Portable, lightweight boat engine
ThrustMe Kicker can be operated by a hand-held remote control.
This is one clever piece of kit. For those who have carted either an outboard engine, or a leisure battery, stumbling across a heather bog to a remote boat mooring, then listen up. Ditto, if you are looking for a quiet auxiliary to accompany an outboard to control your drifts, or sneak around a flat calm bay.
This new Norwegian-designed engine might just grab your interest.
The complete engine weighs just over 7kg and comes packed securely into a protective nylon shoulder bag.
First, this outboard is light. The complete unit packs into a convenient shoulder-bag which weighs just 17lb (7.7kg).
Second, the battery is built ingeniously into the propellor-shaft, so the whole thing comes as one unit, and is easily portable.
Third, the engine is remote-controlled, so it can be switched into forward gear or reversed, at a controlled speed at the press of a button, whilst you still fish.
The ThrustMe was designed in 2015 foremost as an engine for sailors for use on their tenders, to motor out to moored boats and yachts.
The Stavanger-based company has since been involved in producing Remote Operated Vehicles for professional use underwater. This motor is saltwater proof (although rinsing in freshwater after use is recommended), and can be borne on one shoulder whilst carrying fishing gear in the other hand.
The parts are fashioned from aluminium or hard nylon and, whilst lightweight, are pretty robust.
The lithium battery has a capacity of 259 Wh. I found that under full power, this has the capacity to turn a heavy clinker-built boat holding two people and make decent headway upwind. However, using this type of high power will drain the battery very quickly (the guidebook indicates that the engine will run for 30 minutes in Boost mode, but for 2.5 hours if being run at its lowest speed – which is more than enough to control a drift in a breeze, or shimmy across a flat calm.
I tested it in extreme winds, and would recommend limiting the Boost switch until you really need it. For instance, on a windy 70-acre loch. I’d use the Boost to motor up and into the wind from the dock, then use lowest power setting intermittently to control drifts as I worked back down-wind to the dock, before then powering back upwind. I would always recommend taking oars along with this engine, as high wind, waves and heavy boats will drain its power quickly if any distance is required.
I found the remote switch, which is paired to the engine, a real boon for the fly fisher. The motor will only operate with the magnetised kill-switch clicked into place, held on a long, coiled cable attached to the boatman. This enables the angler/boatman to sit comfortably away from the engine, but still have complete control of on/off power and thrust-direction, without touching the tiller (which is not only extendable, but can also be held with a friction-screw). Fantastic for controlling a drift just off the loch’s margins, whilst fishing, even in high winds. Very fisher-friendly. Very quiet, too.
The propellor comprises three blades of hard nylon, about four inches in diameter. The prop is contained within a nylon ring-housing, and it has cowls on both reverse and forward thrust, thereby helping protect the prop from pulling in weed. Inevitably, when it did catch weed – always a problem for outboards – the tilt mechanism is also a classy touch – a locking moment-ring is simply released with a handle and toothed cogs click in place once the tilt is set and locked. Also, weed can be freed from the prop by switching between forward and reverse.
The battery takes approximately four hours to charge fully, and I’d recommend doing this before every trip. A display on the engine indicates the power accurately, to the nearest percentage. There’s also a display to show how much power is being used at any time (the display illuminates as soon as the kill-switch is clipped in). The charger unit is neatly stashed within the tough, nylon carry-case, along with an engine safety-cord.
The remote-control is charged through a plate on the front of the engine. The remote can be held with a wristband, or – better for fly-fishing – Velcroed, using the attached band, to something solid near the boatman.
The TrustMe Kicker is listed at £1099.99. On its own, it’s ideal for mooching on small to medium-sized lochs, syndicate and club waters, and also very useful as an auxiliary fishing tool used in conjunction with a petrol outboard on larger waters.
Contact: www.thrustme.uk/
