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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 8:33 am 
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Rear powered kayaks are nice. Some are fast, some steer hands free, and some are powered mysteriously (joke). The problem my buddy had was that he occasionally ran over his own or someone elses fishing line. It was out of reach and needed help to remove it, or he had to go to shore to take care of it.
I got to thinking what if? I did some research, took measurements, and took a chance that installing an I-Pilot bow mount trolling motor in the mirage drive slot will work. And work it did:

Having the old style PA14, steering was an issue. Steering with the motor in front of the rudder and keeping the rudder straight, makes it track straight. With the GPS controlled I-Pilot, the auto pilot and advanced auto pilot feature will automatically steer the kayak in the direction I choose.

For trolling, the speed can be set by the cruise control feature. I like around 1.2 mph for top line trolling for trout. You can adjust your speed in tenths of a mph. When I get a hook up, I hit the jack rabbit button which gives me instant full speed to set the hook.

The spot lock feature is also very useful. It acts like an anchor. When you press the spot lock button, it memorizes your GPS coordinates and keeps you within 5 feet of that spot...automatically. It's great for vertical jigging and dropshotting. I've also had my buddies tie up to each side and had lunch while staying on a spot.

There's also a record a track feature that allows you to record a path that you make and duplicate it backwards or forwards. I haven't found a chance to utilize this feature yet.

Here's a video of the Ultimate Personal Fishing Craft in action:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6InsQBY3N0[/youtube]


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 5:51 pm 
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Dry Bones

Nice set up. Nice trout.

Does the ipilot motor and prop fit through the mirage drive hole? I never thought about trying that.


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 7:00 pm 
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Nice Fish! Congrats

Looks like Shadow Cliffs, Dude. They plant some BIG trout in that "lake".

I'm in P-town. Haven't fished SC much. I mostly fly fish, so the mail lake isn't as intersting to me. Gonna try the back ponds for bass in my float tube. Looks like too much work to get my PA over the burm get to those back ponds. Let me know if you have any experience back there.


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 8:05 pm 
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You can't hide money. :P


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:30 pm 
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JDeee wrote:
Dry Bones

Nice set up. Nice trout.

Does the ipilot motor and prop fit through the mirage drive hole? I never thought about trying that.

Your 55 is too big to fit through the drive slot. I have a 45 which uses the smaller 3.25" motor which fits through my drive slot.


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:35 pm 
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TroutNoDoubt wrote:
Nice Fish! Congrats

Looks like Shadow Cliffs, Dude. They plant some BIG trout in that "lake".

I'm in P-town. Haven't fished SC much. I mostly fly fish, so the mail lake isn't as intersting to me. Gonna try the back ponds for bass in my float tube. Looks like too much work to get my PA over the burm get to those back ponds. Let me know if you have any experience back there.


Yes it's Shadow Cliffs. I haven't had any experience with the back ponds but I know that kayaks aren't allowed back there. I've seen big bass in the main lake while resting under a shady tree.


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:50 pm 
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That was my stomping grounds when I was a kid. My dad flew the helicopter for EBRD. That back lake holds some big bass. :D Great catch.

_________________
Steve Valerga Jr.
DV U.S.Army Airborne
1988-92

2012 Pro Angler
Take a kid fishing!


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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 11:22 pm 
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Location: Orangevale CA
Like the idea, just would like mine bow mounted. I would make a light lithium battery to run it, but all the tweekers buy those batteries to make meth. Lol.


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PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2012 1:53 am 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 2:31 am
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Location: Belgium
Congratulations with this set-up, nice work. I was thinking for a very long time to motorize my PA. The e-volve or torqueedo is no option, as I would use the i-pilot features. The i-pilot on the rear is no option either for the issues you described.

I like the idea of Jdee to bow mount it, but as we have heavy seas over here with considerable waives, I am afraid that the weight of the i-pilot would make the PA dive into the waives instead of going over them causing risky situations.

So the mirage drive mount seems to do it all for me. Thank you very much for sharing this idea.

Could you please give some more specifics on the type of Minn Kota used and how to mount it in the mirage drive? Are major modifications to the PA / engine necessary? Is it possible to use one of the salt water models? Is the engine easy removable so that one could use the fins in case of defect when far at sea?

Sorry for all the questions, but I would like to know if it is feasible before ordering a Minn Kota. Unfortunately here in Europe, prices of Minn Kota, Hobie etc. are double than in the U.S. so I want to be sure before spending a fortune.

It must use a lithium battery as I should keep the PA as light as possible. We don’t have many trailer ramps in here and I need to cross beaches or rocky dikes before getting to sea...


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PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:47 pm 
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I had to clean up my mirage drive to get it to pass through. I noticed that my buddy's 2011 model had a drive slot that seemed too tight for it to pass through. I didn't spend too much time with it though.

The motor is the Minn Kota 45 lb. thrust power drive and I added the I pilot separately. You just have to change the head and wire it up. I cut the shaft shorter and made a control box which included a circuit breaker, kill switch with solenoid, and a bypass switch. It also has a cigarette lighter/aux power added in as a bonus.

I can remove the motor on the water and have had to, to clear the prop when I ran over my line by mistake. I strap my mirage drive in back just in case I need to swap it out on the water, but I haven't had to yet. I can troll all day without worry about running out of juice.

I strap an Optima D34M battery sideways in the tackle area openning under the cutting board. I figured it will lower the center of gravity, and it still leaves a little space to shove a small tackle box down there.

Worried that if I spring a leak, I installed an 1100 gpm electric automatic bilge pump with manual overide. I had to sacrafice one rod tube to plumb it from under the accessory board.

Here is a video of the install:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gobQH2mu5eI[/youtube]


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