Conversion Of The Trimmer Into A Boat Motor

What are homemade boat motors made of?

If desired, a motor for a light boat can be made by yourself. In most cases, ready-made tools are used as a basis.

The following are often used:

The grass mower is ideal for creating a trimmer. It is designed for long-term use, so it can last for a long period.
In some cases, a construction mixer is being converted. In this case, batteries act as source of energy. This version is ideal for quiet fishing, but it is not designed for long-term use.
A gasoline saw is rarely used. However, its design features determine that it is necessary to carry out a serious alteration.

Benefits of using a trimmer

The trimmer has quite a number of advantages that determine its distribution.

The main ones are the following:

Relatively low cost.
Ease of assembly and disassembly.
Low weight.
High speed achieved while driving.
High power rating, often excessive.
Economical.
Initially, there is a throttle and starter.
There is a special leg that allows you to adjust the power of the device.

These and many other qualities determine the fairly widespread use of trimmers in recent years.

Principle of operation

When considering a trimmer, attention should be paid to the fact that such a mechanism provides a high speed of rotation of the blades. This ensures a high speed of movement of the boat through the water.

The features of the principle of operation include the following points:

The blades are turned outward.
The installed motor in the upper part transmits the rotation of the blades.
To increase reliability, the shaft that connects the motor to the blades is located in a protective tube.

How to make your own boat motor from a trimmer?

For the movement of a motor boat, a light outboard motor is often installed. It should be borne in mind that such a mechanism is quite expensive and difficult to maintain.

Conversion Of The Trimmer Into A Boat Motor

Small boats are often equipped with motor trimmers. Today they are very popular; for equipment, a special attachment is purchased. Let’s consider its features in more detail.

What is outboard motor trimmer attachment?

Light boat motors are often made from trim tabs.

The main ones are the following:

A clamp for the installation of a homemade structure with a trimmer on a prepared boat transom has become widespread. This option is considered more affordable, but it is characterized by increased efficiency in use. The special design allows the device to be used as a propeller. When performing the usual function of the motor, the mechanism is small, easy to install and remove, which determines its very widespread use.
Propeller screw. This version is a little more complicated than the previous one, but there are already ready-made mechanisms on the market, characterized by increased efficiency in use. It is not recommended to carry out the most powerful version of the design, since due to the resulting thrust, a light PVC boat can simply turn over. Often, the scope of delivery includes a special drive made using corrosion-resistant steel, as well as some adapters that make the trimmer almost a universal outboard motor.
Another common option is converting a standard mower into a motor used to generate traction. In this case, it is recommended to give preference to common trimmers that require gasoline to operate. The relatively low weight of 4.5 kg is a significant advantage of this version.

How to make a do-it-yourself boat motor from a trimmer?

You can make a boat motor from a trimmer yourself.

This requires the following set of tools:

A trimmer that serves as a basis for creating a future boat. For a small boat, it is recommended to create a structure with a power of 0.8 kW. Even this indicator is quite enough to achieve a speed of about 5-7 km / h. If the engine is designed for a massive and heavy boat, then a more powerful trimmer should be selected.
The screw in most cases is made of duralumin, the thickness of which is about 2 mm. Such a material can serve for a long period and does not form corrosion on the surface.
To work with metal, a vice is also required, which allows you to fix the material for its processing.
A welding machine is required to connect individual elements. It is best to use the semi-automatic version of the design, since when using it, even if you do not have proper experience, you can get a high-quality connection.

The manufacture of this product cannot be called a simple process, but it can still be done at home.

The instruction looks like this:

Prepare projects related to the manufacture of a screw. It is almost impossible to carry out the calculation on your own.
The screw edges are sharpened.
The blades are often curved by 10 mm. In some cases, the material does not fold, since it is characterized by a high degree of plasticity.
The screw locks in place of the trimmer head.
On the Internet, you can find a large number of adapters designed to connect the engine to the propeller. They are cheap.

Advantages and disadvantages of using a trimmer

Let’s take a look at the benefits of using a trimmer:

You don’t have to buy an expensive boat motor.
An ICE made from a trimmer uses less gasoline than a boat engine.
The brushcutter engine is more compact than the stock boat engine.
The engine of the petrol cutter has high strength, body tightness, and a built-in tank.
It has all the components that are needed to control a home-made motor: starter, gas lever, rod, shaft, fuel tank.

