Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have a small 10ft tinny and need some propulsion. Not prepared to fork out 2K for a 2 stroke petrol as I only want to use it for trolling and yabbying.
Been looking around the internet a bit and there are a lot of different ones out there.
Anyone used them and can recommend one?

This one is one of the cheapest I have come across
http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/item.as ... 33323&tid=

I looked into them a bit recently, some of them I found to be really poor when it comes to thrust depending on the size of the boat and loading..

Found the following on those motors you listed..

Maximum Speed Since the speed depends on many factors, such as loading, water speed, wind, etc., it would be difficult to describe the speed, we give the speed for reference as following: Boat Size: 2.6m Loading: 90Kg Water: Quite water Item No. Speed (Approximately) NRS-32L 5Km/hr NRS-36L 6.5Km/hr NRS-40L 7.8Km/hr NRS-46L 9.5Km/hr NRS-50L 12Km/hr NRS-55L 14.5Km/hr NRS-86L 22Km/hr d) Boat size and loaded capacity Item No. Max. Boat Size NRS-32L 12'~14', 3.65m~4.26m NRS-36L 12'~14', 3.65m~4.26m NRS-40L 16'~17', 4.86m~5.17m NRS-46L 16'~17', 4.86m~5.17m NRS-50L 18'~20', 5.48m~6.08m NRS-55L 18'~20', 5.48m~6.08m NRS-86L 22'~24', 6.69m~7.30m

Richard I use electric outboards extensively for bream fishing and would only recommend Min Kota .

The one you have linked to will do the job on the boat you described but the longevity of these cheaper motors is questionable . They also have non flexible poles and any contact between the motor bulb and any solid object will result in major damage . Min Kota on the other hand have pvc poles which have plenty of give and are very forgiving .

Having said that a Kota will cost more .

Hope this helps to weigh up the difference .

With the Min Kota I see they have the Riptide and Endura models with the Endura the cheaper version. Which ones do you have Prawnz

Mantis, I have got both Riptide (saltwater) and the Endura (freshwater) models of MinnKota.

Both very good and you can get away with using a Endura (freshwater) motor in the salt as long as you don't dunk it and wash is down well after use.

I say don't dunk it because I understand that the Endura is not as well sealed up top as the Riptide models and they don't like getting their head wet Apart from that, downstairs they are basically the same.

Ahhh cool, thanks for that fishfodder. The Endura should do the trick then with my small tinny, and calm freshwater only, as I dont do rough weather fishing. Well not in a ten foot tinny anyway

Edit: Getting keen on getting the tinny going as we just had news today that the water board is going to fill our recreation lake , and that the creek that feeds Natimuk lake is like a sea , so , we will have lakes to boat on this summer. Waaahoooo

The one I use most is a 55lb riptide which would be overkill for your dinghy but it has a built in autopilot which is worth its weight in gold

Just be aware of the metal versus PVC shaft thing .

Another important thing to think about is a battery . Tip: dont scrimp here , beg borrow or steal (ok maybe dont steal ) and get the best qual deep cycle battery you can afford .

Cool thanks for the info. I reckon I will go for the 40lb Endura which should do what I want

I bought a Javis marina watersnake (dont quote me but I think 48 lbs of thrust) a few years ago. I used it as the only power for my 4.3 meter kat (old sundance 4.3 racng kat with the mast removed and some plywood decking to create a personal mobile jetty) for bream fishing in the port river south australia. Worked a treat as long as I didnt want to go more than around 7 or 8 kph. Ive since bought a 3.5 HP 2 stroke that gets me 19 kph flat out according to the gps. And all the noise and smoke that goes with it.

So I spent I think 350$ for my electric new from kmart, and 500$ second hand on the petrol outboard a few years later. If not for the fact that I plan on doing a month long cruise of the Murray river on a deckchair, I would have stuck with the electric and spent the 500$ on more battery. Even for the murray trip it was a tossup tween petrol and solar/wind. On the 120 amphour battery I had a range of somthing like 6 km flat out from memory (ie 6 km before I needed to turn around and head back, but that was thrashing the battery a bit tho I got more from lower speeds. Crawling along a shore at a pace only fast enough so that each time you threw a lure you were a few feet further along the bank allowed seemingly unlimited use.

+1 on buy the best battery you can. I bought a 120 hour deep cycle lead acid number that wasnt marine grade. It still works 4 years later and is now my battery backup to my aquaponics system, but doesnt have the capacity it used to have.

Electric outboards are great in a little boat. There is something about silent boating that just feels right .

My little kat has 2 hulls at only 8 inches wide at the widest so a dingy will not perform as well, although at the lowest end of the throttle, I doubt it would make much difference. The only downside is power - headwinds make a lot of difference to your ability to get home.

Thanks for that. I will have to keep in mind the wind direction etc yes. The boat has a mostly flat bottom with a V bow so should have a lot of drag.
Damn motor still hasnt turned up and I ordered it on the 9th, but check the new thread of mine, I dont need the boat at the moment.