Jet Drive Electric Kayak

70% Complete - Initial sea trials completed in Fall 2021

Summer 2021

• 0.5 kWH 12S LIPO

• 6.3 kW Motor (8.4 hp)

• 80mm Jet Drive

• FDM 3D Printing

• Traditional Pneumatic cutting tools

• Composites

1. Program Arduino to control throttle and steering with Joystick input (testing conducted with RC remote)

2. Install Joystick and Arduino controller in waterproof 3d printed enclosure that is embedded in the plastic kayak body

3. Experiment with hydrofoil fin added to bottom of 3d printed jet drive housing to lift Kayak higher out of water and increase efficiency

It's a pretty stealth modification and most don't notice it until I go zooming by. Including battery, the setup only adds approx. 50lbs to kayak, which isn't too bad and makes it relatively easy to transport. Plus, the electric propulsion is super quiet, so makes for a pretty relaxing way to zoom across the lake or harbor.

While a 3d printed jet drive is cool, I worry about the longevity of it, especially as my motor is fairly large for the drive. Additionally, I am still struggling with slipping shaft and impeller despite loctiting all hardware (will figure it out, but just annoying.). Also, the hull shape is not conducive to efficient hull planing, if I were to actually build these from the ground up, I would adjust the shape significantly.

I am excited to be able to use and debug this project over the summer, it's a lot of fun, and I have really only scratched the surface on it's potential. All in all, this project has me convinced that there is a market for super light weight electric personal watercraft.