Steve posted: "We bought our Oasis this summer as I recovered from a crushed femur due to a motorcycle accident. I couldnt use the drive then and might not ever but we have them.
I recently installed a trolling motor to get out fishing. On the shake down (~1.5 hrs) it barely touched the battery. I wouldnt have been able to say the same if i had to paddle."
Steve, last May/June, my torn right shoulder head and rotator cuff flared up so bad, my FP gave me a corticosteroid shot just to be able cast my two handed fly rods from the shore or while wading.
He is a long time friend and a fellow yakker, and he warned me not to get my FH12 into a situation where I needed a healthy shoulder to get back safely. That basically eliminated most fishing and yakking with the FH 12 for the rest of that year.
My new FH Pathfinder will be arriving this week with a new customized BassYak electric motor attached to help get me to and from the various fishing sites. I will have and will use my AT adjustable paddle to help get to and get around fishing sites. My standup paddle will become the main power stick after I get to the fishing sites along with my electric motor if needed. I have two gel pack batteries to ensure that I get back to the launch site.
I have discussed this BassYak powered Pathfinder with many yakkers and would like to be yakkers. All but one want to see the Pathfinder in action and want me to keep them posted. The one holdout is a purist, and I told him to mind his own business
when he tried to give me a sermon on the evils of a powered yak.
My prediction re motorized yaks: Someone will come out with a water cooled/exhaust 4 stroke gas engine which is very quiet, green in nature and weighs in at about 20-25 lbs for yakkers. It will be able to run all day on a couple of liters of gas. It will eliminate the need for heavy batteries and their use of electricity to charge them to be used.
Someone else will come out with a motor mount that will fit into a yak's rear rod holders. This mount can be put into and removed from the mounts in seconds and will not require any drilling. This mount will have rod holders and enable us to put our transducers on it to use our fish finders/gps again without drilling. We will be able put any electric motor we have or buy on that mount, secure it and remove it in seconds.
The original costs will be at or under $1K, and that price will come down as capitalism comes in with better and less costly alternatives.
Then, we will see the same thing happen with solar powered electric motors.
Both of these approaches will be after market designs and
competition will drive the innovation and provide competitive costs for these excellent units.