Do not forget about the cons of such a rework:

The petrol engine from the trimmer is low-power, and it will be difficult or impossible to sail with it in a boat against the current. For the same reason, he will not cope with a heavy ship.
A motor for a boat made of a brushcutter is suitable for moving on bodies of stagnant water, which may not be suitable for fans of active fishing on the river.
Also, an important disadvantage is the increased noise level of the trimmer motor, and some models can smoke.

Making a mount for installing an engine on a ship

You can install a homemade boat motor from a petrol cutter using a ready-made clamp. But if you have an old hand sander lying around in your garage, making a mount for the engine, with which it can be installed on the transom, will not be difficult:

Using a grinder, cut out the bottom of the grinder and drill a 12 mm hole in the transverse plane of the body.
Flatten one end of a hairpin with a cross-section of 12 mm and a length of 100 mm and drill a hole with a diameter of 6 mm in the resulting plane.
Insert a bolt with a suitable cross-sectional diameter into the hole obtained. The trimmer ring, originally intended for attaching the belt, will be fitted on it.
The DIY mount can now be connected to the boat’s transom using a stud and nut. Install the motor and secure with the appropriate nut.

Principle of operation

The trimmer boat motor has a higher blade speed, which allows for faster river travel. When the mower is running to mow the lawn, the blades are turned to the other side. When making a motor for a boat, the engine blades are turned over. Then the engine will work to push the boat. The higher the blades are located to the surface of the water, the faster the speed of revolutions and the higher the speed of the boat.

Alteration of the bent shaft

The bent shaft needs to be remade first. To do this, you need to take a 2 cm high nut in the form of a cylinder with a thread inside. Loose nuts and bolts must be retained as they have non-standard threads. Then they remake the bar with a rigid shaft. Pull the flexible shaft out of the rod by removing the nut.

The end of the rod has no bearings, it is replaced by a bushing, so it must be cut out. Remove the protector. Since the metal pipe is bent, it is difficult to align and therefore will not be used. Instead, you should choose a duralumin pipe of the same diameter, or less than the diameter of the sleeve.

A bronze bushing is installed in the pipe. To do this, you need to slightly bore the pipe. Then you should carefully press the sleeve along the groove with a hammer. In this case, it is not recommended to exert effort so that the sleeve does not deteriorate. The protector is cut to the desired diameter and placed in the bar. If the pipe has a large diameter and it is difficult to put it into the hole of the ICE head, then it should be turned to the required size.

Instead of a flexible shaft, take a steel bar and connect it to the motor shaft. Then the screw is screwed onto the shaft and secured with a nut. Then it is necessary to fix the rod with the inner shaft to the engine using adapters. They need to be done in a lathe. Different models of mowers may have features that need to be considered.

Making a screw

To create a screw, you need a duralumin strip 100 mm long and 30 mm wide. If you put the screw on the table, then the distance from it to the blade should be 10 mm. The angle of inclination of the propeller blades must be adjusted with pliers. Before this, the duralumin is annealed. Propellers with 2 or 3 blades can be made in various sizes. The propeller dimensions should be selected individually.

DIY boat motor

You can make a homemade boat motor from a trimmer. First, you should prepare materials and tools:

Trimmer with a capacity of 3 hp;
Steel sheet 2 mm thick for the screw;
Welding machine;
Fasteners;
Clamp for installing the engine on board the boat;
Bulgarian;
Drill.

It is necessary to find out the size of the propeller, which depends on the power and weight of the boat with the load. It should be borne in mind that a propeller with dimensions of 3×10 cm, installed on an internal combustion engine, can carry a boat with passengers with a total weight of up to 120 kg.

Stages of work on the manufacture of a motor from a mower:

To make a motor for a boat, you first need to redo the bent shaft.
Then make a screw.
Replace engine plastic trim with switch.
Attach the shaft to the engine from the mower.

How to make a boat motor from a garden trimmer with your own hands

Many people are wondering if it is possible to convert a rubber boat into a motor boat. To do this, you need to mount a boat motor from a trimmer on it.

