Less than three years ago, in December of 2023, I bought my Old Town Autopilot 120 kayak. I love this little plastic boat. We've been on a ton of adventures, had some great times, and even had a few scary times out on the lake. But it has always got me home safely.

This past week I was fishing the Bassmaster Kayak event on Santee Cooper and came to the realization that even though it's less than three years old, I'm riding on a dinosaur. Sure, having spot lock can be an advantage over those NK stern mount motors. And while those motors don't have spot lock, those little boats leave me in their wake. Fully loaded, I'm limited to 3.0 - 3.2 mph if I want to run all day. If I want to drain my battery in 2 hours I can get to 3.5 mph.

Garmin has the new Garmin Force stern mount kayak motor and top speed with a 36v battery is about 6 mph. I really like this one because it does have spot lock and it can connect to my Garmin units to navigate waypoints. However, this week I talked to a guy who owns one he told me Garmin is still working through some issues with it. They have been responsive to the problems, but it might be better to wait until the next version. BTW, this Garmin Force motor with the foot pedals is $3,600. I paid $3,900 my AP 120 when it was on sale (retail is $4,500). The NK300 is $1,500.

Part of the speed issue I have is the hull design of my AP120. Then again, it's a stable hull even in rough waters. But those NK300's can go 7 mph with the right kayak. That's more than double my speed. So if my first waypoint is 3 miles from the ramp, I burn an hour of tournament fishing time just getting there while other anglers are there in 25 minutes.

My AP is 36" wide, but with the width of the gunnels my deck is narrow. The Bonafide XTR and the Native Titan are both 40" wide, but when I saw them up close this week I couldn't believe the deck space.

What I'm getting at is that a lot has changed in the kayak world in just a few years. It's also getting expensive. I'm not looking to get rid of my rig, but if I bought an XTR, Garmin Force, and a new trailer I'd be in for around $13k. My current setup won't have much resale value, and I'd probably have to sell it with electronics and batteries to sweeten the pot.

And no, I still don't want a bass boat, but a 17' Tracker can still be had for $20k. But adding electronics and I better trolling motor would add up quickly.

Have you ever tried a different prop to get more speed?

Tb- the autopilot has a very limited prop selection given that the motor feeds down through the middle of the hull.

Koz- I can tell you exactly what that better motor and electronics in a small aluminum add up quickly to…. And what resale might end up on the AP. You have more on it than I did but you’re not far wrong on your assumptions.

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Tb- the autopilot has a very limited prop selection given that the motor feeds down through the middle of the hull.

Koz- I can tell you exactly what that better motor and electronics in a small aluminum add up quickly to…. And what resale might end up on the AP. You have more on it than I did but you’re not far wrong on your assumptions.

My biggest issue with getting a boat is that my Bronco Sport has a 2,200 pound towing capacity. I don't want to have to invest in a new boat and a new truck, especially with the prices of vehicles these days. But even storing the boat is an issue. My kayak and trailer fit in my garage and I still have room for tools, a small tackle shop, and my Bronco.

That limits me to aluminum boats. I did look at a Lowe Stinger 195 and 175 but I didn't pull the trigger on buying one. The Tracker Pro Team 175 and 195 are also options. But with either the Lowe or the Tracker I'd leave out the stock trolling motor and upgrade to one with spot lock. That adds another $3k+ to the cost. But I've heard that installing a trolling motor on a Tracker is a pain, so add another $1k+ to have it professionally installed.

Then, if I sell my electronics with my kayak I'd need to shell out another $3k - $4k for a new Garmin Livescope package depending upon if I wanted a 10" or 12" screen. I can always mount my old Helix 7 on the console for mapping.

I can put that all together for under $40k. My problem is that I'm frugal. Not cheap - frugal. Heck, that's why I haven't upgraded to a newer kayak.

3 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Have you ever tried a different prop to get more speed?

There's an RC prop that can give you more speed, but that's only about 1 mph. And since I fish a lot of weedy lakes, half the time I swap out my regular prop for a Weedless Wedge prop which is even slower.

