Two years later this motor is going strong ru-vid.comUgkxBZWgzfpS2Jj7JqIHyaSZjyVHNUgCKCBf Just uploaded a video of it after 2 years. We use it probably a dozen days each year on our small raft.-original review- We got this motor the other day and tested it out. I don't have anything to compare it to, but it seems good to me. It has all the features advertised - the motor housing is metal. We will see how it performs longer term and I will revise this review if needed. Some initial observations:- Good thrust, moves our boat around really well- It comes with a circuit breaker but no switch - so there's no way to kill the motor other than yanking the connection off the battery. I installed an inline switch.- The mount bracket is plastic and I worry it might break- There are a number of plastic parts that I worry about, but the most important ones are metal or some kind of composite
Two years later this motor is going strong ru-vid.comUgkxBZWgzfpS2Jj7JqIHyaSZjyVHNUgCKCBf Just uploaded a video of it after 2 years. We use it probably a dozen days each year on our small raft.-original review- We got this motor the other day and tested it out. I don't have anything to compare it to, but it seems good to me. It has all the features advertised - the motor housing is metal. We will see how it performs longer term and I will revise this review if needed. Some initial observations:- Good thrust, moves our boat around really well- It comes with a circuit breaker but no switch - so there's no way to kill the motor other than yanking the connection off the battery. I installed an inline switch.- The mount bracket is plastic and I worry it might break- There are a number of plastic parts that I worry about, but the most important ones are metal or some kind of composite
*Great little trolling motor **enjoyable.fishing** recommend had it hooked up to my 15 foot old town canoe and it pushed it pretty good with me and my son (220 pounds each).*
Hi Guys, Couple of Safety Tips: If you are using a trolling motor on your kayak don't forget to take along some spare fuses (more than one) and shear pins for your trolling motor. I drilled a hole in the top of a spare pill bottle and mounted the lid of the pill bottle to the underside of my battery box with stainless steel hardware. i.e. bolt and self locking nut. The pill bottle could me mounted anywhere or even kept in your tackle tray. Going out fishing without these things with a trolling motor is like going fishing without a PDF. You never know if you will need them, but if you do it is usually hard to find a replacement while out on the water. Also, if you have a minn kota trolling motor they usually have a slot in the end of the shaft. If you break the shear pin it is very difficult if not impossible to remove the self locking nut to get at the broken shear pin. I use a straight blade screwdriver to hold the shaft while loosening the self locking nut. A pair of pliers is also a good tool to have the grab the self locking tee nut. Attention to these items possibly will keep you from having a really BAD day on the water. John
Was watching one of ur old videos and saw a comment some guy made about if u ever punched through the primrose to get those bass underneath. At the pond I fish that's the only way I can catch the 5 pound bass in that pond. Otherwise I just use the same technique that u use with the brush hog. Love the videos and keep them up. They are very informative for some one that gets to fish the same conditions as you.
I looked at the GAMA Electronics site and found the RF340-80A-SC. It's an 80 amp model and the remote give you variable speed control. I'm going with a 55# thrust motor so will need the extra amp model. The module also has switches that can control the motor if the remote fails while on the water.
Do you have the motor with the foot pedal? Will you be able to connect to the steering motor? I have the older model power drive. I would need to replace my circuit and my the copilot and though this may be less expensive.
hey did you ever try it out ? I am using a 12v 46 lb thrust motor on the beach against waves so it might need more power so I was thinking of getting RF340-100APR 12v 100 amp its overkill, but I can`t seem to find a lower one anywhere... the one you posted is crazy expensive. I don`t know jack shit about electric components, but would it be ok to use the 12v 100 amp on a 46lb thrust motor?
Could you do a video on your transportation methods with your rig and the methods you use to launch and pull out from the water? Love the vids, keep it up!
Love your custom mods. Ive used your idea for building mine up. I looked into Gama, and saw they make a remote and reciever which controls speed aswell, from 1 to 100%. I called the company, gave um the specs for the minn kota c2 30 and they confirmed it will defenitly work with your same set up. im just adding the on off button to mine. I also gave your page a shout out to the company since the manager said he wanted to see it, so hopefully they hook you up. Thanks again for the idea. I might upload my rig when its complete.
