minnkota motor mount

I fished the Strait last October, the current heading west was about 3 to 3.5 knots, , my usual pedal speed in the Adventure.  Only way to cover the ground was to troll with the current toward the end of the ebb, then come back on the flood.  Not very efficient, and a lot of dead time at slack plus you are moving over ground at close to 7  knots, meaning you get WAY downstream from the starting point..  Thinking about a motor, I took my 30# Minnkota off my Arima, and made a PVC pipe mount that fits in the rod-holder hole.  Works like a charm, it's a brainchild of Tom Kirkman on the Hobie Fishing forum:  http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=45937&hilit=motor&start=0

Here's a pic

and a pic of Tom's original:




   Without pedaling, I got 2.1mph at the lowest speed on the selector, and 4.4mph on the highest.  Adding pedaling to the motor, around 7 mph, but the point is to be able to motor upcurrent in the Strait, then turn around and troll back using the Mirage drive only.  We'll see how this goes!  There were some guys coming in to the dock when I unloaded and they said it was totally weird to see a kayak zipping along with no pedaling or paddling!

Very cool.
Did you have to register your kayak as a boat? I'd hate for you to get a ticket.

http://boat.wa.gov/regulations.asp

My concern is:

"To navigate, operate, employ, or moor your vessel in Washington, you must have a Washington title, registration card, and registration decals, except:

If your vessel is a canoe, kayak, or a vessel not propelled by a motor or sail.

If your vessel is less than 16 feet in length and has a motor of 10 horsepower or less and is used on non-federal waters only."

It says as long as your kayak is not powered by motor or sail you should be fine, but you are using a motor so logic would say they'll require you to register your kayak as a boat. 
The second point is bit contradictory though. The Hobie Adventure is 16 ft long. And with the 30lb. Electric your well below the 10hp. which should mean you're still OK.

I wonder which rule they would enforce in your situation as you are sort of in the middle....



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That is friggin slick!  Nice!

R.R.

In Oregon if it has a motor it has to be registered, tag etc. One reason I went yak. All I need is the species license and the fishing tags, lis, etc.

R.R.

In Oregon if it has a motor it has to be registered, tag etc. One reason I went yak. All I need is the species license and the fishing tags, lis, etc.

And kayak invasive species permit


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Legalities aside, i think you guys are missing the point, which i think is that this gives you an alternative to cope with currents you otherwise might end up beaching your yak for.

Kalli, what size battery and where did you put it?

R.R.

In Oregon if it has a motor it has to be registered, tag etc. One reason I went yak. All I need is the species license and the fishing tags, lis, etc.

And kayak invasive species permit

Just to be clear:  in Oregon, when you register a boat, the invasive permit is included in that registration and decal.   as RR correctly points out, you do need to get a seperate invasive species permit/license to use in non-motorized boats but it can move with you from boat-to-boat so it is a per person permit, not a per boat thing..

registering is not a big deal for just one motorized kayak, when I register my PA12, it will be just $41 every 2 years...roger

http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/Clean/Pages/AISPPFAQsPage.aspx#Non_Motorized_and_Paddle_Craft

Legalities aside, i think you guys are missing the point, which i think is that this gives you an alternative to cope with currents you otherwise might end up beaching your yak for.

Kalli, what size battery and where did you put it?

I am also interested in battery that Kalli used- I am planning the same exact motor and mount on a PA12, I have had very good experience from sealed AGM batteries and decided to start with this one: XP750, just 3" tall so it will lay flat in the very bottom of the yak, 22amp-hrs and just 14.5pounds.   at setting 2 or 3 on the 30# minnkota, should get at least 90minutes of motor time.  I might end up going with 2 of these, that would add 29# but it would be very low so good for CG...

I think I may be making one for my PA....Obviously not for tournament or AOTY use, but there are times I would love to utilize this for learning new water, scouting offshore for marking structure, chillin' at the wooden tug races on the water, etc....

I had the same motor on my inflatable pontoon and it moved it great.  I used it all over the Sacramento Delta and it was awesome for getting up current and quickly moving from spot to spot.

Interesting how the "hot" topics lately is to motorize a kayak.  Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a yak?!?!  My Answer: HELL NO!!!  lol. I use a kayak to catch fish and enjoy myself.  But I have other reasons I want to try this build.

I think I am going to make this modification to my mini-x so my fiancee can go out with me.  She's fishes but is a lot more into photography so its a way for her to just be on the water with me but not have to huff and puff to keep up with me in my outback.  Eventually a Tandem Island or at least another outback is in the works.  But for now this may be a good way to start since i have a mini-x and access to a trolling motor.

How does it handle with the motor off to the side?  Does anyone see any issues with motorizing a short stubby yak like the mini-x using this method?

I put a 48lb thrust Minnkota on my first Fish&Dive.  I really liked the performance but the deal breaker for me was the big heavy battery.  I was using a deep cycle RV battery and it was just to heavy to even think about taking through the surf.   If a guy could get good run times out of the way lighter "blue bricks" it would be a neat tool to have.

No worries Pelagic!  Boeing is working on larger capacity blue brick batteries!  Research has been promising so far!