Motorized Fishing Kayak- Jackson Big Rig (2015)

My Jackson Big Rig fishing kayak outfitted with a Minn Kota trolling motor. Comment below for any questions.

[@TMoua79]

Nice!!! Probably the best setup I’ve seen on KZbin land. Simple and clean!

[@benbaumgartner7460]

Kevin, I just gotta say, you are one lucky bastard! I watch almost all of your videos. Your reviews are extremely helpful. And you are a dynamite fisherman. You are living the dream of a bass fisherman with that kayak. And now you even have a trolling motor handy for you. I love your videos and keep up the great work. Have a good one sir, and thank you!

[@StephenSmithAgape]

I have a Big Tuna and mount my trolling motor using a trolling motor mount in the two rod holders on either side behind the seat and use a tiller extension to control speed and direction. The big advantage to this setup is I have speed control. I use a small gel battery used to power a wheelchair and go half a day on it or I can put in the big battery and easily go all day on a single charge. The main reason I get so much more battery life is that I am not running the motor at full speed, which greatly extends my battery life. Your set is quite nicely done. I also saw a guy take the head control and mount it on the side of his float tube so he had speed control. I would take that head and mount it by your seat and you will find that not only will you get a lot more battery life, you also add a lot of finesse to your handling capability.

[@NickMirro]

I agree! Running at 1/2 - 2/3 power will give you endless running time. I really suggest lithium if you can afford it. 50 Ah's weighs all of 14 lbs. You get to use up 100% of the charge with no harm to the battery.

[@Velcrostraps91]

The creativity on this one is superb. Very nice very neat. Tight work man

[@stuartgoodwin7368]

You plucked half your idea out of my head and gave me a few new idea's, thank you and great job fella.

[@kayakexcursions5570]

That is the perfect setup, you definitely did a great job with that! I want to try to do something like that.

[@helicopterjohns]

Hi Kevin, Congratulations on a nice clean/neat install. Like the remote. Many thanks for sharing. I also use a manual cable steering system on my kayak as a backup to my linear actuator steering system with tilt and trim. I used round/smooth weed eater cable that is the same size as your stainless steel cable. It is less abrasive and you may look at it as a possible alternative. I am working on a prototype to convert the Minn Kota 5 speed units to variable speed. So far the testing looks good. John

[@SeeJojoSenpai]

thank you for giving me awesome ideas for kayak fishing. since I can't afford a boat. keep the videos coming

[@BigKeithDog]

If you can afford this set up, you can afford a boat. My first was a 59 StarCraft 15' runabout that I cut the bow open, added front and rear decks and carpeted them, made a very nice little fishing boat. Total investment, $1100 and a bunch of work. It had a 50 HP two stroke, ran about 45 mph.

[@roguelock7125]

getting a little used Jon boat would be great for fishing and crabbing

[@muddysledge]

I know this is an old Post but this is an excellent build man. It's what I want to do. I have an old troller, 20lb thrust but enough for my purposes. I want to take the control head off of it so it isn't way high up advertising itself, then remount the controls and run a steering linkage. Be proud man, well done.

[@redroofretriever]

Needs the - in the water test run - at the end of this video. Great job and very creative way to propel your kayak.

[@frederickmenu3140]

Nice video Kevin! Yes you can be proud of this work, all the facilities are integrated very well in the kayak. I'm motorising my own kayak this time, and you gave me some ideas. Your mistakes are usefull for me :-). Happy you did some :-). So thanks to you.

[@kevsgonefishing]

Also you might want to check it a producer called a bull nose(I believe) but it's a rudder that mounts to the shaft of the motor, it helps eliminate the "Pushing" that you get from a trolling motor. I have one on my pontoon boat and it helps a lot.

[@michaelpacker9805]

I know this is super late, and probably doesn’t happen often, but if you flip the yak, the weight of the battery will pop your hatch open. I understand that the battery sits upright nice and clean, but you should still consider a battery strap with a simple buckle. Mount it to the wood that you have in there. That way it will keep the battery pulled towards the bottom of the yak if ever flipped. Love the setup man!

