Most of the inflatable boats come with strong paddles for people to steer the boat, whether it's big or small. But some inflatable boats have a outboard motor design, so that you can attach a motor to your inflatable boat and enjoy a faster speed on the water. The simplest way for beginners to install a motor is that place the suitable motor on the boat transom and then tighten the clamps. The steps are not so difficult, but requires a little skills. Let's take a look at the complete guidelines on inflatable boat motor.

Tools you need:

A wrench kit with needles and pins
A screw driver
A drill machine and the bits of drill

Steps to install a motor:

1. Decide the steering side of your boat

For small inflatable boats, you can just place the motor in the middle of the stern transom. But for larger inflatable boats, you may need to consider which sides you want to install your mount base. It depends on where is your steering side. If your are used to steering a boat from the portside, then mount the motor from the starboard side, otherwise mount the motor from the portside and then steering from another side.

2. Assemble the motor parts

Assemble the parts of your motor, fix the shaft to the motor, and the head assembly must be fixed to the mount. After assembling, keep the motor in a stand position and keep the bow parallel to the side.

3. Detach the motor plate

Remove the screws that secure the panels and detach the plates, you will find the mounting holes from there.

4. Fix the shaft to the boat center

Fix the shaft as close to the center as possible, so that you can find out any drifting and steering problems from here while using the motor.

5. Position the mount's front

After cleaning the bow tip which can differ amount motors, position the mount's front accordingly, and it must not be altered more than one inch in any of the cases.

6. Check the motor head and its position

It must nit overhand on the side of the boat. If it does, you then check the position twice. If it is still in a hanging position, you will need to break the motor head. The final mark point should be the boat size, and the motor must perfectly fit the boundaries of your boat.

7. Drill some holes

Ask someone to hold the mount for you, and you drill at least two holes of pilot size. Then use the crews at the drilled holes to fix the motor. Now you can remove the shaft or motor head to drill the other holes, this will be easier and without the tension of motor shifting.

8. Fix the bottom part

The bottom part of the bow is now required to be fixed with the screws, which will secure the position of the mount. And the fix the side plates of the boat and your task is completed.

The above are standard steps for installing a motor on inflatable boat. You may encounter many problems during this process, here are some things you need to consider.

1. How to determine the right height of the motor?

When you are installing a motor on your inflatable fishing boat, how do you tell when it's too low or too high? Some people may think that short shaft motors go with boats with short shaft motor designs, but it's not true. You need to adjust the motor to an ideal height by yourself.

The ideal position of the anti-cavitation plate on your motor should be 2.5 centimeters or one inch below the bottom of the boat’s hull, if the motor is too high for the shaft, ventilation occurs and there is decreased thrust power, and if it's too low, there is decreased momentum, more splash, and more difficult steering. Therefore, you need to raise or lower your motor to find out a best position for your propeller to work easier.

2. Adjust the motor tilt angles.

After determine the height of the motor, you will need to adjust the tilt of the motor according to the sea conditions when boating on the water.

If you are heading out to a head on the sea, you need to tilt the motor inwards or place it a negative trim position (the first or second hole of the tilt pin). This will push the bow down and you can move the weight in your boat towards the bow to get stability.

If you are in a following sea, you need to push the motor outwards or place it on a positive trim position (the third or fourth hole on the tilt pin). This will push the bow upwards and you can move some weight towards the stem of your boat to get more stability.

3. How fast can you go?

Some inflatable boat owners want to get a faster speed so they choose a more powerful motor. This is not correct. Just because the motor produces high amounts of thrust power doesn't mean it will move faster. High power motor can give larger load amounts for bigger boats, but the maximum speed will not increase effectively. In fact, more thrust motors of seemingly high power can end up being less efficient than a less powerful motor.

A trolling motor is going to help steering your boat, and the installation is very easy. It's time to turn your inflatable paddle boat into a motorized inflatable touring boat for the upcoming summer. Come to sunjoy inflatables website and you can easily to custom a suitable inflatable boat with perfect outboard motor design.