-- Last Updated: Apr-25-14 3:28 PM EST --
Are the Nucanoes and Wilderness Commander the only kayaks with square "motor-ready" transoms?
Thanks.
solo skiff
Take a close look at the solo skiff. They are hard to buy and it takes 12 weeks to get one made. They aren’t cheap but its the absolute best kayak size craft with a motor.
Kayak
Thanks, but I’ve had my Frontier 12’ for 3 months now.
Lots of canoes.
I consider both models you mentioned above to be more canoe than kayak anyway.
Kayak
The Commander yes, but not the Frontier. I tried the Commander, but hated the funky humps in the floor.
elect.motors for kayaks
I’ve seen a site within this site that sold motors for kayaks! It didn’t matter what kind of kayak or canoe you have cause it comes with a mount that fits anything! If I should come across it I’ll put in the website for you!
Hobie
Hobie makes an electric motor called the Evolve system. I think it replaces the Mirage drive. An interesting idea. There is also the Mokai which is a kayak with a small gas engine built in. Must say I have never seen either.
David
Kayak
– Last Updated: Mar-16-15 8:28 PM EST –
I sometimes use a 40 lb. thrust trolling motor on my Frontier 12'.
Now I'm trying to figure out a way to kill the power in case I fell out while it's running. The simpler, the better.
Any ideas?
Kill Switch
– Last Updated: Mar-17-15 6:12 PM EST –
Surely you can buy a kill switch from any place that sells snowmobiles or jet skis, but it needs to be quite heavy-duty to handle battery current, and it's unlikely that they are built with high current flow in mind. Therefore, you'd need to rig it up with a relay, which though easy, is a lot of extra wiring for something that need not be complex.
As an alternative, you could splice a regular two-prong outlet into one of the battery leads. Wire it up so that the current must cross from one contact to the other. Then, insert a matching plug from a heavy-gauge extension cord, with all but an inch or so of the cord having been cut off. Connect the two wires at the point where the cord has been cut, and cover them so they aren't bare. Attach a string to that piece of cord, and also to yourself (connecting that string needs to be done well, so it can't come loose). When the plug gets pulled out of the outlet, you break the circuit. This will be attached to you when you fall out, but all that's attached to you at that point is a pull-string that's a foot long or so, and the little stub of extension cord.
Mount the outlet on the floor, right in front of the seat, and facing up. You'd attach the pull-string to your belt or the front of your PFD. This way, simply coming up out of your seat (a necessary precursor to falling out of the boat, no matter how it happens) would pull the plug, and also always pull in the proper direction (no failures this way). I suspect that some commercially made kill switches provide a bit more leeway as far as the various directions from which the safety cord can be pulled, and that would create more mounting options (but then you probably still have the problem of needing a relay, and come to think of it, a waterproof relay might be hard to find).
On the subject of using a relay, you might be able to eliminate that need if your motor has electronic control, and you can splice the kill switch into that. The control wiring, if it exists, is probably low amperage, but you'll need to know what you are doing to splice in your kill switch there. Wiring a heavy-duty kill switch into one of the battery leads requires no special skill or knowledge.
Kill switch
Thanks. I’d like something simpler though.
What if I use spring clips(like the Minn Kota motors used to come with) to hook up to the battery. Drill a hole in one or both of the clips, and attach a rope or tether. The other end would attach to me or my vest, and if I fell out, the clip/clips would be disconnected from the battery. Would this work? Or would the tether rip from my vest before pulling the clip from the battery?
I had thought of something similar 1st
– Last Updated: Mar-18-15 7:03 PM EST –
My original thought was to string a tether from your belt or PFD to one of the battery leads, with the battery leads attached to the battery posts with "giant alligator clips" (these are clamps similar to what you see on automotive jumper cables, but much smaller - they might be the same as the "spring clips" you mentioned). The releasing function would work great, as it doesn't take much of a pull to remove an alligator clip from the battery post. The part I didn't think of a good solution for was how to release your tether from the battery lead. You don't want to end up tied to the boat via the battery lead you just disconnected. I suppose you could attach your tether to the battery lead using a clip that requires a substantially stronger pull than what it takes to pull the connector off the battery. That shouldn't be too hard to set up. At the moment, I just don't have any clever idea how, but having a pile of available "scrap parts" in front of me would probably spark an idea or two. Maybe you can come up with an idea of your own, based on the stuff you have available.
Kill switch
Thanks. I’m trying.