Pretty ridiculous that a 3 year old tricked out yak is now considered a fossil.

Kinda reminds me of the electronics revolution these days. If you don't have the latest and greatest, you're outdated. I don't know who can afford to constantly upgrade this every season, unless you're sponsored.

13 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

What I'm getting at is that a lot has changed in the kayak world in just a few years. It's also getting expensive. I'm not looking to get rid of my rig, but if I bought an XTR, Garmin Force, and a new trailer I'd be in for around $13k. My current setup won't have much resale value, and I'd probably have to sell it with electronics and batteries to sweeten the pot.

And no, I still don't want a bass boat, but a 17' Tracker can still be had for $20k. But adding electronics and I better trolling motor would add up quickly.

Interesting topic for sure Koz. Manufacturers are always looking to make things better, always looking to increase sales, profit margins, stock price, etc.

Sometimes it is a good plan to sell current items while they still have worth, and you can get good $$ now.

I'm a picture guy on the side...and was thinking of upgrading DSLR camera bodies a few years back. Debated, researched, thought about it, math-ed it all out on Excel...decided to pull the trigger. Old and new camera's did basically the same thing...just a few more bells and whistles with the new body. Glad I did upgrade...and sold the old camera via eBay and sold for a pretty good price.

It's just money...and you cannot take it with you. Like my brother keeps reminding me...."Just buy the boat."

Not far off from my situation with a slightly older Old Town. Upgraded to LiFePO4 100ah and bow mounted a Terrova, got the “plug” for the console section from Old Town. It’s a new change, but I’m already a huge fan.

I’m relatively certain the XTR would be better for taller/bigger folks like me. And when my Old Town cracks or has issues that’s likely the direction I’ll go in. But since it’s yet to take on a drop of water in the hull, that will hopefully be a good bit of time into the future. I just can’t justify the upgrade. A new yak will take me to same places my current one will.

But when the day inevitably comes and she must be replaced, I have everything I need on hand to rig a new yak the way I like to fish. That might be a way to justify upgrading your trolling motor. It will give you more speed in the short term, and will transfer to a new vessel in the future. At least that’s how I looked at it.

39 minutes ago, AnonymousSoreMouther said:

Not far off from my situation with a slightly older Old Town. Upgraded to LiFePO4 100ah and bow mounted a Terrova, got the “plug” for the console section from Old Town. It’s a new change, but I’m already a huge fan.

I’m relatively certain the XTR would be better for taller/bigger folks like me. And when my Old Town cracks or has issues that’s likely the direction I’ll go in. But since it’s yet to take on a drop of water in the hull, that will hopefully be a good bit of time into the future. I just can’t justify the upgrade. A new yak will take me to same places my current one will.

But when the day inevitably comes and she must be replaced, I have everything I need on hand to rig a new yak the way I like to fish. That might be a way to justify upgrading your trolling motor. It will give you more speed in the short term, and will transfer to a new vessel in the future. At least that’s how I looked at it.

I though about buying an NK300 to give me the option of using that stern mount or the Minn Kota that comes with the AP.

But I am worried about stability and being on plane with a stern mount, so I decided against it. Plus, tournaments are limited to one motor only.

I’ll sit tight for now and revisit the topic next winter.

14 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

My biggest issue with getting a boat is that my Bronco Sport has a 2,200 pound towing capacity. I don't want to have to invest in a new boat and a new truck, especially with the prices of vehicles these days. But even storing the boat is an issue. My kayak and trailer fit in my garage and I still have room for tools, a small tackle shop, and my Bronco.

That limits me to aluminum boats. I did look at a Lowe Stinger 195 and 175 but I didn't pull the trigger on buying one. The Tracker Pro Team 175 and 195 are also options. But with either the Lowe or the Tracker I'd leave out the stock trolling motor and upgrade to one with spot lock. That adds another $3k+ to the cost. But I've heard that installing a trolling motor on a Tracker is a pain, so add another $1k+ to have it professionally installed.

