Hi all. Im putchasing a NRS Kuda for fishing and even thouh it comes with a hand pump im looking for advice on electric pumps under $200 and also what low budget motor mounts and small electric motors people use on these inflatables.
Cannot wait to get on the water!
Please dont reply with “advice” on not buying an inflatable. This is what works for me.
Honestly, I have never heard of anyone installing an electric pump on an inflatable, or on a sit on top, for that matter (which is what the Kuda is). Even the big makers of inflatable yacht tenders and rescue boats, like Zodiac, which have deeper interior hull space, don’t offer those as options or accessories.
Just curious why you think you need a pump? You are going to get wet in that design of sit on top, in fact ANY sit on top, and the hull in the Kuda is not deep enough to collect that much anyway. It looks to be virtually flush and probably flushes off as the boat rolls with the water. Even if it had a couple of inches of water, it would not affect performance and if you don’t like to get your feet wet with some hull slosh, this is not the kind of boat you will be happy with anyway. Just my two cents.
I wonder if you are confused by the fact that NRS lists the Kuda coming with a hand pump. That is an AIR pump for inflating the boat, not for removing water. All inflatable boats come with that, standard. I have 6 kayaks with inflatable components and they all came with hand operated inflation pumps.
Some people use small water pumps in closed deck sea kayaks to purge them after a capsize out in deep water. That is a whole other kind of situation because a sea kayak can take on 100s of pounds of water and become very unstable.
I suggest you go ahead and buy the boat first, then use it and see if you really need a water pump. NRS makes great boats and this will be a fine fishing platform, but I am pretty confident it doesn’t need anything like that.
Can you clarify what the pump would do? I think when many people here think of a pump, they are thinking of something to remove water from a bilge. But I suspect you are looking for one to inflate the kayak?
I have an OutdoorMaster rechargeable pump called The Whale. Link below. I like the battery pump so it can be used away from the car. It has enough capacity to inflate several kayaks or SUPs and beach toys. It will make quick work of high pressure drop stitched floors. The only downside is screwing into air valves like Leafield C7/D7 requires spinning the whole pump around because of that stiff air hose.
I have no personal experience with motors on kayaks. But from the web, it looks like a 12V trolling motor is all you need on a kayak. You can get a basic motor that you manually control and a deep cycle battery, or you can splurge and get one with a shaft-mounted sonar, Lithium battery, and a nice multi-function display and GPS features. Mounting will be a challenge, because you can’t just screw into an inflatable wherever convenient. For the Kuda, it looks like you could mount the motor bracket on the pair of universal surface mounts just behind the seat. The bracket setup will need to have some give or adjustability in it because those universal mounts aren’t going to be exactly coplanar. We don’t want the bracket causing extra stress on the bladder by trying to pull the two mounts in line against the inflation pressure.
if you mean an inflation pump, there are plenty that work plugged into a car cigarette lighter or even work on batteries that are under $40 or even under $20. You don’t need anything as costly as $200! Everybody sells them, from Harbor Freight Tools to auto parts places like Autozone and sporting goods stores.
Why don’t you see how much effort it really takes to inflate your new boat first? I can inflate my 16’ long Feathercraft sit on top in a few minutes with just 20 to 25 strokes on the hand pump.
Be aware with inflatables (if this will be your first one) that you must not leave them sitting out in the sun out of the water once inflated to operational pressure. The air pressure can expand enough to rupture the bladders. As long as they are in the water they are ok per natural cooling. Also, if the water is chilly, you may need to top off the pressure a little after being out for a while since the air pressure will drop as it gets colder.
Yea to inflate it
No to punp it up
I carry a pump/compressor that attached to the battery to provide air for truck and trailer tires. Likely too $$$$_ for your budget. Just don’t get too small or you’ll be at the launch a long time. Most hand pumps cab fill up an inflatable in 5 to 10 minutes. But small compressors longer.
In your state there are registration requirements to check. In Florida adding an electric motor makes it a power boat and must be registered such and display numbers and perhaps lights at night.
I pumped my Kuda up for the 1st time and it was a struggle because i have tendinitis in my elbows so a electric pump woild definitely help.
Did your Whale come with the adapter for the Leafield valve?
I know my NRS pump comes with a separate Leafield adapter i ca probably plug into another electric pump.
Im trying to decide if i want yours that comes battry operated or get the cheaper model that works off the cars power .
I am sorry that I missed your reply.
The Whale did NOT come with the correct threaded nozzle for Leafield valves. I thought it did because one of the nozzles that comes with the Whale has the correct diameter and pitch to thread into a Leafield valve, but it has a post in the center that holds the valve open, so that didn’t work.
