I have been thinking about adding a trolling motor on to my kayak and I was wondering if anyone else has done so. I know I can get a cheaper trolling motor if I go with a freshwater one but I do mostly saltwater and I’m not sure if a freshwater trolling motor will hold up even with a regular rinse down. All experience/opinions are wlecome.
Not sure about the longevity of a freshwater motor in saltwater but, I believe once you put a motor on your yak, you will have to register it.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
I’m pretty sure you’ll have to get it registered once you slap a motor on it.
A few years ago I bought a FW motor at wally world. It lasted less than 5 trips before I started having problems with the tilt release. I ended up using it for parts on another one I got. I did rinse it after each trip but it was a 45 minute drive home.
I would not get another FW motor and use it in salt.
Mako 1901 Inshore-Honda 130
10% of the people catch 90% of the fish.
You have to register it but it is very easy. I headed down to the John’s island DNR location and I was in and out in 5 minutes. Its been awhile so I don’t remember all the details but I would call them before you head down.
As far as the motor goes I spent countless hours trying to find an affordable solution that would be reliable. I found the perfect motor for my needs. It is a water snake asp t18. The white version is the saltwater and the black version is the freshwater. I paid less than $100 for mine over a year ago. I’ve used it on at least 10 trips and the 18lbs of thrust push me at a slow jogging pace and sometimes much faster if I’m going with the current. The motor only weights 3 lbs and you can run small sealed 12volt batteries. I chose to buy a large marine battery because I had the space and didn’t mind the weight. I have gone 9 miles round trip and it only used about 30% of battery lol.
I keep my kayak in storage because I live in an apartment, but I will make it over there sometime this week and I will post some pics for ya.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Malibu Stealth 12 with Lowrance Mark 4 Fishfinder/GPS
Perception Access Angler
There are a lot of different ways to add a Trolling motor to your Kayak / save $ doing it
I added a Bass Yak to my 14ft Stealth 3 years ago and never got stuck
paddling back yet ? sometimes I even tow people back to the landing
Capt Dave
I purchased a 3 foot piece of galvanized steel door frame from lowes for $10 and my kayak has 2 threaded holes so I bolted the piece of steel to the kayak with 2 stainless steel bolts. All I have to do is throw the battery in the back and connect it to the motor and screw the motor onto the mount. With registration, mount, and motor, I only spent about $200.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Malibu Stealth 12 with Lowrance Mark 4 Fishfinder/GPS
Perception Access Angler