pirogue X two | Page 6 | SouthernPaddler.com

pirogue X two

captaindoug

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2009
142
0
71
Tampa Bay, Florida
The Bassyak company. http://www.bassyaks.com has a very similar system, with the exception of their peddles, which slide on a rail instead of rotating on a hinge. All these, including all my far fetched ideas, have one thing in common, they are all SYSTEMS, full of complications of one sort or another. The first thing I am going to try is to cut down the motor shaft and use the Minn Kota tiller extension I have and see if the swivel chair will make the tiller drive comfortable enough. Plain and simple first.
Clam%20Bayou%20003.jpg

If you picture the motor cut down, you can see the tiller reaches to the seat in the middle, almost, but my reach is 6'-2, so that is plan A.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
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Central , Florida
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It is easier to pull a chain then to push it. With your set up a person could sit in the back , have the motor up front with the battery and that weight to help balance the boat. If you decided to paddle then you are at the narrowest part of the boat making paddling easier.

A bow mount with a extended foot control would do the same but cost a lot more. You found a way to get around the cost. :D

Chuck.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
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Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Kayak Jack said:
Beekeeper (of the buzzless kind), As I see that rig, you were able to twist for speed control too?

The handle on a trolling motor controls the speed , off and on and even the reverse of it , for Jack , that is when you want to go backwards....... Not Forward. Then the speed of it is still controlled with the handle of the trolling motor , for either direction.

Chuck ...........
 

captaindoug

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2009
142
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71
Tampa Bay, Florida
Pretty neat Beekeeper, and you guys ain't just "pushin' my leg" when you say it steers better from the bow. That is how I had the Minn Kota rigged on my flats skiff. I turned the head around and used the transom mount TM on the bow. Unfortunately, the mount is made to be used 180 from that, and if you bump the bottom with it mounted on the bow, well let's just say the bracket takes exception to that kind of treatment. My flats boat was big enough to stand right over the top of the motor and you could see if you were about to hit bottom and pull it up before you broke something, whereas this little boat probably won't see the day with me standing in the bow. My fishin' spots are shallow, to shallower and bumpin' bottom is a fact o' life. Hence, (always wanted to use that word...) in my case I am thinking transom mount for the motor's safety. Nothing saying I couldn't use the same kind of set-up though. Thanks for the responses, different ideas in the pot, I'm gonna come up with the recipe sooner or later.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Thanks, Jimmy, right.

BeeKeeper, While it's obvious that you steer with a push-pull motion, I was wondering about the speed adjustment with a twist. The Yooper* Engineering trick of using screw-eyes for a universal joint is admirable. It looks, as best as I can see in the photos, as if when the push-pull rod is lined up with the motor control handle - maybe +- 30 degrees - you can twist the rod and the speed control will respond on the motor. Maybe outside of that range, or some similar range, those screw-eyes will kink up?

* "Yooper" is a short term for folks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (abbreviated as U.P. - thus Yooper) While childish in their innocent naivete, :wink: they are experts in doing things with their brains and hands. Especially if it involves poaching deer or fish, you betcha. Ask Piper San
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
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The speed is 5 forward clockwise twist. Clicks counterclockwise = reverse. Dead center is off. The eye screw joint allows at least a 90 degree swing without a problem. They have never locked. A bracket mounted across the top rails would allow the motor to kick back as if it was mounted on the transom. A similar steering/speed control set up could be adapted to the motor mounted on the transom. not saying my set up is best. Just offering ideas.


beekeeper
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
My motor has unlimited speeds, and works the same as yours. I'm pleasantly surprised that the screw-eyes don't jamb up! That makes them usable for other applications that I hadn't thought of. Thanks for the good ideas.
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
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Kayak Jack said:
My motor has unlimited speeds, and works the same as yours. I'm pleasantly surprised that the screw-eyes don't jamb up! That makes them usable for other applications that I hadn't thought of. Thanks for the good ideas.

Befor you try them I need to make it clear, the motor must be faceing in a more or less forward direction to operate the on/off, forward/reverse, and speed changes. They have not locked up while steering. I also remembered the orginal designed I saw was for a transom mounted motor, so I know it will work for a motor mounted there. A motor with a bow mount and foot controll would probably work better, but would add considerable weight and expense. All depends on what game we want to play.

beekeeper
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
One thing I do not like about the trolling motors is the fact there is a torpedo at the end of the shaft which is attached at the middle of it. Does not matter if it is at the bow or stern mount. They are twins as far as that is concerned.

That torpedo will not slide over an obstetrical ( Log or branch ) if it is caught above that torpedo then the end of the shaft catches it. It has two choices , either above it which means the motor becomes an instant anchor putting a lot of strain on the motor , shaft , motor mount and transom to stop the forward movement. Or it bounces over it if the depth of the item is just right and slightly lower then the center of that torpedo ( Trolling motor unit ) .

If there was just some way to get rid of that factor , besides using it in open water.........

Outboard motors are built so they slide over the problems , including shallow water. They just kick up and complain till you pass over it.

Chuck............
 

captaindoug

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2009
142
0
71
Tampa Bay, Florida
Dry run before we tote the boats to the water.
johns%20truck%20010.jpg

Definitely need to rebuild the oars, as in spend some time with my belt sander, one is way past the specs called out in the catalog (larger diameter), so it doesn't want to rotate properly in the oarlock. Typical stuff, "Do it again, Doug". I will have to fight those neoprene oar "leathers" to get them off, then spend some time thinning the the oar shafts on my old table belt sander. The blades seem very heavy in their profile, I might thin them down a bit also.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
They look like real thumb-pinchers. Need a bit more oar outboard, and a bit less inboard, ehh? The edges of the blades are evident in your pictures. I thinned a paddle blade starting with a SurForm wood rasp. After lots of that, I sanded, and then epoxified.

I've never rowed a boat with oar leathers; always had oar locks. I might well like leathers better, simpler. They might be interesting; at least they wouldn't squeak.
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
you did a good job

be careful with that belt sander, it'll remove a lot of wood quickly

don't be afraid to try a blade - like a small block plane or a spokeshave