Remote Stow Trolling Motor for 2 Person Kayak

My kayak is a 17 foot sit inside type (2 person Folbot Super) and its design precludes reaching the stern where a trolling motor could be mounted. Two problems arise, first the standard trolling motor is a transom mount, and the pointy stern has no transom to mount to, and second, I couldn't reach the stern to raise, lower, and stow even if the motor could be mounted there. Kayaks are often used in shallow water, so the ability to raise and stow a motor is needed to prevent getting stuck in the shallows. . A Minn Kota Ulterra is the only self stowing trolling motor, and it sells for $4,000. A cheaper version was needed, so I bought a Minn Kota Endura for $100 and did DIY on it to make a cheaper remote stowable version.

I made 3D printed trolling motor parts that replace all the stock transom mount parts that came with the motor. These parts fit the motor to the stern and fit where the rudder would go. The manual foot steering lines and steering bar were retained from the rudder and refit to the trolling motor shaft via an adapter. Small electric motors were added to raise the motor and tilt the motor, and a third motor for steer by wire if desired. The lift motor is just a small winch that pulls the motor up, and a inductive sensor cuts power to the winch in the fully up position. The tilt motor required a lot of thought; the motor needed just the right gear ratio to raise the heavy motor to the horizontal position. I 3D printed the gears in Nylon, the larger gear had to fit over the motor mount and be concentric with the mounting bolt. The smaller tilt gear attached to the motor had to climb up the larger gear during the tilting process. It took quite a while to get just the right gear thickness, stiffness, and alignment. The steering motor used Nylon gears as well, including a feedback gear and potentiometer. An Arduino controls the 3 bi directional motors via separate H Bridges. A remote control Arduino is connected to the trolling motor sending tone signals for raise/tilt, and sends a DC voltage for controlling steer by wire. A 3 conductor wire carries tone and DC steering level, and 12 volt DC power for the 3 small motors and Arduino. If the motor is raised slightly so steer by wire gears don't engage, manual steering is enabled.

Fusion360 files: 3D printed assembly

3D printer. I used an Creality Ender 3 v2 (around $200)

Fusion 360 3D design software from Autodesk. Free for students and hobbyists.

3/8" bolt and nut 4" long

4 ea, 3" diameter Automotive hose clamps.

3D filament. I used Black Nylon, though an early version used PLA with good results..

Flexible power cables for trolling motor. I bought super flexible wire, though you could use the stiff stock wire that comes with the motor.

Ribbed flexible plastic conduit 1/2" diameter for power cables for a neater look

Waterproof project box for the electronics on the trolling motor (Small Pelican case)

Greartisan DC 12V 11RPM Turbo Worm Geared Motor High Torque Turbine Worm Gear Box Reduction Motor 6mm Shaft JSX950-370 for tilt motor

JGB37-3530 Gear Motor, 12 volt, 12 RPM for lift motor (also worm gear drive)

Ford truck side view folding mirror motor, 12 volt, 20 RPM (found discarded on the road)

M12 inductive proximity switch LJ12A3-4-Z/BX three-wire NPN normally open with led indicator

1/2" galvanized pipe close nipple (fits inside motor shaft for proximity sensor detection limit switch).

This instructable is just for reference about how I made the trolling motor stowable. Unfortunately, Fusion360 does not allow sharing the design files unless you have a paid subscription. Hopefully there will be a way to do that in the future, or I could share the Cura print files, but that would depend on your printer and print filament settings.

The key to this project was recognizing that the stock motor's mounting system and manual tilt would not work in this application. I tried fitting an adapter to the stock transom mount, but it was too bulky and wobbly. After I designed a new motor mount (motor shaft support tube and mount adapter) that fit directly to the stern of the kayak (where the rudder used to go) I could manually raise and steer the motor. I even had a pull cable to raise the motor. But that wasn't ideal, as I couldn't entirely tilt the motor out of the water. Thus, I decided to make this design with electric motors for raising, tilting, and steering. A 3 conductor cable is all that is needed to supply 12 volt power, lift/tilt data, and steering data to the trolling motor.

The system works well.