Human Power vs Motor

[surfdog]

yeah well running out of juice thats operator error, that must have sucked big time! every stat ive seen on the elec.yacs have their speeds at hi at 6 mph or better even at 3/4 it would be 4 mph in calm water if you can only get 3.5 somethings wrong or you need to lighten you load. i get out every weekend for at least 5 hours and put in probably 3-4 miles wandering around looking for fish most younger guys can go faster and farther but i know my limitations and can make it back without killing my self. thats every weekend from april till 1st of december give or take a couple

i dont want to turn this into a big argument but why did you buy an ey? for the extra benefits of course. thats why im thinking about adding on one this winter. sure there's disadvantages like less storage, more stuff to load, heaver, but the advantages out weigh them 5 to 1 or why buy one and they are selling like hotcakes. to say that the only advantage is when trolling is a load how about getting up to a dock holding there and putting it in reverse to move out or holding in the current on a piling sure hobies have an adv. over reg. yaks thats why we bought them just like e-yak guys bought theirs

i have no problem that you have a ey when we fish together but in a tourney thats a different story. might as well let jon boats and skiffs in using only there trolling motors, they have the same disadvantages as an e-yak, heaver might run out of power etc......JMHO

if they are that much a disadvantage take them out and paddle or peddle problem solved, i can take out my peddles and paddle just fine, now if you truly have a disability then rules can be waived

i want one of those jet ski yaks, way too cool.

[Pinch]

well then we should have 3 divisions peddle, paddle, and propeller. If fair is fair.

[jet]

eh, if someone wants to strap a weed whacker engine to a prop and carry 10 gallons of fuel, i'm ok with it...

[CB kayak 02]

eh, if someone wants to strap a weed whacker engine to a prop and carry 10 gallons of fuel, i'm ok with it...

haha agreed

[jffoley]

I switched from paddling to peddling in order to increase my range. Does an electric further increase one's range?

[MetroMan]

I switched from paddling to peddling in order to increase my range. Does an electric further increase one's range?

lol depends on the battery(ies).

If you have a battery with a rating higher that 70aH, you're in a separate category and can't participate. If it's lower than that, you're allowed to participate. LOL

again, just joking...making light of this.

The Sept toruney will be a good barometer, as the area is confined to 5 miles.

[Memory Maker]

well then we should have 3 divisions peddle, paddle, and propeller. If fair is fair.

....... And 1 for men paddle, 1 for men pedal, 1 for men prop, 1 each for women, 1 each for for children, and 3 more for sails, then there's seniors for each of the 6 catagories, then junior for each catagory, then open for each of the 6 etc etc etc ...........

THen it's T ball and everyone gets a prize ............

A Kayak fishing tournament is about fishing skill/luck from a Yak ...... period ........... the only rules are you have to have a Yak and a rod ...... period. Shoot 1/2 the fun an the progress of the sport is the innovation ..... and that you want to stiffle for no good reason .......

[Memory Maker]

yeah well running out of juice thats operator error, that must have sucked big time! every stat ive seen on the elec.yacs have their speeds at hi at 6 mph or better even at 3/4 it would be 4 mph in calm water if you can only get 3.5 somethings wrong or you need to lighten you load. i get out every weekend for at least 5 hours and put in probably 3-4 miles wandering around looking for fish most younger guys can go faster and farther but i know my limitations and can make it back without killing my self. thats every weekend from april till 1st of december give or take a couple

i dont want to turn this into a big argument but why did you buy an ey? for the extra benefits of course. thats why im thinking about adding on one this winter. sure there's disadvantages like less storage, more stuff to load, heaver, but the advantages out weigh them 5 to 1 or why buy one and they are selling like hotcakes. to say that the only advantage is when trolling is a load how about getting up to a dock holding there and putting it in reverse to move out or holding in the current on a piling sure hobies have an adv. over reg. yaks thats why we bought them just like e-yak guys bought theirs

i have no problem that you have a ey when we fish together but in a tourney thats a different story. might as well let jon boats and skiffs in using only there trolling motors, they have the same disadvantages as an e-yak, heaver might run out of power etc......JMHO

if they are that much a disadvantage take them out and paddle or peddle problem solved, i can take out my peddles and paddle just fine, now if you truly have a disability then rules can be waived

i want one of those jet ski yaks, way too cool.

