Well guys/gals,
The project is officially finished! I hope I'm still welcome here (refer to the second picture to see why)! What started out as a crazy idea just a few weeks ago finally came to fruition.
Originally I was looking for a way to motorise my paddle board to spice things up a little bit - especially with the weight of the kids and gear on it. I thought it would be fun to putz around on the water with relatively low effort. I'd come across the classic powered fins and some home-brew transoms for electric trolling motors, though that wasn't doing it.
After I got my second BOTE board this summer, I thought that it would be cool to find a way to connect them since they're the same length and match. I was contemplating trying to find a way to link up two of the RAC systems but that seemed a little tedious. Still though, I was thinking of finding a way to ratchet strap the boards together with some 2x4's and stick a trolling motor inbetween them. What I didn't like about this idea though is that it didn't create any additional space. There's two adults and two kids, plus all the gear/food/etc. Alas, this still seemed like a more stable way to go about things and keep us all together - as not to leave the other board behind.
I found quite a number of DIY videos for linking boards together, though none really tickled my fancy. I like a nice clean simple look and a lot of the builds I found just looked a little out of place. Nothing necessarily wrong with them, though just not my style. I did eventually discover that businesses actually make conversion kits for boards and I almost purchased this, but back to the fact that the square footage didn't increase. It would have been great for the two of us, but not the whole family. I do like how basic the design is - which drew me in. On the right track, though not quite there yet. The search continues...
So here I am thinking... I'm after a large surface area, but I want it to be able to move under its own power. I was looking and looking for some sort of inflatable dock. The problem with the docks is that they're square and even though they can be towed, they aren't really meant to be powered. At this point, I wasn't really sure what to type in to Google to get me what I wanted. I thought about ditching the 'inflatable' part all together and getting a small boat, but I didn't want bench seats. I really enjoy the open space of the paddle boards - especially offering the ability to lay down and stretch out in the sun. The last thing I wanted was to confine myself even more.
The second issue that I was facing was the ability to mount a motor to whatever it be that I purchased. It's got to be somewhat structurally sound to be able to handle the weight.
After racking my brain for quite some time, I actually ended up on the same website that I had already been on - featuring the conversion kit that I linked. The boat I ended up purchasing pretty much checked all the boxes for me. It's size/design was the main selling point. It offers a a full size foam padded deck space with the ability to tie down all sorts of gear - and still plenty of room to spare. My only hesitation on this purchase was the transom. I wish they had made a solid fiberglass transom that spanned the width of the boat. Alas, if the removable transom that it came with hadn't worked, I had already schemed up an alternative fix for such.
Moving on... Now that I've found a boat, I needed a way to make it move - that wasn't my own body. I skipped right over all the outboard options due to cost. A modern day 4 stroke engine would have run me $1500 or so - if not more depending on HP rating. I debated a trolling motor, though didn't like the idea of having a battery on the board with me. I'm not sure how I came to the conclusion of a mud motor, but here we are. I stumbled across them after I'd seen a handful of videos with people racing them in canoes in Thailand. Thought that that idea looked super cool (even if mine wasn't a turbodiesel V8). Long story short, I then did some research on mud motors and ended up purchasing a 6.6 HP Max Performance engine from Harbor Freight and Twister engine kit from MudSkipper. Part of the reason I stuck with the mud motor is because I wanted something that you don't see every day. I wanted something outlandish that would turn heads at the lake and thought that this might be the perfect way to do so.
At this point, I still had some doubts about this project turning out the way I wanted it to, but I was in too deep by this point so whatever happens happens. I received the Twister kit last week and assembled everything to get it operational. This past weekend, I was able to do a function test out on the water with it attached to a 12' rowboat. Motor performed well under load and didn't have any issues. We had a lot of fun and definitely turned a few heads (even though we weren't going fast). HA. Received a number of compliments and found some inquisitive people.
Today, I finally received the catamaran in the from FedEx after I got home from work. I got it blown up (by hand - no less) and immediately test fit the motor. I was actually pleasantly surprised with how stiff the board is. It's pumped up to the same 15 PSI that the boards are, though I was worried about the stern sagging with all the engine weight. The motor is a heavy son of a gun coming in at around 75lbs, but the board/boat help it up perfectly. Granted, these are in optimal conditions on land. We will see what happens this weekend when I take it out to the lake.
ANYWAYS, just wanted to share this new chapter in my inflatable watersports adventures and hope that ya'll appreciate! I will be reporting back once I do my first 'sea' trial, so stay posted to see how things go!
TL;DR: I bought a boat, but it's really just a massive paddleboard, so please don't shun me! I still have the other four paddleboards in the garage as well! They aren't going anywhere!
Cheers and thanks for the read!
