Testing My DIY Kayak Trolling Motor Mount & Watersnake T24 Impressions
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Testing out my DIY Kayak Trolling Motor Mount at Elliot Heads and give you my Thoughts and Impressions on the WaterSnake T24 Trolling Motor.
It started of with Pretty Awful condition on the water. This was a perfect time to put the Motor and the Mount to the Ultimate Test. After some Choppy water conditions and a Ripping Current, the Sun decided to poke out from the clouds and the winds began to calm. It ended up being a pretty lovely day after that.
I think you can tell in the video that i was extremely Happy with both my DIY Mount (which i have a full video of the build process) and the Trolling Motor. Anyone thinking of getting a trolling motor to power along your kayak, i must say it's a worth while upgrade.
I Hope you enjoyed this video as much as i did making it.
Stay tuned for more content dropping soon.
Just bought the same motor but with the kayak mount glad to see that it seems to work well just gotta get a battery now
I love seeing all the different kayak setups. Today's Kayaks are one man boats. I have my 2023 Oldtown Autopilot 120. I also run my Bixpy J2 PP 768, On my stern. I could've gone with the NK 300. Someday I will. But it's going to lift the bow out of the Water. I run the Bixpy to my spots, then I'll use my Minnkota and spotlock. It's truly a one man boat. At 5ft 7 155. I can walk all over her, and fish from my tank well, backpack, and my open deck. 💯 🌊 🛶 🎣. But that's a cool setup bro.
Thanks mate, not to bad for a cheapie. done some good mods to her over the years. one day i hope to make a video about it.
We were paddling in that exact spot last night fighting against the tide to get back to the ramp, it was a rough slog. Ordered my watersnake this morning hahah
Yeah the tide can definitely Rip through Elliot heads and even Burnett Heads. On Low speed it can feel like it's not even moving against stronger currents. But the High speed is enough for it to overcome the current. Enjoy mate 👍. Certainly allows me to conserve my energy for fishing 😂
Great informative review , you still happy with it mate as I am looking at one myself = cheers.
Hey Warren, Cheers mate. Yes I'm still really happy with it. I'm yet to do a follow up video, however I can say that it works much better when mounted on the Stern. It my more recent fishing videos you can see how its now rear mounted and the steering is way better. When it was side mounted it did work okay. however to go straight you needed to have it on a slight angle, to counter the fact that its mounted to the side of the yak. And it seemed to turn better in one direction over the other. If you cant rear mount it, I'd still say its worth it. Just make sure you buy a Lifepo4 battery. the weight savings of the battery is worth the money. I'll get around to doing a Detailed review in the future. Hope that helps Warren.
Cheers 👍
@@CastingAwayDepression Thank you for your reply mate - cheers !!!
awesome video. did you need your rudder? was tracking straight an issue having the motor on one side?
Excellent video!
This is such a great video, I decided to make one like this. My only concern is I bought US 1 1/4 inch square aluminum with 1/8 inch walls and it’ll weigh 3 lbs when done. Too heavy ?
sorry i didn't see this earlier mate. hopefully yours turned out great. 3lbs Isn't that bad at all mate.
Hey mate ive got the same yak is the 24lb to quick for trolling lures in rivers?
nope it just perfect, and there is two speeds on it anyways, so depending on current you all good. also people to PWM mods to the controls so you can dial in the speed.
Thanks for sharing, mate.
I hope the floods on your side of our big island aren't causing you too much grief.
I'm on the west coast and thinking of getting into the kayak fishing.
The 10 Mk2 looks interesting, what are your honest thoughts on it?
Cheers.
Cheers Mate, All good over on my side. I'm too far up north to be in the flood zones thankfully.
My honest thought on the NG10 MK2:
Price is hard to beat for a new kayak with all the extra's included. It Definitely holds up to the weight ratings. I'm 6'1 and way heavier than i should be + all my stuff loaded in.
I've never tried standing on it, I don't feel comfortable trying to balance the kayak with my weight, But having said that. I do own the stabilizers and still haven't needed to use them.
Front area is hard to reach while sitting down. Honestly, I'd say if your looking for new, the prices is hard to beat for what your getting. I'll do a 4-6 hours sesh in it before me bum gets sore. and I need to go to shore to stretch out.
If I had the money I would buy something larger like a Hobie. But honestly you looking at 3 times the price minimum. And honestly it's doing the job just fine. Getting me on the water and catching fish and I feel safe on it. Hope that helps mate. 👍
Hi are the red the back cords that come with the water snake are they water proof
No the use alligator clips on the end, i cut them off and used a Anderson plug instead but that still isn't waterproof. if your looking for a cheap waterproof connection that can handle the Amps. look into Solar panel MC4 connectors. I'm using those now.
@@CastingAwayDepression thank you I will look at them now cause my alligator clips are rusting already and I haven't even took my kayak out yet I've just been getting it ready thanks for your help i will look at them now
Hey mate what battery are you using with the motor??
50aH Lifepo4 is all I need. 😁
Great video! Are you using any sort of circuit breakers or voltage regulator for the lithium battery? I just got the same motor and so confused about what battery to get! Thanks!
Hey Mate, I'm glad you reached out. As it Turns out, I've just received my new battery and would be happy to give you some advice/ suggestions. I'm using a Lifepo4 battery. WAY lighter than a AGM / Lead Acid. about a 3rd of the weight. I use a 30 amp auto resetting circuit breaker you could use a 25 amp instead. The motor will draw a max of 20 amps per hour. you can buy these from auto stores. (autobarn / supercheap if your in Australia) NAVARA Brand about $8-12 AUD.
