Following Sungjin Kim and Gary Thorberg, here is our beta version of a Power W500 kayak:
The 2HP 4-cycle Honda outboard gas engine is perfect for the job: It’s powerful, lightweight (28 lbs empty), user friendly (quiet), environmentally friendly (low emissions), and easy to use (throttle grip). Most importantly, one of the 2 models Honda offers features a 20″ long propeller shaft, which is an absolute requirement for the W500. Shorter shafts (e.g. 15″) won’t do.
The Power W500 went at high speed even when another passenger weighing 115 lbs came on board.
Driving it feels pretty much like driving an aquatic motorcycle – it’s fun, and exciting.
Getting used to steering with the tiller handle behind your back takes some time, but eventually it isn’t hard, and the sitting-riding position feels comfortable.
Watch the Tandem video »
Read more about motorizing your fishing kayak »
Wow! Nice video. Your mount seems to be plenty solid if you are leaving the motor on the W during car top transport. Please give us some details of your prototype. Did you find a need for a clamp on tiller extension? It appeared that you were riding a little low in the stearn. Must have been fun with a passenger! That probably leveled you out just right. Keep the data coming!
Gary
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Thanks Gary,
The mount is solid. It’s made from 3/4″ high grade plywood reinforced with screws and steel brackets. It weighs about 5-6 lbs.
It’s attached to the boat with a system that’s similar to the one you showed (Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery 🙂 … ). The lower piece of wood, inside the hull has a butterfly nut embedded in it, and that nut is secured with a regular nut, because over time, the engine’s vibration tends to cause bolts to loosen…
About riding low, it’s partially correct: You need to sit in the cockpit rear when you’re starting the engine, but then you can move forward, so actually, much of the bow rising upwards is caused by the wake generated at high speed. In other words, the W500 planes at such high speed, which is why the bow is so low.
When watching the boat “turning on a dime”, you’ll see it’s not riding low, and it drafts about 8 inches at the rear tip of the hulls.
In any case, the motor mount’s position shown here prevents any spray from splashing your back, or getting into the cockpit.
I’ll add a tiller extension for stand up motorized W boating, which is the next natural step in developing this motorized application.
Riding the Power W500 in tandem was so much fun! The passenger was my 12 year old son. We zigzagged at full throttle among the local sailing club’s sailboats like two motor bikers zigzagging between cars stuck in traffic 😀 The main difference is that the passenger sits in the front at gets splashed by spray from the bow 🙂
At full throttle the bow rose up, and it came down suddenly when I stopped, which caught my son off guard, since he didn’t expect it 🙂
The foam noodles in this video are broader than the regular ones, aren’t they?
Wouldn’t they interfere with paddling?
Those are jumbo, 4″ diameter, 700 cubic inches volume foam noodles. The diameter of our standard flotation foam noodles is 2.5″ .
With a 4″ noodle attached on each side, the W500 becomes 36″ wide, and that makes it less comfortable to move the paddle, but it’s still much more comfortable than paddling a sit-in or SOT kayak.
Besides, if you feel like paddling for a long distance, you can detach the rear flotation modules, and store them inside the kayak.
This video opens the era of motorized kayaking in a broad sense, and it has nothing to do with trolling, fishing etc. The W is a new type of watercraft, and this is a new class of mini motorboat.
Paul
Hmmmmm, that’s pretty darn cool. Kind of like a little baby CraigCat. As we had talked I think for the creek folks here in Florida it is a much less expensive answer to their specialty canoes. I wonder if a small wing on the motor might help the trim. All in all that is a very nice rig as is all it might need is a simple tiller extender. Once again you never know what is going to come out of the secret headquarters of Wavewalk International.
Thanks Jeff,
I ordered a long tiller extension with a joint, in order to drive this thing standing up, with the motor in the ‘front’ and the tiller reversed in 180 degrees. The joint is required to enable both push and pull from a narrow angle of control imposed by the distance from the motor.
I also ordered a short tiller extension, for regular ‘cruising’.
Yoav
Great video Yoav. 🙂
Very nice job on the motor mount.
One question, why wouldn’t a short shaft motor work???
Keep the ideas coming People. 🙂
Tight lines and paddle amd motor safe all.
Rox
Thanks Rox,
A shorter propeller shaft won’t do because it would place the propeller in the space between the hulls, so that when it rotates while facing sideways it won’t make the boat turn effectively:
OK Yoav, the next logical progression to this adventure is going to be adding a foil system and making a hydroplane W, now that would be interesting.
You bet Kevin, soon we’ll be looking for volunteers to fly that thing 😉
This thing could do with a little more tweaking, but what a kickass ride!
FW
Wow! I can’t find a word how to say.
It’s perfect! Seeing this video, I found many things to modify mine.
The mount looks very stable with just a bolt and with no rubber.
I didn’t know it could turn like in a movie.
I’ll try.
The Wkayak is more and more progressing next step.
Great job!
Thanks Sungjin,
You started it! 🙂
The W can do more, and we’ll show it.
Yoav