Anyone Motorize a Kayak or Boat?

lowracer

lowracer

New Member
I had an idea to motorize a small personal watercraft with a Pocketbike engine & did some searching. Looks like in Thailand, they build & race these boats.
Long Tail Boat Racing
Check out the videos & share any ideas you might have. I was thinking more along the lines of buying a small kayak at walmart for $239 & using an unsteered longshaft. Steering would be done using the kayak double-ended oar (dipping it in the water to steer the boat towards that side).
-Lowracer-
 
You could also rig a rudder in the back with a wooden handle or with rope pulls. Also no reason you could't set up a pair of pulleys in back to each side of the rudder and rig a small steering wheel or forward/back lever to steer with. I think trying to use the Kayak paddle would be cumbersome.
Small boats can go like the wind. Back when I was a kid the big deal wias 8 foot racing prams with either a 7 1/2 or 10 horse outboard on them... that's when Mercury made a reputation for really fast motors. (What they were doing with their Hurricane models was boring out the engine so the 7 1/2 was actually 15 and the 10 was a 20... wonder why they won!) The Mercs were green then and not black. I wanted one so badly... So now it's pocket bike motors on a kayak... ha! I'd have wanted that, too. Boys and speed go together like peanut butter & jelly.
SB
 
Excellent, Erich.
Thanks for sharing that. I've been thinking about putting an electric trolling motor on a paddle boat, but like the idea of the weed whacker much better as then there is no heavy battery to weight things down and recharge. The gas motor would give excellent range. I'm wondering how it would work to do away with the muffler and run the exhaust under water as you would with an outboard motor. I would think it would provide the back pressure needed for a two stroke and also greatly quiet down the motor. Or am I thinking too far out of the box? Always thought it would be fun to do a little fishing from a paddle boat and have the seat next to me for the dog to go along. Fun! And no pedaling... The motor and shaft could be fixed into position so no tiller would be needed. On a paddle boat there is a rudder with a forward/backward lever/handle to steer with. Could have a lawn mower type of throttle control and kill switch. next to the steering lever. Something else to think about in the middle of the night... dreamin' & scheme'in.You, sir, are contributing to the delinquency of an elder!
SB
 
silverbear said:
Excellent, Erich.
Thanks for sharing that. I've been thinking about putting an electric trolling motor on a paddle boat, but like the idea of the weed whacker much better as then there is no heavy battery to weight things down and recharge. The gas motor would give excellent range. I'm wondering how it would work to do away with the muffler and run the exhaust under water as you would with an outboard motor. I would think it would provide the back pressure needed for a two stroke and also greatly quiet down the motor. Or am I thinking too far out of the box? Always thought it would be fun to do a little fishing from a paddle boat and have the seat next to me for the dog to go along. Fun! And no pedaling... The motor and shaft could be fixed into position so no tiller would be needed. On a paddle boat there is a rudder with a forward/backward lever/handle to steer with. Could have a lawn mower type of throttle control and kill switch. next to the steering lever. Something else to think about in the middle of the night... dreamin' & scheme'in.You, sir, are contributing to the delinquency of an elder!
SB
Click to expand...

Yep all your ideas would work. I'd put a small hole in the exhaust above the waterline so that water isn't sucked up into the engine once it's hot and you shut if off.

I agree 100% with your realization that a trolling motor plus battery is super heavy for a small boat. That's the exact reason I went with the weed whacker.

Erich
 
I think it would probably work better than the brainstorm I was having about a gasoline powered cell phone.
 
Biknut,
Have you seen the Nissan Leaf commercial they over-played during the Tour De France?
Everything running on gas...lol
Erich, That is good stuff you posted...Thanks
Did anyone watch the videos on the link I posted?
Those little ones are Bad***...
-Lowracer-
 
those little boats are crazy fast.

I'd be worried about flipping over in a kayak with a steerable engine, fixed w/rudder would be the way to go, eh?

I wonder if you could put the trimmer shaft onto a larger engine?
 
I posted this on the other forum a few years ago, don't think it got one reply, heh.
Weed eater engine conversion - Boat Design Forums

A loong thread but some nice work there.
longtailAugust08006.jpg
 
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I stuffed two 327 Chevys into a 24 foot Formula hull back in the late sixties. Does that count? :)
Tom
 
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