Motor mounted electric kickers? Tried one?

The boat is a 18.5’ plus pod, Liquid Metal aluminum weighing 3800lb fully loaded before passengers.
Since you have a pod you should double check that you have the required depth (13 inches) for that e-motor. On some pods the main is mounted higher then if it was on a conventional transom. Look for a water stain on the leg and measure down to that anti-ventilation plate.
 
Since you have a pod you should double check that you have the required depth (13 inches) for that e-motor. On some pods the main is mounted higher then if it was on a conventional transom. Look for a water stain on the leg and measure down to that anti-ventilation plate.

Looks like I am good to go for depth! The hull is a deep v so there is a good amount of space between the water stain line. Thanks!

And, it looks like I’ll be picking up the lightly used pair on my way to or from The Tyee pool this weekend...one step closer to seeing IF this will work! Confidence high.
 
Looks like I am good to go for depth! The hull is a deep v so there is a good amount of space between the water stain line. Thanks!

And, it looks like I’ll be picking up the lightly used pair on my way to or from The Tyee pool this weekend...one step closer to seeing IF this will work! Confidence high.
Cool....:cool:
Have a look at the controller and see what the input side can handle. I know it's 24 volt but it may be marked to handle higher voltages and that may work in your favor if you would want to consider different battery chemistries.
 
Super stoked to see how your's will work, Andrew! And good to read that they are now bringing out hybrid pickups. Once there is a plug-in hybrid strong enough to tow my boat I will pounce.
 
All electric...impressive hydrofoil boat. The possibilities are endless. :)


I've always wondered how the depth of the prop is compensated for as she rises up on the foils. It is more straightforward on sailboats and paddleboards. Maybe one day I'll be curious enough to google that. It'd be a sweet ride over chop but I can't help but wonder how strong the foils are against larger debris or how much kelp would collect underneath during 8 hours of trolling!
 
Ya, agreed. I posted mostly to share the idea of possibilities that electric power can now offer in this day and age. Thanks to Andrew for posting his query, for i now have renewed energy toward doing the kicker project after my OG ape-hanger ebike cruiser is completed. I am also investigating the possibility of a jet powered electric kayak. :)

And thanks to you @StormTrooper for tipping me off on the used gear....as I am now the proud owner of a couple electric motors, controls and a waterproof 20amp charger.

I must say, that these motors are bigger than I expected and am very optimistic after hearing about the last owners success pushing a sea ray 270.

Now to source batteries.
 
And thanks to you @StormTrooper for tipping me off on the used gear....as I am now the proud owner of a couple electric motors, controls and a waterproof 20amp charger.

I must say, that these motors are bigger than I expected and am very optimistic after hearing about the last owners success pushing a sea ray 270.

Now to source batteries.
d

Congratulations. The idea of trolling in near silence is a pretty attractive thought. Let everyone know how you make out with this setup. I wonder why this guy was selling them (not enough power)???
 
He sold them because he sold the boat but kept the set up...and now cleaning out the garage. He claims it had plenty of power to move his sea ray for trolling....which was 31’ long and way heavier than my boat. We will see...

What did he say he was using for batteries, and how much trolling time did he get on them? Very interesting for sure.

Oly
 
As has been stated repeatedly by many you're going to find batteries are the stumbling block with this setup. You won't get much time without a prohibitively large battery bank, even using lithium technology.
 
As has been stated repeatedly by many except, you're going to find batteries are the stumbling block with this setup. You won't get much time without a prohibitively large battery bank, even using lithium technology.

seems like the most credible opinion on this and that carries some weight. What puts it into perspective for me is that the 2015 LEAF battery has about 100km of range (highway driving), weighs the size of two adults and is the size of a 500L fuel tank. Sure, maybe THAT battery would be a bit much for his boat. But I don't think he requires 24kwh to troll for a day.
 
I actually typed out a whole post of the numbers on this setup. For some reason it was lost or didn't post. You would in fact need a battery pack approaching the size of the 24kwh leaf pack to troll all day at salmon trolling speeds with that size of boat.

60amps at half speed, 120 at full. That's 2880 watts at full speed. Just trying to give everyone a reality check on this technology. Batteries are the problem...unless you don't want to troll for very long.
 
I actually typed out a whole post of the numbers on this setup. For some reason it was lost or didn't post. You would in fact need a battery pack approaching the size of the 24kwh leaf pack to troll all day at salmon trolling speeds with that size of boat.

60amps at half speed, 120 at full. That's 2880 watts at full speed. Just trying to give everyone a reality check on this technology. Batteries are the problem...unless you don't want to troll for very long.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not up to speed with this. So, if the draw is 2880 amps then a 24kwh battery will provide (24,000w divided by 2,880w = 8.3) 8.3 hours of trolling? That does seem a prohibitive in this case, although it also seems the high end of what may be required and technology is only improving. I don't usually troll for that long but I would want some contingency should my main quit and I need to troll back on electric.

C'mon Andrew, get this going and post some real world results.:)
 
I have a 36V bow mount that pushes my 19ft fiberglass boat around at 5km/h top speed. I have noticed significant drag from the main engine prop / lower unit so I tilt that out of the water to gain 20% more top speed. Too bad you won't have that option with engine mounted. For a small improvement I will say that you should keep main engine in gear to reduce the drag from the spinning prop.

Have you looked at on the run chargers like a Stealth? Uses the motor's alternator / 12V circuit to charge the 24 or 36V circuit. Makes a huge difference on full or multi day trips.

The big benefit to bow mount for me is you get auto pilot and anchor features included.

Be careful with wiring. The trolling motor circuit should have completely separate ground and positive from electronics or you can get interference. I definitely notice interference on my setup and need to rerig it properly since nobody I have paid to work on the boat was smart enough to read the directions from Minn Kota.
 
With today's LiPo cells I personally would never use lead acid or plain lithium. I use Samsung 18650 cells to build my packs for my ebike projects. For my offroad bike I run a 72v 50amp 20ah and get two hours of full throttle grin(smiles) time at 80kmh at the top of the charge down to 40kmh at the bottom 20 minutes. Remember this is accomplished at full throttle. My BMS is 50amp continuous draw. My battery pack only wieghs 22lbs and fits into the center of my bike frame. Attached images are of a single Samsung 18650 LiPo cell and a complete 48v 40amp 25ah 2500 watts battery pack. 17lbs.

What Andrew wishes to accomplish is simple.
View attachment 40023
View attachment 40027

Big difference between rolling resistance and water resistance.

He will need at least 200ah at 24volts
StormTrooper .. What would a battery pack of that size cost?

I know the leaf and volt batteries are around $8,000 and a Honda hybrid battery is around $4000.

I think it would be worth testing with 2 Group 8D lead acid batteries (aprox. $750 for the pair)
And no other electronics needed, maybe a conventional battery charger.

If you get the run time you want then invest in a LiPo that has equivalent.
 
He could just run a diesel genny the whole time. That would give him the power required. :p
 
Back
Top