The Battery on the other hand is the most expensive part. If your okay with the weight and your yak / craft can handle it. you could just buy a 50-75ah Deep cycle marine battery around $200/$250 they weigh around 20KG. or you can get a 50ah Lifepo4 battery they weigh around 6.8KG much smaller. They cost around $400-$450. And don't require a voltage regulator. The trolling motor has been fine excepting 13.5v down to 12v
I'm going to do a review on the 2nd lifepo4 battery soon. they are based in Brisbane Australia. But if your from the USA there are lots of great brand available (battleborn) comes to mind.
@@CastingAwayDepression That's great mate. I am looking at the lithium battery assortment at the moment for my build. Thinking about the 50ah size for cost and weight. Awaiting your review :)
I am building my mount from an alloy roof rack rail, so lets see how it comes up. I note that you still have a round bar installed behind your mount? curious as to why. My thoughts are to use a star mount each side and construct a removeable solution for easy transport and set up without tools.👍
@@daveinoz7813 Awesome mate, then your going to love this new battery I just got, I'll do the review within the next week or so. It's 50ah and I just ran it over the last 3 days at a fishing comp and performed perfectly. 👌
Love this mate! I watched your other video on how to make the motor mount and I'm enjoying seeing you on the water with it all set up. In the water, does the T24 handle current well or does it barely feel like you're making ground against current on low/full settings?
Cheers Michael 👍 In my experience and testing. I have maxed out at 7.7 KM/h that going with tide / light winds. On average will travel between 4 - 5 KM/h (tested with my Garmin striker 4). The difference between low and high is maybe 2 KM/h. In all the times i have used it now at least 20 times to date. I've only encountered Two areas where the current was to overwhelming. One was during an incoming tide though the hole in the wall. its only about 3 meters wide and has a river that 500 Meters Wide gushing into it. I just paddle out of the hole in the wall and then the motor was fine. The second was when testing for the first time, i went down when there had been a lot of flood water dumping into the river, the current was ripping out, even small boats (9HP) were struggling. so at that stage i was barely moving. Really it's going to depend on how strong the current is in the systems you'll want to be fishing at. For the most part i think for around $150 there pretty good value. I'f you buy one and it doesnt meet your expectations maybe you could return it and consider going to the 30/36lb Watersnake Venom range. however you'll be going from 20Amps/hour to over 30-35Amps/hour. Anyways Hope that helped you out. Let me know how you go mate 😎
@@CastingAwayDepression thanks mate that is super handy and useful info! :D I only recently got a kayak so considering the T24 and you've been really helpful with sharing your insights. I'll let you know if I end up getting one in the future it seems like more fun than paddling around that's for sure.
@@FishingWithMichaelTruong Awesome! your going to love kayak fishing I'm sure. I think the best thing about having the motor, is the confidence to travel further away than you would be comfortable paddling. Good luck mate
@@CastingAwayDepression 100% man. I'm with you on that line of thinking. It will open up new areas of fishing for me as I mostly fish landbased anyway :)
Can you do a video of it set up on the rear pls m8
Yes i plan to eventually, Thanks for you Interest. 😉
Come fishing with us here in Brazil... you'll understand why we call it the house of monsters :)
Ohh I would love to Fish overseas one day. Brazil sounds lovely. Maybe I can motor over with my watersnake. See you in 15 years haha
@@CastingAwayDepression The doors are open... whenever you want, just come... We fish a lot from kayak here too...
Nice video. That rumbling noise sounds like your prop is sucking down some air. An anti-ventilation plate on the pylon just below water level should prevent it. Turbulent flow behind the round pylon adds to the problem so a streamlined fairing should also reduce vibration and air bubbles.
Very Interesting. I'll have to look up anti-ventilation plate. Since this video the trolling motor is now located on the rear. It sits much lower in the water now which has helped it greatly. But I'm always keen to seen if I can improve things. 👍
Hi mate. Is the motor gonna be damaged if the kayak tipped out?
Hey Gzjsm, If left how it is out of the box then Yes! The head of the motor where the switches are, is not sealed. And also where the wires run down the shaft to the actual motor doesn't have a water tight seal either.
However, If you took the head off. And then used some silicon to plug up the shaft where the wires go down to the motor, you could protect the motor itself. And if water got into the head where the switches are, then you could just replace the switches. Just make sure you have an inline fuse to protect the motor if it were to tip.
Hope that helps mate. 👍
Crocs?
nah not down this far south.. it is possible but highly unlikely.
ciao scusa che batteria c hai montato lbs e che durata ha a questa velocita'???'?
50ah Lifepo4 it weighs 6.9KG (15lbs) It lasts about 2 - 2.5 hours full speed and can get me approx. 14km (8.6miles). hope that helps :D
Got a 55lb. Might give it a go.
Yeah totally. It's a game changer. saves your arms for pulling in those big fish 😁
@@CastingAwayDepression I have a Bay Sports 3.2 pedal yak, but I might try my Watersnake down the drive hole one day.
@@mudbutton2 100% the go to put it down the pedal drive hole. I have mine mounted on the rear of my yak now and use the rudder cables to steer with the foot pedals. Recommend a Lifepo4 battery if you haven't selected a battery yet. much, much lighter and more energy dense. 👍
@@CastingAwayDepression Yeah I have a 110ah FPV power for my tinny but will go around a 50ah for the yak