Video · Rigging & Gear
NuCanoe Unlimited Build Off: Custom Rigging and a Siri Kayak
I walk through two custom NuCanoe Unlimited builds at ICAST, including a Siri enabled kayak, a no-drill EPS rig and a MotorGuide Xi3 setup.
What’s in this video
My dad and I went to ICAST, and at the NuCanoe booth they had a kayak build off. The first boat is a NuCanoe Unlimited rigged by Romell with the EPS system, which runs on the Newport NK180. His goal was zero holes drilled. Everything drops in, and the gear pod holds the electronics, battery, nav lights and deck lights so it all comes off in one piece without unplugging anything. He made custom carbon fiber parts, including a stern piece that holds a micro anchor next to the motor. It also has toe-heel foot pedal steering, a Millennium seat and the YakAttack BlackPak Pro. And yes, it’s Siri enabled. Siri is a little slow, but she turns the navigation lights on and off.
Up front is a Garmin 93sv on a solid custom mount with LiveScope. The NK180 pulls up to 500 watts, about 1.8 horsepower, and it’s brushless. The big deal for me is that the battery is not proprietary. You can run a 24 volt lithium, or even wire two 35 amp hour gel cells together. It was $999 retail at the time.
The second build is from Fletch Griffin. The idea was a rig any guy in his garage could copy. He has a MotorGuide Xi3 with Pinpoint on NuCanoe mounting plates and PowerPux mounts, which lock the motor and have the power plug built into the mount, so no loose wires and no extra holes. The gear pod got a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, plus a YakGadget sideboard, GoPro mounts, a Lowrance Elite FS9 and a YakPower switch.
Key moments
- 0:00 Introduction to Siri kayak
- 0:22 Customizing the new canoe
- 3:50 Siri integration demo
- 4:37 Electronics and motor power
- 7:00 Fletch's expert rigging
- 15:23 New canoe platform features
Quick takeaways
- Putting electronics, battery and lights in the NuCanoe gear pod lets you pull the whole system off without drilling the hull.
- The Newport NK180 EPS motor pulls up to 500 watts and runs on any 24 volt battery, including two gel cells wired together.
- PowerPux mounts lock the motor and build the power plug into the mount, so there are no loose wires.
- NuCanoe track runs almost the full length of the Unlimited, so it works as a blank canvas for drop-in accessories.
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