Hobie trolling motor mount...with a twist..

so I started by building the commonly seen PVC mount that drops into the molded-in hole in the back of many Hobies, a PA12 in my case, and then I realized it could be simplified by running the shaft of the electric motor through the center of the vertical PVC pipe. 

this has probably been done by others already but I have not see this "twist" on the mount, as I have it now, the motor can be turned to add steering force, I plan to do some on the water testing before deciding whether to 'lock' the motor in a straight position or keep the steering capability... cheers, roger

RD--How did your testing go? What battery are you using?
T2

RD--How did your testing go? What battery are you using?
T2

testing and operation have been great. 

I am using this battery and very impressed with it:  http://www.atbatt.com/amstron-12v-22ah-electric-vehicle-vrla-battery-r-terminal.asp
It is specifically designed for Electric Vehicle applications which means it is better suited to take very deep discharge cycles with less impact to capacity.

When I want to cover some distance on the water, I pull the motor up and lay it in the back and pedal (I can also hang if off my rear rails when my dog is on the back, gets it out of the water and allows for quick drop back into use).  The drag from the motor at above about 2mph basically cancels out its push unless you crank it up to 4 or 5 and that drains the battery too fast...

For 2 rod trolling for trout or kokes, it is great, setting 1 gets me about 1mph and a pedal now and then nets ~1.5mph, if a rod hooks up or I am changing gear or taking a leak, motor keeps me moving and on course while I am not pedaling.   Setting 2 gets me about 1.6mph no wind or 1.0 into some wind, 3 takes it above 2mph and wide open 5 the motor pushes me at about 3.5mph (with the motor out of the water I can pedal at that speed all day, so makes more sense to just pedal).

Battery life-  using setting 1 or 2 for long outings (4 or 5 hours) and also running my Elite-7 HDI (draws like 1.1amps), I was seeing 12.0 volts (50% left or a little less), so I am pleased with what I get from a 14# battery.  I think 11.8V was the lowest I came back at so far...

I found it nice to have the motor cranked up and me pedaling a few times this summer- first was on Green Peter when the wind came up strong and I had to cover about a mile dead into some nice 2' white caps, another was when coming back to Florence against the tide on the Slaw, and last was coming back over the bar on the Siuslaw in August after messing around in the ocean for a while, it just felt good having both the motor and pedals when dealing with that water, even on a rather calm day....

cheers, roger

Thanks Roger--I'm contemplating doing the same setup as you including the mount. I mainly fish Juan de Fuca strait and in certain tide/wind conditions I think this setup would enable me to get to my fishing grounds more often with a greater degree of safety. Kirkman's mount is working good?
BTW--You're talking to another Deadhead.
T2

Thanks Roger--I'm contemplating doing the same setup as you including the mount. I mainly fish Juan de Fuca strait and in certain tide/wind conditions I think this setup would enable me to get to my fishing grounds more often with a greater degree of safety. Kirkman's mount is working good?
BTW--You're talking to another Deadhead.
T2

yeah, that basic mount design works great, and you can trim and test fit all the parts until you like it, then cement all the PVC joints together last.

in my PA12, I was able to lay the battery flat on the bottom of the hull to the left of the hatch that is just in front of the seat, secure it well with chunks of foam, big fuse, and run wires up through the existing pass through on the left side (my sonar is on the right side) and back along the side from there, attaching them to the mesh storage pouch on that side, (+ at back of the mesh, - at front so no shorting...) metal lugs on the wires let me connect the motor quickly with alligator clips and also connect battery charger without getting inside the hull...cheers, roger

That's pretty slick! I tried it once in the drive well mounted in the plug, but it ran too deep. I fish a lot of water that's < 2' and my Adventure stopped dead in what I'd consider plenty of depth (maybe 15").  That got that project shelved.

 I liked the sano mount in the drive well, but the ability to kick it up more than makes up for it. Think I'll dust it off and give it another shot.

Thanks!

Wali