Which Kayak to put trolling motor on?

I took a 14 ft Hobie Pro Angler out for a test drive today and it was very nice. Most of my fishing will be in lakes or big tanks (7-11 acres). If you were going to buy a kayak to put a trolling motor on which one would you buy? Im trying to decide to go cheaper kayak ($1000-1500) plus trolling motor or Hobie for twice as much.

If any of you guys have trolling motors on yours can you post pics?

Are you buying a trolling motor + battery or do you already have them?

Complete new setup. I don't want a big bass boat. I want a kayak and I am thinking about adding a trolling motor.

I would check out the Nucanoe Frontier or the new Pursuit. Both have sterns designed to put a trolling motor on.

If you are fishing less than 100 acres, a trolling motor is more trouble than it's worth. I have a trolling motor, battery, and mount for my kayak. I only use it at one lake where the only ramp is a mile from where I want to fish in the winter/spring

I use a trolling motor on the following, it makes for a great day of fishing.

Super Fishel
Big Tuna
Cuda 14
Big Rig

Yes these are all Jackson Kayaks, if you want to try one out or need help installing one let me know.

Typical setup will run the following

Minn Kota 30 $100.00 use this on all due to the battery will last about 8 hours.
wheel Chair Battery at battery plus $80.00 and weighs 25 lbs

The rest just depends on if want a push pull or rudder version and the control. Typically I use push pull and built control box @$50.00.

Wilderness Systems Commander!

Looking at all these the Nucanoe Pursuit is looking pretty good.

That PA 14 you tested? Take a look here:

trolling motor idea

He was selling these for $250, as I recall, but I believe they are now $300. What is nice here is that it uses one of the cassette blanks and the existing Hobie opening. In another video, he shows you how to build it yourself.

I agree with the poster who mentioned that less than 100 acres, I'd say even 200 acres, a trolling motor is often more trouble than it is worth. And, you will have to register your kayak here in Texas.

Propulsion is rarely an issue with a good kayak. With a Hobie PA14 you have both peddles and paddles to move you around, even sails.

The puzzle to solve, if managed at a reasonable price? The first kayak manufacturer that comes up with an electronic device to "hold position" for fishing. The thing wouldn't have to be much bigger than an electric egg beater, a mini-version of the same system available for big bass boats. I believe the Hobie 17T has one now like this and it was shown at the ICAST 2015. But, it will cost an arm and a leg.

Brad

If you have built in rod holders you could mount one to any yak. Here's my rig !

I have a 55# MotorGuide on my Commander. I bought the TM and a marine starting battery for $100 on Craigslist. I made the steering bracket to work with my rudder controls. I have about $135 in my setup, and it works great. If I'm not in too much grass, I run a 6"x 10" gas model airplane prop and it runs 5 mph. And let me tell you, I've had several guys tell me they can paddle 5 mph and they can't. I have one friend that can keep up with me and he has a OK Trident 15. Other than a Tarpon 16, I doubt if any other fishing kayak can keep up for long.

I did and it's the Commander. It's already made for a rear mount, has lots of room, light weight, two seating positions, and super stable for standing. I love the kayak so much I haven't put a motor on it because I would have to take it off in a tourney . So I just keep paddling it for now.

I don't see anyone mentioning the Torqeedo Ultralight 403. Is that because we are talking just trolling motors or because the price tag is a little on the high end. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Jackson Big Rig and plan to retro it with the Torqeedo at some point. The selling point for me is the weight at just 16 pounds.

A little on the high end? List is $1799, and I seriously doubt anyone is discounting them. The 6 lbs difference in weight is a non issue for me.

If you read my post, I have less than $150 in my set up. But even if you figure a rudder kit and some fabrication cost, you're out $600 at the most. That's one third the cost for at least 80% of the performance, maybe more.

I could go buy one now, but I won't spend that kind of money on that product just because someone says that is what it's worth. Besides, I made mine myself. I like that.

I have to agree with Bass Art.
Small trolling motors are cheap and easy to come by. Usually cutting the shaft down to about 24" is ideal but not necessary. There are a lot of ways to mount a trolling motor as well using a few pieces of scrap PVC pipe and a little bit of trial and error to figure it out.
Youtube has a ton of ideas and they all work and get the job done.

Bass Art, I just want to confirm the weight of your setup is 22lbs including battery? If so you have a winner there.

Look up watersnake trolling motor. my buddy uses it on his pa14 and it is removable where your feet paddle goes.http://www.watersnakeusa.com/motors/transom/asp.html

No, my TM weighs about 22 lbs. The Torqeedo uses a Wh 320 lithium ion battery, which is basically a 25 amp hour battery. It will weigh 9-10 lbs. So, evidently their 403 weighs about 6 lbs. That's pretty light.

I have a 35 amp-hour AGM battery that weighs about 20#, and it works well for 2-3 hour trips. If I'm going for a whole day, I use my standard 115 amp-hour deep cycle battery. Yeah, it's heavy. But like I said, I have maybe $150 in the whole setup-TM, battery, controls, steering bracket....I can get more than 3 hours of run time on high, and when I get my PWM controls put together, I'm sure I can fish for a couple of days on a charge as long as I can put in near where I'm going to fish.

I know that Torqeedo sells motors, so someone sees value in their product. I'm sure they are slick products, I just don't see the value for me.