Choosing Motors
7 Advantages of Motors
1. RANGE – With a motor, you’ll save energy and find more fish.
Before using a motor, my average range for a day of fishing was three
to four miles. With the motor it’s not uncommon to cover more than
10 miles in a day.
2. POSITION – One of the biggest challenges with any kayak is main-
taining position in wind and current. Without a motor, you’re forced to
drop anchor or continually paddle to stay in place. This limits the
amount of time spent actually fishing a spot. With a motor you can
counter the wind and current easily and spend more time focusing on
the fish.
3. UPSTREAM ACCESS – With a motor mounted on my kayak, I can
launch on a river or stream, motor upstream, and then float and fish
with the current back to my vehicle. This is a big plus to me; the days
of having to set up a shuttle with another vehicle at a downstream
takeout spot are over. Now I can spend a lot more time exploring
rivers that seldom see fishing pressure.
4. HANDS-FREE OPERATION – Paddling a kayak in between casts
while working down a long stretch of bank and slinging a crankbait,
spinnerbait or topwater lure used to be a labor-intensive distraction. A
motor enables me many more opportunities to run and gun. All things
considered, the ability to work down a bank with both hands free can
really expand the range of techniques that are used.
5. ELECTRONICS – A motor’s consistent search speed and increased
range enable a kayak angler to take advantage of modern sonar –
including side-viewing sonar and in-boat map making.
6. SAFETY – This is an often-overlooked benefit of having a motor on
a kayak. Pairing big water and little boats can pose many hazards, but
a motor can get you back to shore quickly, with little physical exertion
in an emergency situation.
7. ACCESSIBILITY – A motor can get someone who is injured or has a
disability back out on the water, fishing and competing from a kayak. In
fact, some clubs that otherwise don’t allow motors will allow disabled
anglers to use a motor to make tournaments available to more people.
MAY-JUNE 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM
there are many ways to incorpo-
rate a motor on your kayak. diY is one
option. Kayakers pride themselves on
their diY skills, so Youtube is full of
great examples of clever homemade
or modified big-boat trolling motors
that have been adapted for a small
boat. however, such homemade
options often lack reliability, perform-
ance and safety features, and they’re
heavy to boot.
a model designed and built by a
kayak accessory manufacturer is almost
always a better choice. companies
such as torqeedo (torqeedo.com) have
put time and research into creating the
most efficient, safe and lightweight
kayak motors – and battery systems –
possible. these modern motors and
their lithium batteries offer significant
advantages.
Kayak manufacturers are also get-
ting on board by offering motor
options. for instance, Jackson Kayak
(jacksonkayak.com) is currently work-
ing on a motor for its popular coosa
fd. When it’s available, the motor will
be able to be swapped in for the
boat’s pedal-drive system. Wilderness
systems (wildernesssystems.com) and
hobie (hobie.com) also offer motor
systems developed by torqeedo
specifically for their kayaks.
here are some other factors to
consider when choosing a motor.
Weight and Transport
Motors and batteries add weight,
but if you choose a premium product
you’ll see a big difference. one popu-
lar 30-pound-thrust transom-steer
motor used by kayak anglers weighs
around 17 pounds, and a lead-acid
battery to power it varies from 20 to
30 pounds, depending on size. a
torqeedo ultralight 403 hefts about
16 pounds for the total package,
including its lithium battery. this
makes a major difference in ease of
loading and unloading, and the
amount of draft in a loaded kayak.
lithium batteries, such as the one
used with the ultralight, save signifi-
cant weight, though the tradeoff is a
higher price tag.
Installation
Motors designed specifically for
one kayak model or a series of
kayak models are usually simple to
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