Newport Vessels NK180 Kayak Motor Install - ***Start to Finish***

[@texaskayakbassin]

Great video. One of the better install videos for this motor

[@wendellfishing]

Thanks boss!

[@michaell1665]

Wendell, you finally came around, you young whipper snapper! Seriously, I'm 70 and put the NK-300 on my Native Slayer. Best thing I ever did since I got into kayak fishing when in my 50s. I still keep my pedal drive on board at this time since I pedal while I fish. It just increases the range of fishing locations and gets you there faster! I'm still loading the kayak into my pickup truck bed, but a small trailer might be in my near future for ease of launch! Nice video.

[@wendellfishing]

Thanks boss! Its a fishing machine now!

[@michaell1665]

@@wendellfishing Something you might consider if it applies to your case. My old Slayer had the somewhat ineffective original rudder and years back I added the Boonedox. I removed my Boonedox for a tighter to hull motor installation and I found recently that the NK-300 (unpowered, while fishing) turns the Slayer effectively. The original rudder remains on it's own steering, but I rarely use it now.

[@michaell1665]

@@wendellfishing I had to give you one more comment after watching your video a second time. I'm evaluating my throttle position to raise it as you did. I had totally missed your point about the screws set too deeply affecting the throttle reading due to magnetic effect. Definitely will check my rig on that one!

[@wendellfishing]

@michaell1665 right on brother

[@lowlifeangler]

Sweet dude! I wanna see that in action

[@wendellfishing]

Makes two of us!

[@BucktailFishing]

Love it! One of these might be hanging off the back of an Unlimited in the future 🤘

[@wendellfishing]

I hope so!

[@amyrichards690]

Big time upgrades this offseason with the graph and motor! Congrats! Would love to see a video on why you chose the NK180 over other options.

[@wendellfishing]

Mostly the price.. snagged it for $750 on Black Friday and it fits seamlessly on my yak

[@nofx21081]

Perfect!!! Saved in library until I can purchase myself one 👍

[@wendellfishing]

Right on!

[@bluethunder1951]

Very nice install, the only thing I would do differently is to have to pull cord longer and install a pulley further up to the end of the seat rail so you pull the cord towards you not away to raise the motor, because if you have forward momentum it could be harder to get better leverage to push forward with your arms in an emergency situation. All in all this is how I’m going to setup my motor too.

[@FishinwithGRAMPS]

Glad I remembered you mentioned need to use washers when installing the controller. Installing my NK300 today :)

[@JPHET37]

I also have one on my Old Town PDL 120 this motor has torque 4.3 mph with fish gears on the heavy side. A small prop blade but it can tow another kayak person like 250lb easily then the speed drops down to 3.5 mph at 80% . This motor can help to get out of trouble when your out there in the lakes 2-3 miles away safely get back. Great motor it’s a keeper

[@thomaspotts47]

Very good video ! You made that look easy ! Xongrats on the motor man . Geez ! You make me want to get on the water !! Im in soutern Ohio , the cold and rain has kept me on , but boy am i chopping at the bit .

[@wendellfishing]

I love fishing Southern Ohio!

[@thomaspotts47]

@@wendellfishing let me know , would be an honor to chasing the green ones with ya

[@truecrimson1]

Woohoo! Been waiting for this. I used regular trolling motors bought used off Craigslist, so it wasn't a kit. I had to buy everything I needed separately. Steel rudder cable turned out to be a PITA. I did the initial install with them, but then switched to dyneema later. Your depth looks good. I found I needed the motors much lower than I initially thought. They chopped up the surface a lot and threw water at the original height I had estimated. For anyone DIYing one, don't buy cheap carabiners. Buy quality. Cheap ones break and fall apart. Good detail on the throttle mounting. I watched a TON of videos before deciding what I was going to do and starting on it. Once I started I discovered the hard way that most kayak motor videos are...incomplete, to be polite. There is a lot of detail they leave out and don't cover. Then you have to figure them out on the fly. You gave all the details and hopefully helped someone avoid an issue. I agree 100% on LiPo4 batteries. A note on power, I have not needed to go full throttle. In testing, turning at full throttle with a 30LB trolling motor is not a good idea unless you want to go swimming. When you're ready for a bow mount with electronic anchor, tracks, etc. take a look at the Autoboat.

[@wendellfishing]

Right on brother!

[@Oldbasshole]

Great stuff . I don’t see myself ever putting a motor on a yak but if I ever did this video is crazy helpful

[@wendellfishing]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@tomasdevine7756]

You ever catch a sea bass we have in Ireland silver deliciousness ???

[@wendellfishing]

NEVER...add it to my list!

[@PHATBASSASSASSIN]

What about steering ? How do you steer

[@wendellfishing]

I have a rudder built into the Bonafide P127 as it is a pedal kayak

[@PHATBASSASSASSIN]

@@wendellfishing gotcha

[@morrismorgan3850]

Does the rudder provide adequate steering while using motor power?

