Senior Members Please Help

I am an industrial design student who has chosen to design a small 12’-14’ fishing vessel for my thesis project. This vessel is intended to be used inland for sport fish such as bass, pike, and muskellunge. My desire is to have a vessel with minimal draft, stable platform, and be very durable. The environment that this vessel will be used in is an inland lake and river environment with shallow depths, and debris such as weeds and stumps.

Here are some of my current issues along with some of my possible solutions.

Propulsion(Gas): As in most inland fishing vessels I have two types of propulsion gas and electric. My gas propulsion I believe will be a surface-drive outboard to minimize possible prop damage, shaft length below the hull, and perform well in shallow areas. I realize I can also achieve this with jet propulsion, but run the risk of sucking to many things up and therefore do not wish to use it. Fan propulsion would also work, but it takes up a large amount of deck space and can be noisy. Has anyone ever seen an inboard surface drive on a vessel that is my desired size or have any other propulsion suggestions?

Propulsion(Electric): I wish to have my electric(slow speed) propulsion to function like a trolling motor, but again I wish to eliminate the length and amount of shaft length in the water. I am contemplating this using a horizontal impellor integrated into the hull to achieve these things, but the problem is sucking up and clearing debris comes into play. Is there any types of electrical propulsion out there that I could achieve these criteria with bearing in mind that when this type of propulsion is in use it will be used for stalking fish?

Other interests I would like to find some information about and incorporate into my design include solar cells, integrated deck lighting, and lightning protection devices.

Any information is greatly appreciated especially pictures and web addresses.

Thank You

 

Yes but it is on a prototype boat that is not yet in production:

http://www.ven-tboats.com

Maybe an electric paddle wheel would work best for this purpose. No joke, paddle wheels are not bothered by 'stuff in the water' and they work fine for slow motion like trolling in weedy conditions.