DIY boat motor

You can make a homemade boat motor from a trimmer. First, you should prepare materials and tools:

Trimmer with a capacity of 3 hp;
Steel sheet 2 mm thick for the screw;
Welding machine;
Fasteners;
Clamp for installing the engine on board the boat;
Bulgarian;
Drill.

Stages of work on the manufacture of a motor from a mower:

To make a motor for a boat, you first need to redo the bent shaft.
Then make a screw.
Replace engine plastic trim with switch.
Attach the shaft to the engine from the mower.

Principle of operation

Making a mount for installing an engine on a ship

Using a grinder, cut out the bottom of the grinder and drill a 12 mm hole in the transverse plane of the body.
Flatten one end of a hairpin with a cross-section of 12 mm and a length of 100 mm and drill a hole with a diameter of 6 mm in the resulting plane.
Insert a bolt with a suitable cross-sectional diameter into the hole obtained. The trimmer ring, originally intended for attaching the belt, will be fitted on it.
The DIY mount can now be connected to the boat’s transom using a stud and nut. Install the motor and secure with the appropriate nut.

Ready set of attachments

Now they sell special attachments for converting the trimmer into a boat motor. This attachment includes everything you need to attach to the mower motor. A control handle and a switch button are mounted to the rod. The throttle handle is made with the ability to switch speeds and is equipped with a ratchet that secures the required position.

Using a reducer from a grinder

To create an engine for a boat based on a mower, a gearbox from a grinder is often used. It needs to be finalized. The shaft with the gear must be replaced with a longer one that will fit the rod. The end of the shaft is made by analogy with the removed stub shaft in order to use the same bearings.

In places where the bearing is installed, an oil seal is mounted, which will protect the angular gearbox from water ingress. The gearbox housing is twisted with a sealant. Grease is poured into the gearbox to coat the gears.

What is a trimmer attachment for a boat motor

The trimmer has a faster blade speed, which allows you to move through the water at a higher speed, which will allow you to start fishing faster than with a motor. Everyone saw how the trimmer works how it cuts the lawn and ordinary grass, but here, its blades are turned in the other direction and at the same time, it performs the function of the most economical motor.

But if the trim is lower, the speed will be lower. But the biggest disadvantage of the trimmer compared to ordinary outboard motors is that they are very loud and should not be used to their fullest if you do not want to scare the fish away.

Should you buy a trimmer attachment for a boat motor

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question, since someone is very accustomed to motors on boats, while others have never used them. At the same time, if you want a really powerful boat for yourself, then naturally the most profitable and effective solution would be to install a standard trimmer. But it should be borne in mind that this option is universal. As mentioned above, the most important thing is to correctly combine.

Many experts recommend blades similar to those of your old motor. It is very important that you install it in strict accordance with the instructions.

In addition, you should pay attention to the moment that you definitely need to take additional fuel with you, and just like an ordinary lawn mower, you should be given the opportunity to “rest” because, due to very long use, the trimmer motor may simply fail directly on the water.

The larger the blades, the more effective the trimmer itself will be.

Alteration of brushcutters is as follows:

Initially, the main bent shaft is being altered: first, a standard nut is removed from the reel with a special fishing line. It is a small tube with a length of 20 mm.

At the same time, the nut must be preserved, since the thread on the brushcutters is extraordinary and it is almost impossible to find the same.

Then the plastic cover with the keys is removed. After that, at the very end of the bent pipe itself there is a standard bronze bushing (often called a sleeve bearing), it must be carefully cut out, after that you need to remove the stern shaft, unscrew the nut and the metal shaft.

The most important thing is to choose the right blades. Everything here directly depends on what dimensions your boat has.

Here it is very important to pay attention to the factor that the best solution would be to enter “motors for a boat” in the search and on the first site you come across go to the site where motors are sold and ask a question to a consultant who will offer you his help, you say the dimensions of your own car , and then, when you get a suitable motor, you need to look at the specifications and find out the dimensions of the blades.

What is outboard motor trimmer attachment?

The idea of a very light outboard motor for small boats, including the simplest rubber ones, is of interest to many hunters and fishermen today. It is important to note that the cost of such a motor is quite high and maintenance, as well as the parts. In this case, many people very often began to use motor trimmers, which are now very popular and widespread.