Trolling motor made from wood

video Trolling motor made from wood

The basic idea of this trolling motor is the multi functionality of the cordless drill.
Is the power of a battery drill enough to drive a trolling boat on still waters?
The answer is yes. I made the trolling motor from wood and some other parts in a
Clear design with Clean materials and Cheap. So, the 3 C's.
The outboard is partly inflatable for easy transport. Two nails are locking the hinge
and the steering handle. All the functional parts are there, motor, propellor,
hinge with lift and the steering handle with trottle. Building time is about 3 hours.
A test with a canoe was convincing although a drill with a higher speed is advisable.
I also used a battery adaptor for connecting an external 12V gel battery of 12AH.
Enough to navigate for a while. Website: http://www.safarana.org

IamWe (author) says: Jan 16, 2012. 4:51 AM

The test is done. I connected a 2 blade propellor together with a 2 speed drill. The results where good. More tork, more speed!! So watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIdtLK6fldw
Succes!

majshanman says: Oct 22, 2011. 2:17 PM

Bertoa, I am in Iraq and your video is blocked by our firewall (or whatever it's called). Would you mind posting or sending photos of the project? Thank you!

243

Phil B says: Aug 12, 2011. 10:15 AM

I had to view the video without audio, but all was still clear to me. Not only is this a clever idea, but it is very nicely executed. I wondered about the wing nut on the tiller handle assembly and thought a self-locking nut might keep it from coming loose. Also, is there any danger of water working into the gears on the angle head driver? Perhaps all of that was covered in the audio portion that I missed. Thank you for an interesting and useful Instructable.

IamWe (author) in reply to Phil BAug 12, 2011. 2:18 PM

Thanks, that you like the project. The sound is compressed in AAC a kind of Apple MP3 format. Maybe you need a specific decoder plugin. Till now no comments on that item. You are right, that wing nut is losing itself in the demonstration. Later I put a locking ring under the wing nuts. The angle head is easy to open and I was filling it up with grease. That makes it smooth running and keeps the water out.
My goodness you did 186 instructables; much inspiration from above, I guess.

243

Phil B in reply to IamWeAug 12, 2011. 9:38 PM

The computer I was using has no speakers connected to it. I sure I could have heard the audio if I had speakers available for that computer. It sounds like you have all contingencies covered.

I never expected to have 186 Instructables, but kept thinking of solutions to problems and wanted to share them. Some of the Instructables are better than others. Thank you.

RedneckEngineer says: Aug 11, 2011. 2:43 PM

Good idea, great application!

Anyone ever tell you, you look like Red Green without the duck tape? :)

IamWe (author) in reply to RedneckEngineerAug 12, 2011. 2:35 PM

Well, I googled immediately Red Green and yes, you are right. My wife was falling in love with him.... Where is my duck tape?

rimar2000 says: Aug 11, 2011. 3:46 PM

Great job!

This remember me that some 30 years ago I made a centrifugal water pump in phenolic plywood, successfully. I used it for filtering the water of the canvas pool.
The metalic parts were only the axis, the hub and the rotor (2 brass blades) The motor was the drill.

IamWe (author) in reply to rimar2000Aug 12, 2011. 2:28 PM

There are so much plastic (pvc,etc.) constructions that easily can be replaced by wood. See the single sheet plywood boats.