Trolling motor made from wood

[Bertoa]

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, steering handle with trottle and the square drillhead.
A test with a canoe was convincing although a drill with a low/high switch for getting
the best thrust on the prop is better. Also li-ion battery's give a longer range.
It is all by all a fun project between all the high tech. Ready for some enhancements.
I also used a battery adaptor for connecting an external 12V gel battery of 12AH.
Enough to navigate for a while. Enjoy!!!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZJTGqmtzBs

[Manie B]

Yes - it's fun
No - it cant perform

but clever in a DIY kinda way
nice one

[pistnbroke]

dont go anywhere where there is ANY current flowing !!!!

[PAR]

I wonder how long the angle adapter will hold up immersed.

[waikikin]

Sorry, but when I saw the thread title I immediatly thought............... Oars.......

[PAR]

Oars would be faster, a lot less noise and you wouldn't run out of charge in the middle of a puddle. I can imagine that contrivance lasting very long under load.

[FMS]

I wouldn't have guessed the drill itself would last long under continuous load. But the video brought a smile to my face. Reminded me of being young and foraging through my dad's shop. I'd use any parts and scrap wood I could find to build something new for the lake every year when school was out.

[pistnbroke]

lets go for the no wood eco version ...6ft of 1/4 rod in the chuck and a prop on the end ....long tail version .....

I undersand they do have races for drill powered boats .......

[Bertoa]

@ postnbroke, Yes there have been races for drill powered boats. To all the skeptics above this let you smile even more. Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t82OL...layer_embedded
More detail:
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...eale-Park-2011
Please, give some tips how to enhance the drill option for boats, rather than going back to the way we always did it (oars).
This exentric englishmen understand that better.
The same threat as this but very informative about this topic:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/vie...ee36c3ce6183b7

[MengWalton]

Great stuff, must have been a good laugh to compete in that shame ive missed it