This is my first post here on Hobie Forums.
I own a 2017 Pro Angler 17T ("Ivory Dune" model with 180 Mirage drives).
I love the boat. And access to motorless lakes is a leading factor for me to own one.
But there are times where it is simply convenient to have a motor to provide powered return from a day out on the lake.
I have been here (and scoured a gret many other sites across the Internet) looking for ideas on how to fabricate a suitable outboard motor mount. I landed on gas powered because, quite frankly, I am not a fan of electric on land let alone water. But finding a way to mount a small portable outboard eluded me.
That is to say, until this spring.
What you see below is the result of combining several products together to in what I intended to be a "wrenches only" installation. For the most part that has been a success -- tho admittedly I will be reinforcing the base mount with 1/2" bolts(through hull) and 1" washers to provide clamping force .
The parts:
OneObjective Hobie Mounting Plate
Newport Trolling Motor Transom Motor Mount
Honda BF2.3 HP 4 stroke outboard motor
The steel Newport transom mount is finished with a high quality powder coat. It is quite heavy and feels very well built. The Newport transom is pre-drilled with a 4.75" x 3.75" industry standard "power pole" bolt pattern that matches up precisely with the holes on OneObjective's polymer mounting plate. Connecting these was a simple matter of puchasing some mounting hardware from my local auto bolt & fastener store.
Here are a few shots of the assembly prior to installation on the watercraft:
And immediately after installation.
The process involves removal of the OEM plastic cover for the rudder controls:
Reaching this point in my project led me to the largest and arguably most important decision -- motor selection. At 29.5 lbs, the Honda BF2.3 was already a lead choice.
But like most morons I did look at larger engines. Because bigger is better, right?
But to be honest the idea of ever having to portage the BF5's 61 lbs of dry weight as I roll into my mid-50s just does not appeal to me in the least.
The next issue was fuel consumption. I understand that the BF2.3 gets up to 1 hour of runtime on a single tank (1.1 L) of gas.
But the biggest "check" it had to pass was the transom mount. In simplest terms, it had to fit "wrenches only" with no additional procurement, fabrication, etc. In this regard the matchup looks like it was designed to fit that way.
Here are a few more shots showing the mechanical lock up:
I'm pretty satisfied with the overall results. I still need to rig an extended safety kill lanyard. Important. But not difficult. And I am going to need to take my boat cover in to my sail guy to modify it to accomodate the motor. I will follow on about that another day.
But in the meantime I am looking forward to launching on the Manitoba Red River. The weather is picking up and the fishing this year is going to be great. Hope you enjoy the write up. Feel free to comment. I hope it takes some of you who are also looking for solutions in a positive direction.
Best,
Greg Popik
Advanture Outdoors
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