque that was to good to pass up and abandoned the idea of adapting a trolling motor. this was nearly 3 years ago and for various reasons i'm just now getting to use it.anywho, i love it. for an old guy with arthritis it's the cat's pajamas. i alternate between paddling and motoring. if nothing else it extends the range and the motor's good for hands free trolling.i have a very expensive lithium ion battery for it that i don't want to trash so i'm looking for some kind of small (cheap) digital display that will give me some idea of my power consumption in real time: volts, amps, and cumulative amps.any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.thanks,frank


Get a cheap "as low as $3.00 sometimes" multi meter from harbor freight. Cut the leads off and hook it up to your battery somehow. It won't show you consumption or anything fancy, but it will show you the amount of voltage remaining, you should be able to figure out where you are at from there. Cheap, easy, redneckish, you can't lose! 

The only thing I'm not sure of its if it will give false lower voltages while the trolling motor is running and drawing on the battery, then increase a bit when the demand is gone.


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## 3154tm

thanks for the input jay39833 but i think that with lifepo batteries the voltage curve stays relatively flat right up to the point it's just about dead. volt meter might not help much or so i've read. i found this unit:http://www.powerwerx.com/digital-meters/dc-inline-watt-meter-power-analyzer-powerpoles.htmlanyone anyone here have experience with this unit?thanks


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## Disco

If you dont mind me asking... what did you pay for the torque? I am currently adapting a trolling motor to my kayak and have wished many times that I had the money for a torque.


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## 3154tm

i bought it from these folks:http://store.kittyhawk.com/they said they were having trouble selling them and were getting out from under. i paid $1499.98 with shipping. remember this was about 3 years ago.i also found a deal locally for $1900 but it was a demo and didn't have the HIN numbers on the hull and Ocean Kayak wouldn't aknowlege it so i didn't buy. don't forget a good lithium battery is gonna be about $350, not to mention the charger and some kind of meter to monitor it under way.frank


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## 3154tm

update: i went with this meter http://www.powerwerx.com/digital-meters/dc-inline-watt-meter-power-analyzer-bare-wire.html and it works like a champ. it's protected as much as possible but i don't know how long it will hold up in this environment. the amps and total amps display function as a kind of gas gauge which makes it easy predict range based on actual usage. maybe the best part is being able to see the difference a slight change in speed makes on current draw.i don't know how absolutely accurate it is but the total amps used display agrees with the total amps on my charger.


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## SteveK

The Meters work great, but your better off with a stopwatch with the lipo batteries, with the discharge curve you could be boogieing along on minute and the next your dead in the water.
What is the Ahr rating of that battery and how long does it run for??


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## 3154tm

stopwatch?


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## Disco

3154tm said:


> update: i went with this meter http://www.powerwerx.com/digital-meters/dc-inline-watt-meter-power-analyzer-bare-wire.html and it works like a champ. it's protected as much as possible but i don't know how long it will hold up in this environment. the amps and total amps display function as a kind of gas gauge which makes it easy predict range based on actual usage. maybe the best part is being able to see the difference a slight change in speed makes on current draw.i don't know how absolutely accurate it is but the total amps used display agrees with the total amps on my charger.


Man thats $60 for a meter buddy did you do some research to try to find one cheaper any where else?


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## 3154tm

i actually paid less, that was just a convenient link to show the unit. they can be had elsewhere and there are units by other manufactures that look identical and seem to do the same thing for a lot less. wasn't hard to find this one on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/281013315804?lpid=82it looks very similar to the one i've got.if you really look it might be possible to find something a little more suitable to a marine environment. i got impatient and just wanted to get back on the water.


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## Disco

Great!! I did find it on a hobby site for $23 and I wont mind putting it in the salt water environment at that cost.


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## 3154tm

disco,i've been curious, how'd that meter work out for you?


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## Disco

3154tm I did not buy a meter. I just bought two deep cycle 35ah wheel chair batteries and swap them when the first battery gets low. Ive been able to fish up to seven hours on both batteries without running out of charge and having to paddle. I just think that keeping things as simple as possible when adding wiring and such to my kayak is a good ideal lol. The trolling motor has really made fishing so much more fun for me! Especially while actually trolling. All those short hits you get no longer require me to stop paddling and reload the hook. I noticed the catch increasing due to more time actually fishing and less time lost rigging. Also my trips aren't limited to my physical abilities and stamina anymore.


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## 3154tm

glad to know it's working for you. i feel guilty using the electric motor. it's just to easy. i can paddle when i feel like it, motor when i don't and cover a lot more water. looks like it's going to warm up soon and i look forward to getting back out.


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## Jason

I don't have much to add to this other then if I was going through the trouble of a trolling motor on a yak...I'd go ahead and gut a jet ski and make 1 of those mini boats out of 1. I do have a trolling motor that has no power head on it but has all the wires. I was thinking about using one of the light dimmers as a power controller. I'm an electrician idiot and don't know jack about amps and draws and what not.....anyone ever try something of this nature....?


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## Disco

Jason said:


> I don't have much to add to this other then if I was going through the trouble of a trolling motor on a yak...I'd go ahead and gut a jet ski and make 1 of those mini boats out of 1. I do have a trolling motor that has no power head on it but has all the wires. I was thinking about using one of the light dimmers as a power controller. I'm an electrician idiot and don't know jack about amps and draws and what not.....anyone ever try something of this nature....?


Jason if you really want to put a trolling motor on your yak then I will give you an old power head I have laying around. Its on an old 17lb thrust motor that I bought from a member on here. I rigged it to my yak and quickly upgraded to a 30lb. So its yours IF you are going to power your YAK with it.:thumbup:


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