Motors on kayaks

[4liters]

edited

[cobby]

I'd be more worried about some bloke in his $500 eBay special with a 30+ah deep cycle battery on the deck and a home made knock up motor mount 1km off Mornington with an impending sea breeze than the guys hitting up Julia reef on their purpose built skis/kayaks....

this is the real worry and of cause the main guys that wont to fit motors are normally the guys with poorly designed kayaks ie Ebay cheapies that are to hard to paddle

that, or they're not fit enough to paddle any significant distance, or they're just plain retarded: I had someone call in to my work asking about the best way to protect and secure the tractor battery they put in the back of the yak because they were worried about tipping over while paddling after getting on the jim beam

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FYI I'm not actually against dropping rego for electric powered kayaks. Ones designed for it like the old prowler torque or a better system like the Hobie evolve.

And another FYI, all 3 of has have tipped either intentionally or not. Difference? We all got back on perfectly fine and were dressed for that possibility.

[Wolly Bugger]

The issue here is that some kayaks are designed to have a motor, whilst others are not, thus fitting a motor to a kayak that is not designed for the purpose may be dangerous.

There have already been a number of fatalities from both motorised and paddle power kayaks. Two blokes died a few years ago after they bought and used kayaks with electric motors.

There perhaps has not been one of us on this forum, that have had a bright idea, only to find out later that it was a rather stupid thing to do. We all make mistakes and errors, and some of us will learn from them, whilst some will not survive. Take for example working under a car that is only lifted by a jack, sure 99% of the time nothing happens, but when it does fail, it can be and is often fatal.

[Wolly Bugger]

This topic is unlocked. Please do not abuse each other.

[hornet]

My take on it is somethings can be modified to do things they were not designed for and work perfectly well safely, somethings don't ..

Any modifications to Kayaks need to be carefully thought about, seeing your life may depend on it..

This one at BCF is designed to be battery powered, also it was designed to be this way and safety would have been a prerequisite.

http://www.bcf.com.au/Product/Haswing-M ... yak/362266

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMHVXf4IrBc

[cheaterparts]

My take on it is somethings can be modified to do things they were not designed for and work perfectly well safely, somethings don't ..

Any modifications to Kayaks need to be carefully thought about, seeing your life may depend on it..

This one at BCF is designed to be battery powered, also it was designed to be this way and safety would have been a prerequisite.

http://www.bcf.com.au/Product/Haswing-M ... yak/362266

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMHVXf4IrBc

it's funny you bought up the Haswing there was a couple of threads on KFDU ( kayak forum ) back in 2014 on these after a guy went missing on one at Townsville
others came out and said there haswings had sunk and were very hard to paddle if needed - they may have improved but 3 years ago guys that had bought them up north were warning against them

http://www.kfdu.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41523

http://www.kfdu.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40781

Hobie also do an eletric motor insert to fit the mirage drive hole and Ocean Kayaks had the torque with another inserted motor

but I wonder what the design criteria was being yanky designs my guess they were for flat water and very like there flash bass boats aren't designed for open water
so here I go again ( I feel like the OH&S officer here ) most guys wont to fit motors to go out on open water - I dont beleve even the bigger named manufacturers have a safe design for open water

my thoughts in you wont a power boat buy a power boat

[hornet]

From the web site "Suitable for calm closed waters only "

They describe it as an estuary model..

http://www.haswingmarine.com.au/Winix-E ... Motor.html

[cheaterparts]

From the web site "Suitable for calm closed waters only "

They describe it as an estuary model..

Yes it really cuts down the options of where to fish with these things Makes a tinny look good doesn't it

[laneends]

Problem common most who want motors is because they cant paddle very far. ie they shouldn't have a kayal in the first place. They just want a tinny alternative.

An appropriate use would be for hands free slow trolling capability on a paddle kayak. ie the main reason for pedal kayak.

it should not be used to travel further than you can paddle.

The question as to whether they should be registered or not is separate to whether they are safe in the first place or not. If there is no control on the type or design of kayak that can be motorised, then rego is simply a grab for cash. If it is a means to have some kind of standards then sure register.

For a start off nothing under 4m should have a motor.. There is simply not enough buoyancy in them, especially at the back.

[FishnMiss]

Thought I'd wait to see comments before posting
It would be ideal to have a tailored "Licence" for anybody fitting a motor to a kayak.
Have licenced inspection points for them to be assessed (Ok I can hear some of your slapping your foreheads & groaning etc). But THINK about this - you buy a car and it needs to be roadworthy- Correct? So here you have a yak with motor going into an ever changing environment and you may not have the correct battery, waterproof connections, wiring or terminals, isolation switches, fuse points etc. Has the battery changed the CG of the yak, has the motor changed the kayaks CG or balance. Have any mods while fitting all these components weakened the kayak in any way or introduced potential leak points.
How does the yak handle when/if the battery dies- if you can't paddle it safely then it's a no go.
As we all know the weather in Vic can be all over the place and I'd even go so far as to say if you have a motor in a yak within 2Nm of shore or are in any of our bays you need a PLB if motorised.
Yakkers Must know through studying for a licence what their motorised kayak is capable of doing speed wise based on motor, battery, hull & load (user + equipment) when the wind is against them, wind & tide etc, as well as knowing the distance they can safely travel before the battery is depleted (or drained so far that it gets damaged).
As has been stated & I think we are all aware that kayak fishing continues to grow & it's better to get things in place sooner rather than later .
Don't assume what you or I know is "just good old common sense", some people haven't had the experience or exposure etc we have, but can learn.
It's not about being a "Nanny State" but we're talking about a potentially dangerous sport/hobby & unlike a car we can't just pull off to the side of the road & hop out & go get help.
Many kayakers also fish solo or in areas where there aren't many other boats, yaks etc.
Just my thoughts.
Thanks