Has anyone heard of “lashing” two kayaks together, attaching an electric motor to the “lashings,” motoring up river then disassembling the rig and going
downriver as two regular kayaks. Maybe the motor and battery is
in an inflatable “thingy” towed on the way back down…
Anyway, anyone heard of something doing such a or similar thing?
This would eliminate the two vehicles problem on river travel for short day trips…
Thanks.
Only works on moderate to slow rivers
– Last Updated: Jul-24-06 2:05 AM EST –
with enough depth for the trolling motor. If there are rapids and rocks/boulders you will have problems. Also, it would depend on how far you are trolling. Besides, it takes the fun out of planning the journey and the going back upriver would be slow. Also, there might be some steering issues. In many states, you have to pay full boat registration fees for anything used on the water with any kind of motor to propel it, electric, gas, or otherwise.
Yes, only slow rivers
I was thinking of parking the vehicle, trolling up the slow river for a while, taking things apart and drifting/paddling back to the vehicle. Anyway, have you seen anyone do it? How was it done?
Just paddle upriver
Not very practicle
First of all you’ll have to register one of the kayaks. All boats with motors have to be registered. Once you registewr this boat it will have to be renewed every year for as long as you own the boat. In many states (like North Carolina) this puts the boat on the RADAR of the property tax folks and you’ll have to pay taxes on the boat for as long as you own it as well.
When you get stopped by a wildlife officer you’ll have the hassle of explaining that the one hull is the boat and the other hull is just the outrigger of the main hull or another boat attached as a tow. He still may want to give you a ticket for not having both hulls registered.
You also have a lot more to carry to the river as the trolling motor and battery combo are going to weigh between 60 and 150 pounds.
I highly recommend that you get some poles a nd learn to pole your way upsteam instead of the motor. You can learn to pole upstream against current that your trolling motor cannot handle and poling is a lot of fun. I hope you’ll try that first. Unfortunately, I tried the motor thing first and learned about poling later.
it’s doable
but only for the experience of the construction. I knew a guy who put together two Necky kayooks with a welded aluminum frame and attached a 5hp gas motor to it. But that was as a one piece rig.
Me thinks you’ll get tired of the complexity and weight for the risk of damaging the prop.
Put a mouser
on it wit ya if ye do somethin’ like dat. Then it wood be registered as a ‘cat-a-maran’. Barumbum-burum…,.
Fat Elmo
poling a kayak?
What’s the technique of poling a kayak?
Slow river, paddle up river. You can
easily paddle six miles up river, then float down, good workout. I have motor boats, motor boats are a pain and hassle, no matter how big or small. Trolling motors are no different.
I believe in experimenting, as …
…long as the experiment is safe. Sounds like fun.
Been there, done it for giggles 'n grins
– Last Updated: Jul-26-06 6:37 AM EST –
Really not worth the effort unless you are going to do it up right with big solar pannels and such for extended, non-portage trip to prove something. But of course it would then not really be a paddling and should be on an electric boat page somethere I suppose.
Trolling motors on light craft not very efficient. They are designed for full sized boats and seem to be geared wrong (gearing and/or blade pitch) for paddle craft. Seems to waste a lot of the energy.
Still have the frames, motors, and such, but the batterys died a long time ago. Lack of use was major factor. Batteries are HEAVY and were biggest factor in not using system much beyond initial trial. One carry of the batteries through the forest and down the bank to the water and back was enough.
Paddling up stream is really a lot more fun and better for you than motoring up.
>:^)
Mick
Last winter when we paddled
up a river (against a stiff current) in Florida in our kayaks, we passed a couple in a aluminum canoe that had a small outboard on the back.
The guy said that they do it that way all the time, and then drift back down.
We got up to the headwaters and started back down, and got a few miles before we passed them still coming up.
Different strokes for different folks!
They possibly could have a medical problem so I don’t fault them for it.
Cheers,
JackL
Cheers
Same as for canoes in this case.
Remember he said two kayaks lashed together. ;^)
:^)
Mick
Going against a current with a 12 volt
trolling motor would be a big drain on the battery if much of a current at all.
I pole a kayak
with a 6 or 7 foot pole. I do it while sitting in the kayak; when standing in a canoe I prefer a 10 or 12 foot pole. Just push yourself upriver and prepare to have fun an ma6ybe get wet. In time you’ll be able to move pretty quick though places you couldn’t paddle.