Sam ...... buddy ........ I really wish you would base you're assertions on experience. You're trying to keep people from competing based on your visualizations and that disturbs me.

I bought my stuff because I visualized the advantages but in reality, I found more disadvantages than I expected.

Answering your assertions:

First, running out of juice ......... usually you are only going to get 4-5 hrs max from a medium - large sized battery at high speed ..... many times only 3 hrs .......... it's hard to calculate when you will run out of juice even with a bunch of experience. I have fished with electric engines on the reservoirs for decades usually with 4 batteries and have limped back many times because conditions changed or the batteries weren't fully charged when the meter said they were and I ran out of juice. Shoot, even the air temp makes a difference in the charge and discharge rates. Most of the time it isn't operator error.

Second, please show me a FISHING yak that goes over 6 mph on an electric.. Mine tops @ 5-5.5 if I pedal like crazy and with the engine I get 3.5max. (30 lbs thrust) ........ i.e. the pedals are faster than the engine

Third ....... you state, " but the advantages out weigh them 5 to 1 ", 4 major disadvantages have been stated. Please list the 20 advantages. The truth is that most of us visualized the advantages and bought the stuff to see how it works and found it does not have the benefits we thought it had.

Oh man ...... here we go again with the jon boat stuff again ........ a jon boat is NOT in any way classified as a yak. That is WHY a jon boat can't compete in a KAYAK fishing tournament. This assertion is just dumb.

And lastly, I do leave the engines at home ....... the last meet and greet I had 2 engines in the truck and I did not put them on the yak because of the disadvantages listed above ....... but I could have. In fact, I'm going to try to return 1 of them because it is too heavy. What I found is the 30 lb thrust is underpowered for the PA and the 45 lb is too heavy for a side mount.

Bottom line .......... probably won't use the engine much except on longer runs so this old guy can rest and not have a heart attack fighting a tide wind and sun ...... but most of the time I probably won't use it .......

My suggestion is that you guys actually try it before you condemn it. I really object to making rules eliminating people from competing based on pure fantasy.

A Yak fishing tournament is about Yak fishing ...... your skill or luck ....... the biggest, badest, meanest, fastest, best equipped fishing Yak or fishing equipment won't help a poor fisherman ............ only limiting the competion will. The only requirements should be a Yak and a rod ........ period.

........ oh and I really want to see those 20 advantages Sam .......... you said it ... now it's time to put up ...... I'm callin' ya on it .......

[Redfish12]

Alright guys... Put the keyboard weapons down.

This is an open discussion, not a personal argument. Every kayak, canoe, boat, hovercraft has advantages and excels in certain environments, that's why there are so many different platforms. With kayaks, some are great for surf, some for distance, some for fishing, some do more than one thing pretty well and so on. We are all kayak anglers and we share that bond on the water that whatever platform we are in is usually more difficult to catch fish in than the boats we see cruising past us.

When it comes to competiton I'm not really sure where the line should be drawn on what constitutes a kayak or a boat. If you think of a similar sport, biking (human powered and vast differences in equipment/skill) then the distinction is easier to relate. Motor powered bikes do not compete in the same division. One other take away from Cycling, they are serious competitions. Our kayak tournaments/jamboree's/meet and greets are not. We get together because we love fishing, choose to fish from a kayak for tons of different reasons, and enjoy the camaraderie.

It's a tough subject that every other kayak group in the country is trying to figure out. It's not new, the same war has been going on between Hobie guys and paddle guys for years. I think Hobie guys are just happy to be on the other side of the argument for once! Disclaimer I recently joined the Hobie guys... It has advantages and disadvantages too, but I got it for the advantages much like motor guys get theirs.

