Torqueedo 403 ultra light

I recently purchased 2018 Hobe revolution 13. I am going to install a Torqueedo 403 ultra light on the rear. I am not sure whether to hook it up directly to the rudder or have it in a stationary position. I would appreciate any advice. Also if anybody has any installation tips they could share with me. I would very much appreciate it. I may have Extra battery for sale if anybody is interested. The battery will be brand-new factory fresh it's the 11 Amp Hour batter for the 403 ultra light. thank you

I just purchased the 403 from Defender Industries for $1,565 delivered. It will show $1,799 till you place it in your cart. With that say you may want to wait till March 1st to order. The word on the street is that Torqeedo is coming out with some big news in the next week or two. Supposedly they are going to offer a "build you motor" option. I don't know if that's true or not, BUT that's the rumor.

Thanks for the info I think it’s too late for me. Already a done deal

I vote for the stationary position with a kick-up feature in case you hit something. Today I tried out my Bixpy motor with attachments for the drive and one for the rudder, long story short....I want total control of my rudder.

I also feel you will be much better served with the ball mount and the flip up mount, keep the motor off the rudder, (bad idea).
With the swing up mount you can tie into your steering and steer the motor as well, though not usually neccessary).
We have outboards on our TI, and keep them locked straight, and steer with the main rudder, works just fine. If the rudder fails, we can always unlock the motors and steer with them as a backup.
FE

I mounted my 403 using Tom Kirkman's method (search on these boards for them). Essentially I removed all the mounting equipment, made Tom's PVC holder to mount the motor into a rod holder.

Benefits:
- no need to leave the Torqeedo mounting hardware on the kayak.
-> lighter!!!
-> easier to car top
- no holes to drill in the kayak for the Torqeedo mounting hardware
- no extra ropes to flip up the mount; just reach over and pull the motor out of the rod holder.
- in the waters I fish, it can be weedy at times. Very easy to lift the motor out one handed and clear the weeds fouling the propeller (MAKE sure to remove the safety magnetic switch first!!!)
- no disrespect to Mr Kirkman ... but I love the DIY'y look of the PVC mount. I've actually been complimented for the DIY ingenuity (I give all credit to Tom). Makers with more skill than myself can make that look more professional

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the hardest thing to find was the 'conduit hanger'. But you can buy them from Amazon.

Sangorei, would you mind posting a picture of your setup? I am following your path with a 403 for my TI
Cheers, and thanks for your post

Sorry, I don't have any pictures. But Tom's brilliant design is flexible to work with most any type of motor with a shaft.

Search for 'hobie mount kirkman' on youtube, and Tom himself explains how to make one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07f-Ojs2bUs

From a recent post, here's a post with images that shows how a Bixpy user uses the same idea

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... 15#p298924

Thanks, Sangorei!

Yep, I found the pictures and video you refer me to, thanks. As you, I am having the biggest problem finding the conduit hanger: if the shaft is 1-3/4 inches in diameter, there seem to be no conduit hangers for that size... Did you use a different size and adapted the fit? That's the main reason I was asking for a picture

Cheers

Not sure a picture would have helped ...

But these search terms should work when googling amazon

1-Inch Steel Conduit Hanger with Bolt and Nut

I found them on both amazon.com and from my country's amazon.

Hint: order more than 2 ... I'm finding mine are rusting out even though I coated them with rubber since I fish a lot in the salt and I'm guessing my rinsing off routine needs a bit more refinement!

BTW someone from Torqeedo also recommended spraying down the cable contacts with WD-40 every month or so

I forgot to add another 'refinement' I made.

I cut some drawer slip proof rubber mats to put between the conduit hanger and the shaft. It helped prevent the shaft from turning around.

Thanks, Sangorei. In your post, you recommend looking for 1-inch conduit hangers, and those are easy to find (as well as 1.5-inch). But isn't the 403 shaft 1.75 inches thick? Do you fit the 1.75 diameter shaft into the 1-inch conduit hanger?

Sorry to bug you with this, I have not received the 403 yet from Defender Marine (ETA a few more days). I am biting at the bit to install it, so all of this is pre-preparation

I can't remember whether I measured the shaft diameter when I made my setup. I'll take a measurement tonight and post later.


The conduit material is flexible enough to handle a range of pipe sizes. I actually had to drill another hole opposite of the one that was there to get a better 'clamp' onto the shaft. Plus I rubber dipped the conduit and as I mentioned earlier, also put a sheet of rubber drawer anti slip material between the conduit and the shaft, so obviously the 1" conduit was enough to handle the shaft of my 403 (I don't know whether the design would have changed when I bought my Torqeedo in 2016 ... I doubt it.


Worst case, I suppose is to order a couple of sets of both the 1" and the next size you think you will need. I don't think that they were too expensive.

I cleared two errors impacting my question, which was: “considering that the shaft measures 1.75 inches, and there are no 1.75 inch conduit hangers, how can the shaft fit on the hanger?”

The errors were:
* The shaft is actually 1-3/16 inches in diameter (30mm). The information I had found needed an update
* Conduit hangers are specified in two conflicting standards. The Amazon 1 inch ones that i had bought were designed to hold conduits 1 inch in EXTERNAL diameter. They are too small. BUT when I went to a local hardware store (Lowe’s) I found that there are also hangers specified for 1” EMT, which is an acronym for the conduit’s INTERNAL diameter. A 1”EMT conduit measures 1-1/4 on the ourside diameter.

In a nutshell: 1” EMT conduit hangers (also called #2) perfectly hold the 1-3/16 shaft. Thanks Sangorei for your patience!

I would love to add a trolling motor to my PA14 but wow that seems like a lot of money. It really would help me on those 10 mile fishing trips in salt water

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"Fish Finder" on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQFaYf ... irmation=1

Lots of Kayak DIY videos