I Put A Texas Power Paddle Motor On My Hobie Lynx Fishing Kayak! 

It is a 2006 Yakima Rack and Roll 78 that I picked up used a few years ago. The previous owner modified it by adding the 4 inch pvc bunks in order to carry a hobie outback and a hobie pro angler, and slide them on and off the trailer a little easier. The installation is very similar to the pvc bunks in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uZLedzEPZWo.html

I am very much enjoying having the motor as it helps me catch more fish. The switchblade works very well. I did not do the cell block, felt it was too bulky. All of my cable wires are wrapped around the back of my seat, where it attaches to the kayak. My fish finder battery is a small Noqua lithium that I keep in my kayak crate and the Texas Power Paddle battery pack fits under my seat, pushed up all the way forward. If you are doing the transducer mount with the motor, like I did, make sure to leave a little slack in the cable that goes to the motor to allow the motor to drop easily.

@@FishingwiththeOz Thanks Keep videos coming! Tight Lines!

My fish finder is very basic. What I need in a fish finder may be different than what you will want or need. I am usually fishing in less than 6ft of water and don't really use it to find fish but more so to see water depth, bottom contour and water temp. Fish finders can range from a a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars and I am not expert on them by any means. I chose a 5 inch Lowrance Hook Reveal Split Shot as I didn't want anything larger and power it with a Nocqua lithium battery. This video may help ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ouTAY94TA_A.html and if you have a Facebook account you should join this Hobie Lynx group facebook.com/groups/489448705843504 - lots of good information can be found searching in the group posts or asking questions.

They do not come with kill switches. I was concerned about that as well when I first purchased but I got over it pretty quickly. I am still happy with my Gen 1 unit but the newer units have a few more features: longer battery life, more thrust and an option to put the motor on the rudder of any kayak, including the Lynx. As far as customer service, I had an issue once that they took care of pretty quickly and at no cost to me. If you dont get a reply send another email to the owner Damon Borich. dborich@texaspowerpaddle.com

@@FishingwiththeOz They did contact me a day after I commented on this video. That makes me feel a lot better. I need to ask them if they have a new version to be released soon. With my luck I will purchase and a new version will be announced 2 weeks afterwards.

Min, it is a big investment and so far I am happy that I made it. I cannot compare this to other options on the market, as this is my first motor, however I am happy with it so far. The one negative is that if weeds get in the prop, it will stop spinning until the weeds are cleared and removed. With a different type of motor you might be able to clear the prop while on the water but with the TPP you have to get off the water and get under the kayak. Although I did get the weed guard, this did happen to me once right after we had a storm and there was a lot of debris on the water. That being said I am loving the motor. It really helps me when going against wind or current and battery life has been very good. I still often pedal while using the motor and try not to open the throttle all the way for long periods of time to help conserve battery life. I usually go out for 5-6 hours at a time and I have yet to run the battery all the way down. I usually have at least 40% of battery left. Hope this helps.

@@FishingwiththeOz Thank you so much for the feedback! I just ordered my TPP for the Lynx! also got the weed guard, skid plate, and kill switch. Hope all these extra pricey accessories are worth it. I’ll be using it mostly for river fishing here in Nashville, TN. Think it will help with going up river and what really attracted me was the low water clearance which is common in the areas where I fish. Well thanks again and keep on with the great fishing videos, sir!

Yes I use seat risers

It sounds like your needs for speed and distance are much different than mine. I rarely run the throttle at full, even when I want to move quickly I try not to go past 2/3 throttle in order to extend my battery life. I too am pedaling most of the time, although not always, and cruising speed varies between 2.5 to 3.5 mph depending on wind and tide. I typically don't need to make extended long runs so that helps conserve battery. Some days I may only cover 2-4 miles of water and a long travel day is around 7-8 miles in total. A typical outing is around 6 hours, give or take, and I have yet to run the battery down to less than 30%. Most days I have 45% or more battery left. Your modifications of the unit sound quite interesting and I would love to hear how it turns out - perhaps you might even demonstrate your mods in a RU-vid video.

@@FishingwiththeOz I live on the east Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan and my intent for any motor is to explore, as opposed to fishing. Therefore, I'm after about six hours at full (3mph in my normal conditions). I've ordered everything and will report back on the results. What I'm going to do is disconnect one lead from the factory battery and run it to an A-Off-B switch (added to the inner cover of the case) and then add a Clinko (type) connector to the case and run a 12V / 100AH battery through that port to the other side of the A-Off-B switch. Running the math on AH to WH, I should get about six hours at full, running both batteries down to cut-off. Added battery is sized at two times the WH of the factory battery (and will charge much, much faster with a smart charger). Items I'm getting: Battery: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJ75HJ4S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Switch: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LBLVGPK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Clinko (type, off-brand) Case Connector: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MF51CW6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

@@JimFry Thank you for the detailed description. You obviously have some experience and a good working knowledge of the battery modification ahead of you (which I do not). I hope it works out perfectly for you. I look forward to your next report regarding the finished product.

@@FishingwiththeOz I'm an electrical engineer and have worked in power my entire career, so I do have some background with these things. I'm currently working on four US EV Battery Plant projects across the US. These factories are over a billion dollars in cost each; that equates to a whole lot of EVs GM and Ford intend to sell! We'll all see soon, if the US power grid may distribute the levels of electrical required to charge all these millions of electrified carriages.

If the cord that runs from the motor up to the throttle is too tight it will not flip down. Make sure it has some slack and nothing is preventing it from moving when the motor is engaged. If you continue to have problems try calling again at 1-833-897-2335 or at 512-812-0887. You can also try emailing karen@texaspowerpaddle.com

No the motor is tucked inside the transducer cavity of the kayak.

