Not sure where to post this, so....

[jim j geezer]

I've had a few [cheap] inflatable boats that served me pretty well for fishing small strip mine ponds here in central Illinois. But rowing up and down the lake on a breezy day can be taxing. I used a small electric trolling motor on one and just used a garden tractor battery. Then got a 10' jon boat. Oars + trolling motor and I was good to go. Alas, some "ponds" are bigger than others. Also, no outboards allowed. So....
How about rigging up, say, a weedwhacker engine driving a small alternator to keep the battery charged?

Granted, on the face of it, it looks like a way of 'beating the system'. But IS it? After all, the battery-fed electric trolling motor is providing the propulsion. Swap out the weedwhacker/alternator with a couple of solar cells and what would be the difference?

Getting back to the inflatables... In Illinois the law says that they don't have to be registered. On the OTHER hand, the law says that if a watercraft is "powered", it MUST be registered. <--That would include an inflatable with a trolling motor, right?

Think I'm pressing the limits? How about an R/C boat? Technically it's a 'powered' boat. So it's gotta be registered, right?

The weedwhacker/alternator idea, I think, has merit - especially if an efficient muffler can be incorporated.

 

[webrx]

Re: Not sure where to post this, so....

We have a pond here that says no outboards, but trolling motors are not considered outboards on our pond so they are allowed. check the rules on that pond, and you may find that the TM is ok.

Our rules also state if powered it must be registered, trolling motors on an inflatable require the inflatable to be registered. I don't agree with this, but that is the rule, so I actuall registered my personal pontoon and a 6 man raft cost was minimal, and the money goes to help keep fish in the local rivers and lakes and paying the salaries of our F&G who do a pretty good job of calming the idiots on the water - I could whine and complain but, for $20 bucks why bother, life is too short.

As for beating the system, if a LEO catches you with your weedeater on a no outboard lake I suspect he will ticket you and let you fight it in court if your so inclined - then you get to go explain to a judge why you tried to beat the system, my guess is the system will not be beat that easily, and that someone else has tried similar or worse. So, check the rules on "outboards" maybe your TM is ok, if not, guess your gonna have to row or take a chance on a ticket.

d

 

[lncoop]

Re: Not sure where to post this, so....

We have a pond here that says no outboards, but trolling motors are not considered outboards on our pond so they are allowed. check the rules on that pond, and you may find that the TM is ok.

Our rules also state if powered it must be registered, trolling motors on an inflatable require the inflatable to be registered. I don't agree with this, but that is the rule, so I actuall registered my personal pontoon and a 6 man raft cost was minimal, and the money goes to help keep fish in the local rivers and lakes and paying the salaries of our F&G who do a pretty good job of calming the idiots on the water - I could whine and complain but, for $20 bucks why bother, life is too short.

As for beating the system, if a LEO catches you with your weedeater on a no outboard lake I suspect he will ticket you and let you fight it in court if your so inclined - then you get to go explain to a judge why you tried to beat the system, my guess is the system will not be beat that easily, and that someone else has tried similar or worse. So, check the rules on "outboards" maybe your TM is ok, if not, guess your gonna have to row or take a chance on a ticket.

d

I think you misunderstood the question. He's not trying to circumvent the no outboard rule by using a weedeater outboard. He's wondering whether it would be feasible to rig up an on board charging system for his trolling motor batteries, and the answer is not really IMO. I doubt you could ever create enough power to replace a meaningful amount of charge that way. You'd be better off and probably out less money to buy a spare battery, but honestly, one big deep cycle battery should last you all day unless you're just constantly running the trolling motor all out and trying zip all over the lake.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Not sure where to post this, so....

Seems like a lot of trouble. First you need the weed wacker engine then an alternator, then some way to convert AC to DC then some kind of regulator cause you don't want to put 50 vdc into your battery, coupling, mounting platform, muffler, etc. Why not just get a small portable generator like they have for camping? Coleman, honda, etc. Most have a 12vdc outlet. Quieter and all the electrical stuff is done. Yeah, and safer to. Maybe even cheaper when your all done.