I guess the question I am trying to get to is one I've tried to ask when talking about the tournament in September- is it about the fishing and fellowship or is it about the prizes? I think it's about the fellowship, fishing, and contribution to charitable organizations that can benefit from the support of a group like ours. Maybe I am mistaken, but if you see it from where I'm standing, we're all kayakers and should be able to participate together in the same event for fun. I get a great feeling as soon as I get some water under me and even better if there is a tug on the other end of the line and good friends to share the experience. Better than that? Getting to do all of that and help others that can't share in the same experience with me. That's what I love about the Jamaica Bay tournament and what motivated me to want to help organize CBKA and hopefully be able to provide another outlet.

That's my two cents.

[mytmouse]

The only advantage I can see from powered yaks is the speed you can get from spot to spot... that can help you I guess... but I wouldn't say its a real advantage when just fishing. I mean think about it... I am sure that Kayak Kevin could outfish some regular boats any day of the week because he has more experience on what to look for, etc.

Some say it lets you fish longer, but I have yet to quit fishing because my arms get tired... now granted there have been paddles back to shore wishing I would have called it quits a tad earlier, but then again fishing is over.

BUT, if its a trolling tourney I would definitely say that motor powered yaks and pedal drive yaks have an advantage. In most cases you are gonna be able to cover more area than someone paddling. If your going after croaker, flounder, spot, WP, whatever this isn't a problem because you aren't really fishing while your moving, but while trolling your covering ground all the time.

So in short, if it's a Rock fish tourney, have different classes. But if its not trolling I don't care one way or the other. Yes I might hate on your motor powered or peddle powered yak but the only advantage you have on me is that you can get to the spot before I can!

[jet]

Kayak kevin could outfish any advantage in an innertube

[surfdog]

man i just deleted my stinky opinion, this winter im powering my revo for all the disadvantages that it brings and not because it will make fish jump in my yak

[CB kayak 02]

Alright guys... Put the keyboard weapons down.



I guess the question I am trying to get to is one I've tried to ask when talking about the tournament in September- is it about the fishing and fellowship or is it about the prizes? I think it's about the fellowship, fishing, and contribution to charitable organizations that can benefit from the support of a group like ours. Maybe I am mistaken, but if you see it from where I'm standing, we're all kayakers and should be able to participate together in the same event for fun. I get a great feeling as soon as I get some water under me and even better if there is a tug on the other end of the line and good friends to share the experience. Better than that? Getting to do all of that and help others that can't share in the same experience with me. That's what I love about the Jamaica Bay tournament and what motivated me to want to help organize CBKA and hopefully be able to provide another outlet.

That's my two cents.

I agree 100% with you Michael. And that's the one reason I think we shouldn't put an asterisk on an EK because it may discourage an EK owner from entering the tournament/AOTY.
And overall we want as many people to enter as possible in order to raise money for a great charity and to have an event that everyone can enjoy, compete and be a part of.

[Redfish12]

besides... if they get their own category then it will be a smaller pool of players, better to make them work for it!

[Memory Maker]

man i just deleted my stinky opinion, this winter im powering my revo for all the disadvantages that it brings and not because it will make fish jump in my yak

Sam ....... your opinion is not stinky ...... it's your opinion and any opinion is valid .........

I did not write my post to be aggressive (can't think of the proper word) but after reading it again it could have been taken that way. However, that was not how I felt when i wrote and did not mean it to be taken that way.

Sam ...... my setup is a side mount that uses the Islandhopper Mount with a 30# thrust engine. It can be removed in seconds. You are more than welcome to try mine before you spend bucks to see if it is really for you. I've used mine a couple of times but I'm not sure it's for me.

The biggest perceived advantage to me is that it would help getting out of trouble, allow to rest and troll to a distance fishing place like the islands @ CBBT but would be in the way when I got there.