I ordered this Leafield adapter from NRS:
I used adhesive cement to attach the hose end of the NRS adapter to the straight nozzle supplied with the Whale pump. I made a second one for my hand pump, which also didn’t come with a Leafield nozzle.
If you do want to use the Whale with Leafield valves, I’ve found it’s easier to screw the kayak end of the hose onto the valve first and then screw the other end of the hose onto the pump, otherwise you have to spin the pump around too while you’re screwing the hose onto the valve, which is awkward.
We spent extra for the battery pump because in some places we have to walk up to 1/3 mile from the car to the water and it’s much easier to cover that distance on foot with the IKs in their backpacks. And even when you don’t have to go very far, it’s nice to be able to set up and inflate your kayak somewhere else if you’re not parked in a convenient spot for it.
It is an expensive pump and kind of a luxury item. I could be happy without it most of the time. But there are times when I really appreciate having this pump, like when I’ve just finished inflating a drop stitch floor and realize I forgot to twist the valve as all the air rushes out. Or when we have two IKs and a couple of water toys to inflate and it’s a hike to the shore.
Thats strange. I asked Outdoor and they said all those pumps come with the adapter. I ordered the Shark and jt worked great. Though im having trouble with the Deflate opton.
I dunno if it works if the kayak is almost fully deflated . I lwt the air out and then connected the hose to the Deflate port and hit start but nothing happens.
The pump is really light and much more portable than the NRS pump.
When you let the air out, did you push in the stem and twist it 90 deg to hold the valve open, or did you just press on the stem to deflate it? To fully deflate the kayak, the valve should be kept open while you roll it back up. I don’t bother using the deflate feature on the pump. Unlike my sleeping pads, my kayaks go flat quickly and the remaining air easily comes out while folding and rolling them up. I have tested it though and it did work, with valves open of course.
Regarding the adapter, when I bought the pump, the OutdoorMaster web site claimed it came with a Leafield adapter. It did come with an adapter with the right threads to fit a Leafield valve, it’s the one with triangular “wings”. The problem is that the adapter has a center post that pushes in on the valve stem, letting all the air out. I notice now that OutdoorMaster no longer mentions Leafield on their web page or Amazon ad.
Did yours come with a proper adapter?
Yea I turned the stem to set it to deflate.
I’m assuming that the one I used is a Leafield adapter. It pumped the Yak up ok. I’m not 100% sure if it presses on the stem. I’ll have to check that next time. When you type your question in the Amazon page says it doesn’t come with it specifically but when I post the question they replied it does come with the adapter. I’ll have to look for my nrs pump adapters because the website says it comes with a Leafield adapter included
This picture shows the adapters that came with my pump:
They said the third adapter from the right on the bottom is for Leafield C7 valves. It will screw on a Leafield valve, but if you open the picture and look closely you’ll see the center post which holds the valve open. The NRS Leafield adapter I linked to above has the same threads but without the center post, which allows it to be unscrewed from the valve without losing air.
Ah ok. So im assuming you dont have the NRS Superpump that comes with the kayak? Im thinking i could just take the adpter offf and put it on the Shark.
I really didnt have any issue with the supplied valve. Yes it let out a small amount of air whwn you detached it but if you do it quick its not much. It pumped up fine with no leakage ubtil you remove it.
When you roll your yak up do you leave your valves uncapped?
Yea it deflates pretty quickly.
This is the one i bought
I got a $65 gift card for signing up for a Prime CC which ill nevet use lol . I really couldnt see the difference between the Whale and Shark thst matteted. Both seem to say you can inflatte at the same rate. Mine came with more adapters though ill probably never use them.
Good choice. That model didn’t exist when I bought the Whale, otherwise I would have gone for it. It looks like a successor to the Whale but with the Shark name.
The air you lose when unscrewing the adapter due to that center post is no big deal when you’re inflating big low pressure tubes, but it’s a different story with drop stitch panels and their higher pressure. If you’re not super-quick, you can go from 10 PSI to 2PSI in the time it takes to unscrew.
I ended up buying that NRS adapter you recommended. Had to return my Shark because it was defective but the new one seems to work fine. I couldnt figure out how to attach the NRS adapter until i reread your post about the straight nozzle
Is it the one thats shaped like a skinny cone?
We had a lot of rain here and potomacs high so cant wait to put it back on the water in a few weeks.
I wonder if we could have just cut off the little “wings” inside the Shark adapter so it doesnt hold the valve open. Might try that before i cement the new one in.
I used the one on the far right in my picture above. It’s not the skinny cone, it’s the short blunt one that the little piece of tubing on the NRS adapter fits over perfectly. Cement it and hose clamp it. If you just press fit the hose, it will come off at drop stitch pressures.
How are you liking the Kuda?
Its great. I used it at Black Hills for 10 hours and im going to the Monocacy once the water levels go down.