[@russellthemuscle6250]

I know I am responding to a very old post but I have this setup on my big rig, I did flip and the battery did open hatch allowing rear of kayak to sink. I was able to swim kayak over to area of river where I could stand waste deep and remove battery and motor, then I pulled kayak up on a log and bailed it. A 2 hour ordeal in alligator infested waters. I am currently looking for ways to get battery out of hatch and have quick disconnect. I would rather lose the battery than the whole kayak.

[@chrisdodsworth7828]

How do you lift the motor when coming into shallow water or beaching

[@thomaskirkpatrick244]

You should be proud! It's a aweosme set up a instruction vid on how you did the transom and electrical parts 😅

[@BigInjun05]

I have an old town kayak angler Xl. Has the removable floor so naturally I drilled a hole in it and put rubber grommets in it and slid the motor up through. No leaks at all. Mounted a waterproof box on my right side with a speed controller so perfect for slow moving fishing. Also added a minnkota deckhand anchor with 100 feet of 1000lb coated kevlar rope. And the 80AH battery keeps me out all day

[@grampa_ahah]

Kevin I have a similar setup but on a non description Future Beach fishing yak. I didn't have the remote. I place the control head in a rod holder next to me. I steer with a push pull stick until I can set up foot pedals. I also included a release mechanism and a tilt rope. Works great. Nice work. Very professional.

[@Distinguished_Hillbilly]

Yours is the best .. let me know when you see this , I have some questions.. us yak’ies gotta stick together

[@m.jmoore654]

Thats the nicest trolling motor mount i have seen yet ..

[@desertlogic222]

The best trolling motor setup I've seen. Badass.

[@JungleJimAB9AB]

Awesome thought process! Thanks for sharing this idea. Great video. This is exactly what KZbin was made for. Keep up the great work.

[@natenhb2495]

Wow! The end product has a really clean finish! Great job!

[@KevinBullington]

+Nate NHB thanks Nate!

[@420sookie]

I HAVE A BIG RIG ALSO.... WITH MOTOR ALSO.... THESE KAYAKS ARE HARDER TO USE THEN MY OTHER . BUT WE GET THE STABLE STANDING FISHING..... SO I LOVE IT....

[@ArcticCoonass]

WOW... Excellent video, gives me all sorts of good ideas for when I purchase my first Kayak!

[@Deliriousintentionsprojects]

I love those kipawa propellers! It adds a lot of power to the throttle action and a lot less weed tangle.

[@KevinBullington]

+DeliriousIntentions very nice props. Treats me very well.

[@miked8227]

Not a kayak guy but definitely admire your set up.

[@jamesschell911]

and I like that you can still tip the trolling motor up for shallow water

[@trainerlance]

Simple yet elegant solution. Great job.

[@bradreid6057]

Kevin, great! Just a thought that what you might do is leave the set of foot pegs that are attached to the cables running back to the TM, just leave them on and push them all the way forward when not it use, then leave the non-attached second set on behind them. I suppose this could be done in the other order depending on leg length and how far forward you have to set the pegs up for paddling. But, this way you wouldn't have to replace them, remove hardware and so on. Brad

[@damavox]

I did a system very similar to this one, I used an adjustable type spring made from hardware from home depot on the pedals to give it power stirring of sorts. That way if I wanted to straighten out I would be fighting left leg against right leg to get it right. I just let off one side of the pedal. The spring straightens the pedals / motor out for me. and it's alot less work.

[@shawnearly6572]

Wow. That is an amazing setup. Iv been looking for a way to use my endura max on my kayak. This is so perfect and cleanly put together.

[@JMD535]

I luv the way you did your Trolling motor! I think I'd consider a "Throttle" on it vs "On/Full Power - Off". Nice work all the same...

[@pkoerner6]

Really clean rigging. Very impressive!!

[@KingJoey.]

That is such a cool setup. I don't trust myself though. Im looking into buying my first kayak and i'd love to be able to using a trolling motor with it.

[@barrythompson6472]

Kevin, please provide more information on the switch. Also have you thought about a variable resistor to control the speed? Outstanding video and craftsmanship on your modifications.