Then, if I sell my electronics with my kayak I'd need to shell out another $3k - $4k for a new Garmin Livescope package depending upon if I wanted a 10" or 12" screen. I can always mount my old Helix 7 on the console for mapping.

I can put that all together for under $40k. My problem is that I'm frugal. Not cheap - frugal. Heck, that's why I haven't upgraded to a newer kayak.

There's an RC prop that can give you more speed, but that's only about 1 mph. And since I fish a lot of weedy lakes, half the time I swap out my regular prop for a Weedless Wedge prop which is even slower.

As a reference point, my crestliner is about 1200# fully loaded including the trailer. Your bronco would have no problem there. And mine fits in a 20'x 8' garage with the tongue broken over and there is plenty of space to walk around the front of it (not step over). Of course I only have a 9.9 on the back so if you went bigger it would stick out more, but it would still fit. Fully loaded and professionally installed would put you about $25k plus whichever big motor you chose.

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

As a reference point, my crestliner is about 1200# fully loaded including the trailer. Your bronco would have no problem there. And mine fits in a 20'x 8' garage with the tongue broken over and there is plenty of space to walk around the front of it (not step over). Of course I only have a 9.9 on the back so if you went bigger it would stick out more, but it would still fit. Fully loaded and professionally installed would put you about $25k plus whichever big motor you chose.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out their boats.

Jeez, if you guys are in dinosaurs, I'm in the primordial ooze

28 minutes ago, herder said:

Jeez, if you guys are in dinosaurs, I'm in the primordial ooze

But are you having fun?

My first kayak was a Seastream Angler pedal drive. It was made of cheap plastic, had no storage other than the tank well, and cost maybe $1,200. It was a bare bones pedal drive - but I loved that thing. In one way I loved it more than my AP because I felt more connected to the water and nature in it.

The catalyst for buying my AP was because I live in the deep south and it is really hot and humid for a lot of the year and I fish big lakes and cover a lot of water and I'd be wiped out at the end of the day pedaling that thing 8-10 miles. If I was younger that probably wouldn't have been a big deal.

It all snowballed from there as I dropped more money and started doing 4-5 tournaments a year. Now I have this beast. It's still great, but as I said, it's turning into a dinosaur.

Oh yeah, I have fun every time I'm out.

Been kayak fishing for over 20 yrs and I'm still paddling.

Just have 2D fish finder with a 5" screen, though I do have gps and mapping.

I've been in an Eddyline 14'Caribbean for 11 years now, it's a nice paddling yak.

I manage to put a few in the boat.

58 minutes ago, herder said:

Oh yeah, I have fun every time I'm out.

Been kayak fishing for over 20 yrs and I'm still paddling.

Just have 2D fish finder with a 5" screen, though I do have gps and mapping.

I've been in an Eddyline 14'Caribbean for 11 years now, it's a nice paddling yak.

I manage to put a few in the boat.

Awesome!

I’ll trade you. I’m entering a tournament this weekend that people will go 40 mph more than me and have 3 times more fuel capacity. I also have to be back for a live weigh in 😂

Under powered, under fuel, and under technology to all those guys does not bother me. I am going to fish to my strengths and my boats strength. Don’t fish the way everyone else fishes just because it’s a tournament. You’ll never win that way.

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

I’ll trade you. I’m entering a tournament this weekend that people will go 40 mph more than me and have 3 times more fuel capacity. I also have to be back for a live weigh in 😂

Under powered, under fuel, and under technology to all those guys does not bother me. I am going to fish to my strengths and my boats strength. Don’t fish the way everyone else fishes just because it’s a tournament. You’ll never win that way.

I literally had a 3 minute ride to my first waypoint at the Santee Cooper even and I caught all of my fish in that area. I headed straight out from the ramp across the Taw Caw creek channel.

@Kayak Koz I wish I could say the same for my first spot.

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Kayak Koz I wish I could say the same for my first spot.

I think that a lot of people forget to try and fish near the ramp.

@Kayak Koz i always fish near the ramp at some point