Calling EE and mechanical nerds

In My Humble Opinion
1

I need some help on today’s project: steering my canoe remotely and electrically.

Besides simple laziness, I’d like to make possible for anyone in the boat to control the steering.

I’ve got a 16’ square stern travel canoe with a 55lb thrust motor on it. Sitting on the back seat and trying to reach back or sideways to steer the tiller is literally a PITA.

I’m concocting a way to steer the motor without having to turn around, tip the canoe, and sit sideways until my path is straight again. I’ve rigged a clamp and arm system to give ma

2

It appears the canoe has capsized. Good luck and hope your computer dries out soon.

3

Gosh, I hope you are O.K.!! Please get your computer dried out soon.

Your problem can be solved. One of my first questions is; is the motor electric? The next question is, if so, is there enough charge left in your battery to allow you to use electricity to remotely control the steerage? If not it can be done using light weight push-pull tubes. We really need pictures to get us all on the same page.

Other questions include, but are not limited to;

  1. For a mechanical system how much throw can you easily handle.
  2. Which side do you want the arm to be on for the back seat steersman?
  3. If electric, will the cable be a major hinderance?
  4. Radio remote control will use more of the battery’s charge. Will this be O.K.?
  5. Do you realize that at least for the electric solution we would need to have a manual override for the steering in case the electrics fail? I assure you they will.

That is all for now. Keep us in the loop. Thanks, 48Willys.

4

The hell?

This thing was fine when I posted!

Anyway, I have rigged an arm from the vertical shaft, giving me a 12" or so lever extending to the left from the shaft. A rod/stick/lever running along the left gunwale will connect to the motor’s lever, making a 90 degree connection. Pulling the rod forward would turn the motor to the right, and the boat to the left of course. Pushing the rod back will obviously have the reverse effect.

I imagined a stepper motor mounted about the middle of the canoe, and tied to the pushrod.
I briefly considered an RC system, but I’ll need close to 24" of throw; 12 forward from straight ahead, and 12 back. Roughly. Plus I’m thinking of the torque. The shaft has a friction lock that will keep it from turning; tightening that juuust a little keeps it from wandering, yet allows for manual turning.

I’m hoping to find a stiff, toothed strip or rod that would engage a gear on the motor. I could house/guide it in a small PVC pipe.

A cable ending in a rocker switch was what I was thinking. Just a blip left or right gives me a degree or 2 of change for simple course correction/keeping things straight. And it would make it easy and fun for my daughter or other victims to steer from the front.

Wow. There’s really a lot missing from my post…

Since the motor’s battery is a huge deep cycle marine type, a small 12v motor used occasionally won’t affect our cruise time, plus we’re not heading out on Lake Michigan or to Easter Island.

Yes, Bass Pro Shop is 10 minutes away and has pedal-controlled motors starting at 400 bucks for your cool, sparkly bass rig. I’m thinking I can do this for under $20 just using some PVC and a fiberglass rod. Under $50 if I add a motor.

Which brings me back to my original, but lost question. Do I have to use a motor controller with all/any stepper motors, or can I just straight wire one and blip the switch now and then.

Manual override? It is to laugh! I’m just using a spring clamp to clamp on to the shaft. It’s tight enough to hold, but just grabbing the tiller and turning the motor by hand is more than enough to slip the clamp.

I’m not creating some mission-critical commercial device here. I just want to make canoeing more fun for the kids, so they’ll come along more. I’ve already got a motor so they don’t have to paddle! You’d think that was enough!

I’ll play with it some today or tomorrow and take some pix.

thanks!

5

This is easy if the motor is a human using a paddle. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve observed that (at least some) kids like to paddle (at least some of the time). It gives them a sense of empowerment having direct control over what’s happening. Until it gets tedious. :frowning:

Seriously, though, would a side mount bracket for the motor serve your needs? While it wouldn’t allow control from anywhere in the boat (the operator would have to sit in the back beside the motor), it gets around the awkwardness of reaching behind, and has the great advantage of reducing the problem to one of choosing from a variety of already available designs. I fear that the system you’ve envisioned is going to be significantly complex, expensive, or both – most likely both.

6

I’m thinking something that looks like the pedal setup for a tandem, mounted along one side with a crank or handwheel at each fore and aft bench. Light cable on a pulley would do the trick if it was nonslip enough, multiple wraps around each wheel will help.

7

I have solved the problem mechanically for under 10 bucks.

It’s a nice day; maybe I’ll get a chance to take some pictures…