[@CuriousSoulCanada]

This is a smarter setup than the horizontal transversal wooden motor holder design people do for cheap. The only downside is that you will need two guys to put in in the water if you launch from a steep terrain. Itherwise you have to carry this setup one by one and assemble it on the water. i do that on mine

[@normanmilano973]

Really awesome bro, yout did a great job. Excellent video, explanation and in depth review of what toy did

[@shanewinburn2583]

Really nice setup, looks like that would work out great on the water

[@KevinBullington]

Thank you Shane.

[@brandonjohnson1822]

I'd love a set up similar to this...but even easier. I'd like to just have the trolling motor mounted straight, without any steering. I'd have no problem using my paddle to get me turned in the right direction and then just flip the motor on to move me forward. I think it'd be pretty easy to steer while moving using my paddle. Super cool set up, though. Congrats.

[@yiannimigias4024]

This is beyond impressive. I have a cheap dolphin closed top kayak and I feel like it already sits too low in the water to be able to make a system like this. Maybe I should consider an open top instead. I'm not much of an angler but I do enjoy watercraft and being out on the water. so something like this would be amazing

[@michelraymond286]

Very nice setup my friend! Nice and clean job!💙🎣🤙

[@Hellhorde.]

Very clean and like its meant to be there this is the setup ive been looking to do.

[@zx6smitty]

Well done! I like it! I'm gonna use this setup. Thanks

[@michaelmencev4529]

Great job mate. Your remote idea kicks ass.

[@richardbest3079]

That's one of the best setups I have seen.

[@slikrik6098]

Great job, nice clean set up. New sub I have a large kayak a beast to paddle ,was thinking of selling it but I think going this way should be better and cheaper that a Peddle kayak.

[@garycalcote1227]

Did a nice clean job. I have yet to see anybody use tension springs at the motor control wires, if you were to step on both petals for some reason the springs would take up some tension and possibly save something from breaking.

[@kuppler14]

now thats cool.... makes me wanna get a kayak.....

[@KevinBullington]

Thank you. Kayaks are very fun and affordable when compared to boats.

[@jeremyraber2706]

+Kevin Bullington How do you troll then? if you want to, cause I wouldn't want to troll 3mph or can you set the speed however fast or slow you wanna go?

[@marrey1806]

put a small power plant on it and never run out of electricity,but, you may run out of motor

[@basharhito5190]

Thanks for the video. Are you able to lift the motor when in shallow water? I want to do the same setup to my big tuna kayak but I always beach launch and I need to be able to launch with the motor up and then lower after the break. Can you also elaborate a little more on the electrical part? And last thing can you please list the remote control name or amazon link?

[@josephlassiter1412]

I love your set up if you put a switch in to use the motor on low settings like it come form the factory you will get a way longer run time

[@Xt1000]

I like the set up. I think I'll use bicycle brake or gear shift cables and route/ mount them on the exterior. Also use or fab the trolling motor mount out of aluminum.090. An upgrade would be 2 lithium batteries in parallel.

[@lakayyaker9415]

This is the best trolling on kayak ever.

[@joshwood1324]

You could add a line from one pedal up to the front around to the other pedal and make it a push pull system, with an extra attachment to hook to your foot and make it a one foot control

[@dascoadams30]

Slick setup man..very nice work and great tutorial!

[@chrisginnewhamp]

That is one sweet setup. I'm going to have to do this to one of my kayak. Thanks for the great video.

[@nickfrank4814]

Just a suggestion I wouldn't use that remote thing for your trolling motor because you can't control your speed because since you did the controller thing it's now one speed forward and one speed backward and sometimes when your going into a cove you might just want to go really slow into the cove and fish it for a little while instead of Turing it on forward and the it just guns in so just a suggestion

[@cberry5375]

So I guess it would be silly to suggest perhaps "quick ON" then "quick OFF"? Just because you turn it on doesn't mean you have to go full speed. He also mentions it will "stop on a dime" going from forward to reverse. Great setup and the fob is a nice touch.

[@NickMirro]

I completely agree. You really should use variable thrust. I have a big tuna with variable power and its a freaking dreamboat. Also, you can use reverse to stop, but you need to let the motor have about 1 second to recover before switching or it won't respond and its life may be shortened.

[@Pusfilth]

Nick Frank just paddle lazy ass

[@michaelteeple8704]

There are some pretty important parts left in the top part of the trolling motor. By keeping those important parts, your battery life would be pretty good, by discarding them, a good deep cycle batt. Will only last about an hour max.

