How To Put A Trolling Motor On A Kayak

[jonrid]

I did not buy a kayak to get exercise. I am an old duffer and I bought a 9 foot, 37 lb kayak as a lite weight car topper for the purpose of urban fishing and an occasional float trip..

Being both old and lazy, I soon started puzzling on how to mount a trolling motor to my kayak.

I have a sit inside lake type kayak with about a one inch rim around the ovil shaped cockpit.

The rim is molded into the one piece poly (something I can't spell) hull.

First I needed some sort of transom. My bill of materials to make a transom so I used stuff that was just what I had on hand:

What I built was essencially an out rigger using the empty mob head as a transom.

BILL OF MATERIALS.

1) A nylon strip rateching cargo tie down. (5 bucks at a hardware store)

2) Used mop handle with an aluminum head.(free if yoiu wife doesn't catch you snitching it.)

3) Wooden dowl which is a tight fit to splint up the mop handle.

4) 2 two inch U Bolt muffler clamps

4) 2 metal shower curtain hanger claimp.

5) 2 foot length of light weight chain with links suitable to fit the curtain hanger.

6) 1 one inch or so eye bolts and washers and 2 nuts to fit the eye bolts.

7) Two D rings.

ASSEMBLEY

1) Insert the wooden down in the holow mop handle to provide ridigit strength. (the tighter fit the better.)

2) Put the D righg over the muffler clamps and tighten the muffler clamps at either end of the mop handle.

3) Drill a hole in mop handle and secure the eye bolt through the mop handle.

4) Attach each end of the chain to a shower curtain hanger.

[jonrid]

PART 2 (HOW TO PUT A TROLLING MOTOR ON A KAYAK)

for some reason, (perhaps I ran out of posting space) I had to complet the artice in 2 sections.

ASSEMBLY

1) CONNECT THE HOOK ENDS OF THE RATCHING TIE DOWN TO THE D RINGS ATTACHED TO THE BROOM HANDLE.

2) LOOP THE NYLON TIE DOWN AROUND THE KAYAK COWLING

3) TIGHTEN THE RATCHET UNTIL YOU HAVE CREATED AN OUT RIGGER WITH THE MOP HOLDER PORTION SERVING AS A TRANSOM TO MOUNT THE TROLLING MOTOR.

4) USE ONE OF THE SHOWER CURTAIN ROD HODERS TO PUT ON THE SHANK OF THE TROLLING MOTOER AND ONE END TO SOME TYPE OF ATTACHMENT TO THE STERN END OF THE KAYAK.

(IN PRACTICE THE TORQE OF THE TROLLING MOTER WILL MAKE THE MOP HANDLE SHAFT ROTATE. THE CHAIN PREVENTS THE ROTATION)

SINCE YOU ARE ATTACHING SOME THINGS LIKE THE MUFFLER CLAMPS WHICH HAVE FLAT PORTIONS TO THE ROUND MOP HANDLE EXPECT THE FLAT PORTIONS TO BEND TO PRODUCE A TIGHT FIT.

[Darren.]

Lots of awesome trolling motor mounts for kayaks out there. I made mine similar to a BassYaks mount as I had all the material already.

Do you have any pix you can share?