Modifying an electric trolling motor

Has anybody tried modifying something like this for our purposes?

to heavy, not enough rpm… and you will need twice the power of the biggest

But is it the control system that is too heavy or the actual parts used for propulsion? And too low of RPM is that a function of the control system, the prop, or the motor itself?

too heavy : propulsion, rpm : motor , you can make x3 more powerfull, x3 lighter, x2 smaller

I think someone needs to try it. I thought about this in the very begging. I have an old trolling motor laying around and the heaviest part of it is the bracket used to fasten it to the boat.

I agree, buying pre-built from China will always be the cheapest path. I think the limiting factor is going to be engine RPM. I read a post on a different forum where someone claimed that by doubling the voltage from 12v to 24v they double the engine RPM to 2500 or so. I’m wondering if running it at 42v with a different prop would get us somewhere…?

Has anybody actually tried going down this route? I looked at the engine and it didn’t seem that crappy…

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Just try it! Even if you fail, it will help the whole community.
A few years ago some german forum told me that you couldn’t cut aluminium if your CNC is not made from steel. We don’t know if there is not a better solution out there.

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Hey guys-
Yes I believe this does work. I noticed my local surf shop guy here in Malibu made his own eFoil, and he used a $60 trolling motor. He quadrupled the voltage, using a 40 volt weed-whacker battery, and he custom made his own prop so that it had more rake. I’m going to try to duplicate this because it seems like the easiest route by far…

Got any pictures of his setup? It would be interesting to see what he used.

not yet - i have to go back to get some. But basically
$60 used Trolling motor from Craigslist
Custom made foil - epoxy over aluminum
40v battery from weed whacker held in a backpack
That’s it! super low-tech right now, but he says it hauls ass… The vertical post is still there from the trolling motor :slight_smile: