Hello all. Newbie here. Just sold my Nitro Z7 bass boat and bought a Hobie Pro Angler 14 with the Mirage 360 drive...and am trying to properly trick it out to the best of my abilities
. I wasn't really planning to install an electric propulsion motor until I took it out to the lake for the first time this past weekend and realized how tiring it can be sometimes trying to get across the lake with some strong (and typical)Oklahoma wind in your face. I was really impressed with the 360 drive for the most part, but just saying that a day on the lake with wind and trying to cover different areas across the lake can be a major physical challenge for an old retired Army guy like myself. So, I've been trying to do some research on options, and it seems like every one of them kind of asks you to sacrifice something else. The Texas Power Paddle looks like a really great option, just don't quite understand how to translate "moderate pedaling speed" to thrust pounds...and also would require me to move my transducer from my guardian (which I already have mounted with a BerleyPro protector for it) to a mounted pole or something. The price is pretty high too, especially considering the vague power thrust capability. "moderate pedaling speed" may very well end up being a good capability, but it's hard to use for comparison to other competitor options. The best thing about this though appears to be it's stealthiness...I'm not sure anyone would know that you even have it unless you pointed it out.
The Torqeedo option appears to be limited to the rear install on the power pole mount. The good news is that I happen to have a power pole mount! The bad news is that I purchased it so that I could mount a Power Pole, and it appears that if I go with a rear mount propulsion option...that I'll have to give up the Power Pole (one or the other, not both) The Torqeedo is the most expensive option that I'm seeing, and it's a pretty visible install (granted, so is a power pole...but it's still quite the contraption on the back there)
The Bixpy Jet seems to be very similar to the Torqeedo option at the best price of them all and it appears to be a little more compact setup overall (I could be wrong...just going off of the googling of images and videos that I've seen). The Torqeedo appears the advantage over the bixpy in terms of thrust, but the bixpy does advertise 32 pounds of static thrust and that's a pretty decent capability for the price. I'd still be faced with the Power Pole choice though.
Are there any other options out there that I haven't considered, or any recommendations?