When rigging your W fishing kayak with an electric trolling motor, you face the choice of attaching the motor in the front of the kayak, in the rear, or on the side – next to you.
Each of these locations offers certain advantages, and presents disadvantages as well.
The motor’s location can affect safety, stability, speed, steering, tracking, entry and exit, reentering, as well as fishability, since the location of the motor and steering handle could limit your range of motion when casting baits and lures, reeling in the fish, and landing them. This is why you’d better study whatever information is available on these subjects, and see what configuration best fits your personal transportation and fishing requirements.
Front Motor and Steering
Having the motor in the front can produce a fun, ‘scooter’ feel, as you can see in this video of Dan Carroll’s motorized W300 – one of the first projects in this field:
More info about this W300 kayak outfitted with with an electric trolling motor >
Having the electric motor in the front can produce a ‘chopper’ motorcycle effect as well, as Richard Dion’s motorized W500 has:
This ‘road bike’ look and feel is partly due to the lowered seat and generous cushioning.
See more about this motorized offshore fishing kayak >
It’s possible to install the motor in the front and steer by means other than a handle.
In any case, attaching the motor in the front of the kayak can create a safety issue when navigating in shallow water, as the motor won’t bounce up if it hits bottom, or a submerged obstacle. In such case, the motor could be damaged, as well as its mount, and even the kayak itself.
As far as steering is concerned, the driver being located away from the motor limits their effective range of turning. This is not necessarily a problem, unless you want to make sharp turns, or in case you need to navigate through fasts streams and turbulent waters.
More info about motorizing your fishing kayak >