trolling motor in mirage drive

PA12 with a 40 thrust MK with the 3 bladed MG prop, 5.2 MPH at peak voltage
at 12.0 volts 4.2mph. 220lb pilot.

let's see if i can post some pic's

figure i'd post up to claim to be the 1st to cram a weed wacker thru a hobie drivewell flamesuit on


i just looked at the other thread started by sisfisto and a john posted a video of someone in asia who had a propane powered weed wacker design in a hobie drive well so i ain't the first

coming in at 12 lbs, has a small tank that holds about 20 oz. of petrol so i carry spare fuel with me. had it up to 6mph in open choppy water but the gps wasn't giving a steady reading it was bouncing up to 6mph .

the motor mount is made of composite decking material,this pic is of my 2nd motormount. i'm on prototype #3 on the motormount which i don't want to show as it is just to clever not as hack or redneck

throttle is by leadfoot

Some random thoughts on this topic:

I wonder if the original PA design team ever imagined that PA owners would be having discussions like this one? I suspect not.

At some level I appreciate the thought and ingenuity that goes into some of the proposals for motorizing the PA. But at a certain point I just have to wonder why not just buy a conventional boat - given the cost and effort involved in some of the proposals and the speed limitations of the hull.

Generally, I've used my PA on smaller lakes without a motor, and I like the quiet and the excercise benefits of the Mirage Drive. I've hung an electric trolling motor off of my PA a couple of times to cover more ground on larger lakes, and it's OK. Great for trolling but not for crossing lakes with any kind of speed - especially if the wind comes up. About 2.5 miles is as far as I want to go in a PA with a trolling motor, it just takes too long to go any further. The experience has actually got me thinking about buying a conventional boat for going beyond the 2.5 mile limit.

I'll admit I'm not a saltwater guy, and maybe this discussion and the motorization proposals make more sense if you're fighting a current/tide in your PA.

Anyway, as I said: just some random thougts.

dfg is a better poser than me.... couldn't get a grip of it's mouth and held it by the gills all sideways

There is a company in Florida that sells this same style motor. Has been in business since 2006.

hi tom, i still have my old island hopper motor from when they still sold to ca. had a 2stroke bridgestone titan engine with their lower gearcase and prop. it's very hard to put a different prop on that gearcase which is the same one they use now. the easiest way to get better performance with that geacase is to cut the prop down that they use from 7in down to 4 or 5in so that the motor doesn't lug and bog down. the clutch engages around 3 thousand rpm and the geacase has only 1.2 to 1 gear ratio so it's almost direct drive. to fit it thru the drivewell it will have to be cut to around 3in to fit thru.it's a shame they went thru all that trouble to come up with a shaft so they could fit an existing prop on. the island hopper has very poor performance compared to what i came up with mostly because of the prop they use is way to big. to keep the motor from bogging the prop has to be able to spin at 3 thousand rpm and more like 5 or 6 thousand rpm to get into the engines powerband

A buddy just bought one of their 4-stroke "outboards." I think it's also a Bridgestone motor/unit. 3-blade outboard type prop.

the engines they have now are 4stroke but the gearcase and prop are the same as before. i tried my honda engine on their unit and it was the same problem. going to 4stroke will not solve the problem of the prop being way to big

also i would like to say when i did test with the gps i was only at 1/4 to 1/2 throttle as the water was choppy. your buddy will find out how the island hopper does when he tests it out..... give it more throttle and it bogs and luggs the engine.

He pushed his 14 foot jon boat up to about 3MPH with it. It never did bog down or seem to have any trouble. We'll know more after he adapts it to his kayak.

My worry is the clutch - unless they put in a larger discs, I don't think these weedeater type units were designed for that type of load.