[@cup_and_cone]

Now to do this in Florida you need... -Title the kayak as a boat (requires builders certificate/proof of ownership paperwork, which most people don't even have) -Register the kayak with the state after getting title -Boater ID card since you're operating a motor boat -Flares (or other signaling device) if operating in salt water, and noise signal (whistle is fine) in addition to your PFD

[@geoffr1679]

Very clean setup! Nice job

[@KevinBullington]

Thank you very much

[@drewslatinsky6732]

That's one nice setup I wish I had it im fishing off a little paddle boat

[@KevinBullington]

Thank you bud. Paddle boats are fun too.

[@earthheartcenterforconscio6283]

That’s really creative! Good job and thanks for sharing 🙂

[@Somegoy]

Also something else is you could rig something up to where you hit shallow water and you can pull the motor up to horizontal, so you can skim if you want. Looks like it does come up, just find a way to pull that pin manually and a pulley system to pull the motor up

[@natenhb2495]

You can also hook up a small solar panel somwhere on the kayak and hook it to the battery to keep it charged all the time

[@KevinBullington]

+Nate NHB I definitely need to look into the solar panel thing. I wonder how quickly it will charge the battery though.

[@satberhoxhaj3347]

You really did your homework very sweet setup

[@michaelcollins5003]

dang buddy, you just made me want to drop the $ on a big rig... Sweet setup! Thanks for posting a helpful detailed video.

[@heatherm8261]

Nice setup! I like your Appomattox River Company stocker also! I bought my Jackson Zen and accessories from them.

[@LeeFazzani]

Just an observation I had: With the steering cables attached below the pivot point on the motor shaft, if the motor hits ground or something hard underwater there will likely be damage. If the cables were attached above the pivot point then hitting something would cause the motor to flip up out of the way and avoid damage.

[@KevinBullington]

+Lee Fazzani you are right except for the motor is locked in position so damage would occur regardless

[@littykittymusic7601]

add springs to both eye bolts and attach to the other end to the hull in a fixed position. Auto center on the motor and pedals.....

[@tibiluv]

Great job, very clean install

[@KevinBullington]

Thank you

[@chittlingwhittles1198]

That’s awesome! I looked at a few videos today and this seems like good alternative to Bixpy or Torqeedo.

[@dirtybasscatcher205]

what's up Kevin, so I got the Field & Stream Eagle Talon 120 Kayak. if you don't mind checking it out and giving some pointers on where to mount a trolling motor.

[@MickyDan]

nice prop setup, may I suggest you tie the two eye bolts in the steering linkage together with something like bailing wire as they seem to be spreading.

[@KevinBullington]

Thanks. I actually bent them by hand.

[@jube42]

glad I found this video. I have started my update now on my kayak. Only thing I have a question about is the trolling motor. It is variable speed motor so I am assuming you will lose that capability with the RF Connector. For me that is not a game changer. Other than that this is a win win for me. One more thing, What state are you in and did you have to register your kayak because of adding the trolling motor?

[@RelentlessHomesteading]

Nice. Think I'd put a spring on each of the 'rudder' cables to take up slack.

[@KevinBullington]

+RelentlessHomesteading that's a great idea. Thank you for the comment!

[@RelentlessHomesteading]

Your welcome == thanks for the video

[@Wills420913]

awesome dude im trying to make a motorized kayak for my mom she loves kayaking but she has a bad shoulder so she cant paddle very long. i love this design very well built im gonna have to steal some of your ideas lol

[@alekossion7120]

Awesome kayak bro. I’m gonna setup my coosa like this. Thanks for the idea!

[@ronwalton3045]

Awesome! I've got a Coosa HD I want to try this on. Nicely done.

[@KevinBullington]

+Ron Walton thanks Ron. I love the Coosa HD... I hope to own one soon

[@rodrenegadesofdirt923]

Kevin this is a very clean trolling motor setup. Could you give me more information about the key fob please thank you

[@edwindearti4791]

You should look into Nissan Leaf Li-On cells. They are the best Cells for DIY kayak projects. You need at least two at 64Ah , 7.4V each. You get more power for about 1/4 of the weight of the battery you have installed. I have 4 cells for a total of 1KWh on my setup, for what it seems like endless power...