I don’t know laws for all states but in Florida one must register when putting a motor on a kayak. I don’t recall how much I paid but it wasn’t expensive. kayakguru.com/florida-kayak-laws-regulations/

No kill switch. When they first came out they had kill switches but they did away with them right about the time I purchased mine. I think a kill switch would provide a bit more safety, in case somone falls out of the kayak and the kayak remains upright. Typically if a kayaker falls out they have also flipped the kayak over. Whether the motor is mounted on the rudder or in the transducer cavity (like mine is), once the kayak is flipped, the motor will no longer be in the water so the kayak isn't going anywhere.

Contemplating getting one of these love your video thanks for sharing all your fishing knowledge and kayak insight.

@@electricfatbiker9717 thanks for the kind words. The motor unit has been great for me. I have a generation 1 unit and the new gen 2 and gen 3 systems are advertised to be a little faster with some longer run times. I like that the company continues to improve their product. They also have provided good customer support, which they do via their email system, hard to get someone on the phone. I purchased the motor not quite two years ago and what I have found is that it is not good around a lot of weeds and grass (no motor really is). There is one location I fish with a lot of grass so I use the motor less and pedal more there. I have had to send the motor in for repair twice. The first time it threw a bearing and they fixed it under warranty. More recently I had an issue with it that required some new parts. I paid $125 in total for the repair, which I thought was quite reasonable, cheap really if you compare it to having to repair an outboard motor on a boat. And they did the repairs and sent the motor back to me quickly. So $125 in repair costs after approximately 80 outings on the water, starting and stopping the motor several times, I am OK with that. Good luck and tight lines.

No regrets. It works well for my needs. Since getting the motor I am able to travel a little further and stay on the water longer, and it is especially handy when I am having to go against a strong wind and/or current. I typically cover between 3-6 miles when I go out. I use the motor like a peddle assist. So with throttle around 1/2 to 2/3 plus some easy pedaling I cruise around 3 mph. It can go a little faster but it is not a speed demon. By being conservative with the throttle and using my legs, I get great battery life. I have yet to drain the battery and usually have 50% or more battery left after a 5-6 hour day on the water. The only cons is that the motor isn't great in water with a lot of weeds even with a weed guard. If you get weeds in the prop the motor will shut off until the weeds can be cleared, which has to be done on dry land where you can get under the kayak and get to the motor. My motor got clogged with weeds just once but I still had the mirage drive peddles to get around. Now I just don't use the motor when I am in weeds. The newer version of the motor has a few extra features to deal with weeds. The only other thing to note is that if you fish salt water you need to spray the motor with some fresh water and apply some anti rust lubricant in a specific part of the motor. Spraying it with water is easy but to get the anti rust in there I have to get under the kayak. I keep the kayak on a trailer so I will get under the trailer, laying on my back, to get the spray in the right spot. It's a minor inconvenience in return for the benefits the motor provides. This is the link anti rust product that is used www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I9MFHU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

@@FishingwiththeOz Thank you for your time and opinion, Tight lines!

​@@FishingwiththeOzhello, I have just mounted the motor on my lynx and as you said this is an easy task. I will exclusively fish in sea water and would like to benefit of your experience about lubricating the engine. Could you describe the spot to spray? Thanks

@@marctanguy2403 congrats! Go to the Texas Power Paddle website faq's and to read up about maintenance. Also their youtube channel has lots of good videos including this one ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-caW7acRmLV4.html&ab_channel=TexasPowerPaddle And here is the rust inhibitor product which they sell and can be found on Amazon www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I9MFHU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks so much for your précise answer!

I have a gen 1 motor and battery. Weeds or grass will clog the prop and shut the motor down. Using a weed guard helps but does not prevent a clog and shut down. The weed guard also reduces max speed a bit as well. I have a weed guard and cut out a few of the plastic wires to to compenstate for that. My motor has gotten clogged on two occasions fishing a very grassy shallow area. Since I have the motor in my transducer cavity I had to wait until I was off the water to unclog the prop and then it was good to go again. I still had the mirage drive to pedal with so it wasn't that big of a deal. I hear the newer generation 2 model has better weed removal capability- a cleaning mode - but I do not have first hand experience with it. I spoke to a Hobie dealer in Florida that told me he mounted a universal texas power paddle motor on the rudder of a hobie lynx and that it works just fine while providing easier access to the motor. I think he posted a photo of that set up somewhere on the Hobie Lynx Facebook Group. I am very happy with the motor and the service that TPP has provided. I did have to send it in once when a bearing failed but they took care of it under warranty, also paid the shipping, and I had the motor back a week later. I love having the ability to use the motor, or the pedal drive or both at the same time and am very happy with my purchase. The motor comes in handy when I am going against wind and current and I use it a lot like a boater might use a trolling motor on a boat - using very low throttle to help me hold position or move forward slowly. There is now a generation 3 set up with a more powerful battery that provides greater thrust and speed and battery life (although I have yet to run out of battery). That tells me that the company wants to continue to improve on their product and become a long term player in the kayak motor space. I am a fan.

@@FishingwiththeOz thanks I might consider the Rutter motor I will call them in the morning and see what they have to say. I mainly want to use it for heading into the wind as well. Corpus is very windy. I don’t fish I just do photography

I have a Yakima Rack and Roll 78. I was very lucky to have purchased it used. The original owner had already modified with adjustable pvc bunks to fit two kayaks.

Must have been someone else. I have never parked or fished there. Wish there was a nice small boat launch to get in there.

@@FishingwiththeOz I was driving by and saw an SUV and trailer. Thought it was you but I’ve been wrong plenty of times.