[@DCFloridasport]

Ive got three NPV kayak motors and have never had a problem with them in the four years Ive been using them, I saw this on on amazon and was wondering...so Im glad you got it to do this video man!! Tight lines!

[@wendellfishing]

Thanks boss!

[@jeryddsprague670]

Super helpful and informative. Thanks for doing this!

[@wendellfishing]

My pleasure!

[@aldojer5053]

Great informative video sir . Thank you so much for all the info. You are great! Please keep them coming I'm always looking forward to your videos they are very interesting and fun to watch. Stay safe out there. God bless

[@wendellfishing]

Appreciate you.. thanks a ton!

[@nicknackdaddyack]

Fancy pants! I still use my arms lol.

[@wendellfishing]

I don't got time for that!

[@Josey4u]

Dude! great video, drop that recalibrate video. It is set to private.

[@wendellfishing]

Ha! Going live next Wednesday

[@onnie1968]

Awesome video Bro best and simple one I've even seen, thank you for sharing.

[@wendellfishing]

Glad it helped!!

[@RiverSmallmouthAdventures]

Great video! I have a regular Newport Vessels 36 lb. thrust, that I converted myself for my Big Rig with a PWM first, then an 880 ESC last year. I'm selling all of that and jumping into a NEW Bonafide PWR129 and adding a NK 180 to it. This video will help me a great deal. Did you do the video of the Newport Battery box conversion? I couldn't find it but that's no big deal as I'm going to build my own battery box for the 24v battery plus I'll need a 12v step down to hook up my 2 GoPros so I'll only need the one battery.

[@wendellfishing]

I am still in the middle of that battery box conversion!

[@anthonynoe532]

Great video! Thanks for the detailed setup. Very helpful.

[@wendellfishing]

Glad it was helpful boss!

[@kensantiago132]

Well done sir. Thank you.

[@wendellfishing]

Thanks boss!

[@jason_ryan_fishing]

Pro tip: don't force the pigtail through the plastic pieces, save yourself the headache and risk of breaking it by removing the bolts from them and slipping the wires through the slot. It's a hell of a lot easier. Adds two minutes to your installation time. No big deal.

[@willgriggers-ex5zq]

Welcome to the 21 century.

[@laddeji]

great video, do you feel youre getting tailheavy with the motor and battery in the back?

[@wendellfishing]

Being a LifePo4 battery, it’s actually much lighter than you think. No issues

[@MavHntr]

Now mid-June; how do you like the NK180 now?

[@wendellfishing]

Love it more than I did earlier this year.

[@DeliciousBass01]

great video. Hows the battery holding up. i just got a nk180, looking at batteries

[@wendellfishing]

haven't used to much TBH... fishing season is among us

[@BassYakCam]

Cool video man. Do you think the nk 180 stern mount would work with a traditional trolling motor? I like that mount system a lot better than the standard plastic transom mount with notches. On my old setup it would bend out over time, making the top 3 or 4 notches useless. I’d love to just buy the full 180 setup, but it’ more than I want to spend. Thanks!

[@wendellfishing]

Great question boss.. I really wouldnt know.. too many variables to answer that with authority

[@BassYakCam]

@@wendellfishing Thanks for replying. Since commenting I saw a guy that did it with the old NK180 mount and the Newport kayak trolling motor, as it’s a separate piece from the motor. I’m gonna go for it. I’ll be taking the hand throttle off too and rigging up a variable speed controller. I’ll let you know how it works out.

[@fishflyexplorer]

Curious if you have had any issues with the motor torque pulling out the factory installed bolts on the P127. Thanks

[@wendellfishing]

nope!

[@fishflyexplorer]

@@wendellfishing Thanks for the reply!

[@DetroitFishigan]

Do you need the 50 amp breaker that is recommended for this motor on Amazon

[@wendellfishing]

The NK180 speed controller comes with over-current protection built in, so there isn't a need for a circuit breaker.

[@DetroitFishigan]

@@wendellfishing thank you Wendell 💯🤝

[@wendellfishing]

No problem my brother to the north!@@DetroitFishigan

[@DetroitFishigan]

​​​@@wendellfishing I got my Nk180 today and I been looking at your video and I only seen one move you didn't think of doing it flip that yak throttle holder and put new holes for the NK and filled in the other two holes with super glue, and baking soda sand down and color in with black maker. That's what I did

[@kalebjeppson2333]

Any issue with running two 12v battieres in series for this this one?

[@wendellfishing]

as long as you can keep em balanced

[@davidcarpenter4613]

Too many cables running around deck, nice equipment but need to be routed through boat.

[@bofa83]

1:00 stainless what?!?! hahaha