Introduction: 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.
Participated in the
Green Living & Technology Challenge
22 Comments
7 years ago
Gratulations, Samzxc! 5 years after the first publication is this the first 'I made it'.
Many comments, just one who shares the fun of this simple outboard motor.
7 years ago
g would be much faster and a lot less work . that seems like an awful lot of work just to be lazy to me ! defeats the entire purpose of itself granted it is a good idea but it just not enough power , not when yo can use one paddle and do circles around this device Why not just "row row row your boat gently down the stream ,unless your a lazy so & so and build a dumb machine"
LOL Just kidding m8 ...cool idea
Reply 7 years ago
Should read
Rowing would be much faster and a lot less work . that seems like an awful lot of work just to be lazy to me ! defeats the entire purpose of itself granted it is a good idea but it just not enough power , not when yo can use one paddle and do circles around this device Why not just "row row row your boat gently down the stream,....unless your a lazy so & so and build a dumb machine"
LOL Just kidding m8 ...cool idea
8 years ago on Introduction
Just a note to let you know I have added this to the collection: Cordless Drills Hacking for Other Uses !
>> https://www.instructables.com/id/Cordless-Drills-Hacking-for-Other-Uses/
Take a look at a bunch of project involving odd uses of drills.
and for even more drill info
>> https://www.instructables.com/id/Cordless-Drills-A-Collection-of-Collections/
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
Thank's Russ. Good that you made a compilation of all this cordless drill hack uses. I hope it inspires people to come up with more hacks.
9 years ago on Introduction
@ milesnorth. No, I never made the promised .pdf; sorry for that. There is an other website with more info: http://makezine.com/projects/wooden-outboard-motor-powered-by-a-cordless-drill/
It's not to difficult to replicate though. Success!
9 years ago on Introduction
Video is great, but do you by any chance have a .pdf? with instructions. Would really appreciate it if you do. I am a bit new to indestructible. maybe I am just missing it? VERY neat!
9 years ago on Introduction
Very cool! Looking forward to trying this on my recycled houseboat (that I haven't built yet :-) Very Neat!
9 years ago
Neat! I've always killed myself trying to think of where to get a half decent cheap 90 degree torque transfer dealie. And I immediately wondered if a two blade would give you better thrust. Neat!
9 years ago on Introduction
i wonder what type of torque you would get from a 4 stroke weed eater
10 years ago
Good idea
11 years ago on Introduction
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!
11 years ago on Introduction
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!
11 years ago on Introduction
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.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
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.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
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.
11 years ago on Introduction
Good idea, great application!
Anyone ever tell you, you look like Red Green without the duck tape? :)
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Well, I googled immediately Red Green and yes, you are right. My wife was falling in love with him.... Where is my duck tape?
11 years ago on Introduction
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.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
There are so much plastic (pvc,etc.) constructions that easily can be replaced by wood. See the single sheet plywood boats.