The T-SC-12V Switch and Remote Control from Gama Electronics would have allowed you to connect your yellow and green wires from your trolling motor for variable speed control. The switch has the green and yellow wires plus the other four connections (2 input - 2 output) and is rated at 30 amps at 12 volts.....it costs $110 dollars.....compared to your switch at $65 dollars
Good for lake/pond fishing. Trolling and matching currents is the goal in tidal waters. I’d also say if winds are pushing the kayak and want to work against that to troll some rods, this would be a problem for the switch. Having a variable speed comes in handy although I do like the idea of the switch you found here. “I’d think the controls would be better utilized as momentary foot switch. Just use the remote for reverse maybe. Fishermen need our hands. Time off the rods is time lost for me. Thanks for sharing I may use this controller if I can for something.
You can get a remote switch for an electric winch (used on ATVs and trucks) that will work the same way and it probably cheaper ($18 on Amazon) I have on my snowplow so I can raise and lower it when I hook it up and take it off. And you can use it on any trolling motor no matter how many lbs. of thrust you have.
Wondering how this has held up? I checked out the company and they do have a variable speed model, but they do not recommend any of their controllers for trolling motors due to voltage fluctuations causing increased wear on the controller. Has that been an issue at all?
Fantastic and informative video. I want to use this set up on my ascend 128t. It has yak power, i am assuming I could wire that power switch directly to the on and off switch.
Just curious... I bought this and it all works good, but I have to hold the button down for the motor to work. How did you get it to run with a push of a button then hit the button again to stop it? Thank in advance!
I have a 1432 jon boat. Basically just a big kayak haha. I use a similar size trolling motor. I've had as much as 1000 lbs in it and it would do 3.5 mph. When it's just me. It does 3.5 mph. I'm looking for another propeller to get more speed. At least double. Where did you get your propeller? If it is an add on, how much more speed did you gain? Thanks
I wonder if there is a wireless PMW speed controller for 45# trolling motors. So far, I've only seen ones rated at 30amps. Max amp draw for a Minn Kota 45# is about 42...
Would there be anything wrong with wiring to the stock battery leads out of the trolling motor instead of opening up the trolling motor head and using those wires?
I am usually fishing in saltwater with waves hitting me left and right... I am using a 12v 46lbs thrust I feel like the (12v @30A) would not be ideal for me since my motor is actually working alot more against currents... My question is would you know of another device that is a 12V running with 40+ AMPs?
So no matter what I do I have to hold the forward button down in order to keep the motor going same thing with reverse how do you correct this any help please??
Thanks for sharing this with us! Quick question...the area where the wires connect to the motor where you can steer left and right, does the black round ring its attached to come with the motor? did you have to add the bolts too or did it come with the motor...if so did you have to drill it? Thanks!
I think the motor comes with one but it serves the function of holding the shaft at the depth you want. So you might want another one just for the steering linkage. Its called a shaft collar or collar sleeve some only come with 1 or 2 threaded screw sets and ive seen others with 4 screw sets but am unable to find those in the right bore diameter. Hope that helps.
Nice video Kevin, I have a couple of questions for you. First with this setup do you still have the ability for different speeds forward and back or are you stuck with just one speed? Second, if you were doing this all again from scratch is there anything you would change or do different? I just picked up a 2016 Big Rig and this looks like a good way to go for motorizing it.
The control can be configured for either momentary or latching operation. In the momentary mode, the motor will operate as long as the buttons are held down. In the latching mode, pressing either button will start the motor and pressing the button a second time will stop the motor. The auxiliary switch leads only provide momentary operation. THIS WAS COPIED FROM THE GAMA ELECTRONICS WEB SITE
Hey this is very important, can you please respond. I accidentally pressed the program button and I have the exact same setup as you. The motor turns like twice then wont turn. Can you help.
That's was an issue I was hoping would be addressed. I think having the ability to control your speed would be a main feature you would want in fishing situations. But I guess if you're only using the troll to get from point A to point B this would be fine. But if I'm trolling the banks and casting I don't want to be going full speed.