Another motorized Cumberland

I wanted to mount my trolling motor on the back end of my Cumberland and here is what I have so far.  I still need to make a few tweaks but I really like having the motor off the back end.  Also, the footrests really came out nice.  They are comfortable and reduce drag when I have the motor going at Warp 5.

Note:  this is very much a prototype (second one) so I would love to hear suggestions!  

-I plan to trim back the plywood once I find the perfect location for the battery to balance the weight of the motor.

-I still have to glue up some of the PVC

-Add rod holders and fishfinder mount.

-Several other mods in various stages of design.



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Thank you for sharing your DIY project Sir!
Great pictures!

I don’t use a motor on my float tube to fish but I can certainly appreciate all the thought, time and money that you put into your project sir!

SP Dan <“))><

Dam that is so cool nice work Float Tubers have the greatest DIY's

Great looking project, can you give us more info when completed, like break down, time to assemble etc........thanks ............GT

GT wrote:Great looking project, can you give us more info when completed, like break down, time to assemble etc........thanks ............GT

Certainly!  I am working now on trying to minimize setup/breakdown time, keep things light and easily transportable, etc.  

I've had it out twice so far and it wasn't too much more time to launch, but I was able to get my truck backed up right to the edge of the pond.  I'm hoping to get out again later this week.

Thanks John..........GT

Your workshop looks great!
Can you tell us how you store the tube, as in all rigged or completely broken down?
How do you transport the setup, in a car, SUV, or pickup?

I modified a kayak dolly so I can roll my entire tube rods battery and motor all set up pretty much right down to the water. I have the motor on back fixed in place and use my fine like a rudder to steer. Just keep them flat when going straight. also I highly recommend you swap out the notched variable speed control switch for a pwm. Pulse width modulator. You'll double your battery life it is far more efficient and easy to install. Plus you can fine tune your speed to stay put in current.

Jerdon wrote:Your workshop looks great!
Can you tell us how you store the tube, as in all rigged or completely broken down?
How do you transport the setup, in a car, SUV, or pickup?

Thanks!  My wife has given up even calling it a "garage" anymore.

I am toying with the idea of keeping the PVC strapped to the tube and then hanging it up in my shed for storage.  

As for transportation, I have a pickup but space is tight because I usually take 4 of my kids fishing with me and we all  have Cumberlands...a float-tilla if you will.  So, 5 float tubes, pfds, etc. does tend to fill up the bed (and we fill up the cab).  I'm hoping to get out tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

Floatingbassturd wrote:I modified a kayak dolly so I can roll my entire tube rods battery and motor all set up pretty much right down to the water. I have the motor on back fixed in place and use my fine like a rudder to steer. Just keep them flat when going straight. also I highly recommend you swap out the notched variable speed control switch for a pwm. Pulse width modulator. You'll double your battery life it is far more efficient  and easy to install. Plus you can fine tune your speed to stay put in current.

Wow, great advice!  I've already got a PWM controller ordered.  Did you have any problems with your heating up?  

Thanks again!

Sorry for the delay in giving the requested update.  I did take out the tube after tweaking the original design and I was happy with the performance.  It was pretty balanced and setup time wasn't bad.  The only thing I didn't like was that the motor did interfere a bit with casting to my left.  

So, partially for fun, I did a complete redesign and located the motor behind the seat (cutting through the netting) after taking off the top and wiring the motor directly to the PWM controller.  Then, I used two 18Ah batteries mounted on the PVC frame by the storage compartments.  This was a better design in all aspects.  Faster to set up, load nicely balanced, and the motor was out of the way of fishing.  

If you would like to see pics, just let me know and I can take some after I make a couple of tweaks.

Ya we want to see that for sure.

I would enjoy some pics of your mods, thanks John.......GT

Here is the motor in place (batteries are not in their boxes)

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Here is the frame before receiving the motor assembly.

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A closer look at the motor assembly. The box is sized to house a 35 AH battery originally located with this assembly (but then I switched to using two 18AH batteries located on either side near the storage compartments).

The slot in the top with the bolt in it keeps the motor facing in the correct direction. I loosen the wingnut when I want to raise/lower the motor during launch and landing.


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Finally,

Please excuse the horrible mess everywhere! I generally clean up after a project is done and this one has dragged on a bit!

Great job, that looks awesome.

TobyB wrote:Great job, that looks awesome.

Thanks! I forgot to post the front shot of the motor assembly. This is a single piece that drops into the frame right before launching. It weights about 15lbs so it is pretty easy to handle:

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Underneath:

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Dang, that's some clean work there Fisherman. R U using 1.5 inch PVC? And how muck motor below water line? My guess would be 12 to 14 inches.......GT

GT wrote:Dang, that's some clean work there Fisherman.  R U using 1.5 inch PVC? And how muck motor below water line? My guess would be 12 to 14 inches.......GT

Thanks! Good estimate. I used 1 1/4" PVC, which I think was a pretty good tradeoff between strength/weight/cost. Also, I plan to add rod holders to the frame and 1 1/4" will work well for that.

The motor is about 12" below waterline when fully extended down. I can raise the motor up above the bottom of the tube when launching and landing.

I also plan to increase the size of the boxes used to hold the batteries. After the initial test, I realized that I would love to have more storage space there.

OK so how about added weight......your Combie is about 350 pounds if I remember correctly. With a motor I guess weight isn't to much of a concern.............Really nice........GT