[@jacknemo8021]

now you need a Lithium Ion battery shallow water pole anchor. Put it on the front with a key fob as well.

[@Zodiackilla1]

looking at getting a fishing kayak and doing this to it. Nice work kev

[@index7787]

you could probably put a pitchier prop on there, It has torque to spare and you could get more speed out of it. the amp draw wouldn't go up much.

[@hillysoutdoors1974]

That awesome man. Good job. I’d like to do it to mine, will just have to figure out the transom set up because my kayak is not square in the back

[@1Deejay7]

Pretty slick.

[@brapperdan]

Clean build. Nice work

[@ktmobile24]

Great stuff. Best motor set up yet.

[@lonestaryaker5775]

Thanks for a kewl and informative vid. Nice delivery, steady cam technique and impressive setup on your Big Rig. Your $400 output sure beats heck out of the cost of a Torqueedo rig with battery! Right!?

[@TheSanti1974]

Now that you have battery power you can hook up a small Bilge pump, nothing like having a little bit of insurance when on deep water.

[@basshooker689_3]

very nice rig, professional install boss. thanks.

[@FishSCTV]

That's a clean install! Great job!

[@KevinBullington]

+FishSCTV thanks man!! Appreciate it

[@markawesome439]

Good job just one thing you need to put a brace between the two eye bolts make it a lot stronger

[@joseescuredo416]

Hey Kevin great work man cleanest trolley motor job I’ve seen on KZbin so far !!! Where did u got the remote and transducer

[@scottriegert5160]

Sweet setup! My Coosa needs one!

[@KevinBullington]

+Scott Riegert thanks scott

[@haciendadad]

Love the design and the video. I like the RF controller, but not crazy about having a fob. Some might say RF is overkill for a kayak since it is such a small area, but if does offer a cool factor. 3.5 hours only? Hmm I fish longer than that, that is the main draw back I see. Not sure if a solar panel will help if you are drawing that much current so fast. Have you considered adding one? Would a 20 Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panel even help enough to make it worthwhile? The only other cool thing you could add would be a servo that can tilt it so it can be beached or go over rocks/shallow areas without having to get out. If you could figure this out that would be awesome. A single linear actuator will probably work, since it is a small load considering it should cost more than $60.

[@avereeloutdoors7586]

Hey Kevin, I was wondering how you rigged the steering linkage on the trolling motor shaft. What is the round piece you used to thread the "eye bolts" through to secure it to the shaft? I have my motor mounted on my kayak but been looking at several ideas for the linkage. Looks simple and was wanting to do the same thing to mine.

[@italystallion699]

Yes please!

[@davidsavell7515]

U should put a turn buckle between eye bolts,looks like u r bending them

[@singleshot54]

Have you thought about putting a HF 1.5 watt solar battery charger on the lid to the battery storage area? I've used this charger to keep my TWO Group 27's in my RV charged and it work great! It is completely water resistant and doesn't require a charge controller. Doing this would increase your fishing time as it would charge the battery while you fishing.

[@goodlife6942]

Could it pissible for you to link a place to buy that rf remote control.

[@13krazykazik]

Hey Kevin, Love the setup looks very clean and organized, and i want to follow a similar setup that you ran. I was wondering how you ran the wiring from the stern to the foot peddle. Did you have to make any holes, if so is it easy to run it through the hull? it would be a huge help thx

[@radar2119]

That's a really nice setup, nice fabrication as well. This is exactly what I'm gonna do on mine. How much were the remote assemblies for the trolling motor?

[@yeahman1756]

good set up for a cheaper cost than those 1000 dollars bixpy and torpeedo island hopper motors. Now install a solar panel on top of that plastic battery kayak cover and the battery charges itself without any worries all day.

[@CaptainBax]

Best Mod I've seen so far, just bought a FeelFree Moken and have been racking my brain on how to mount my electric motor on it. Love that you can throw it into reverse, it's something that would in very handy fighting Big Barramundi and Mangrove Jack here in Australia. Do you have links for that electrical device you're using to achieve that. Just love the way you done this, everything looks clean as if it was meant to be there.

[@sawtoothscream1521]

Island hopper makes a kit for the feelfree kayaks