Unboxing my $1,000 ELECTRIC boat from China
The boat: bit.ly/Alibaba-electric-boat
The batteries: bit.ly/Enjoybot-Batteries
The Bote Dock 10: bit.ly/Bote-inflatable-dock
My book "DIY Lithium Batteries" on sale at amzn.to/2jbxvzS
My book "Ultimate DIY eBike Guide" on sale at: amzn.to/2BGx4Fn
The gear I use to make my videos:
Camera - Sony A6600: amzn.to/33twRHW
Lens - Sony 16-55mm F2.8: amzn.to/3K8X6nR
Thermal camera for iPhone/Android: amzn.to/2FikWvW
Drone for "follow me" filming: amzn.to/2UFOds5
Camera for invisible selfie stick shots: amzn.to/2Vb9D0r
**Question response book giveaway rules**
When you guys asks questions in the comments of my videos, I'll try to answer them. If there are questions that I think would make a good video response, I'll choose them to do a longer segment. If I choose your question for a video response, you'll win a copy of my book The Ultimate DIY Ebike Guide (the paperback or the ebook), or my book DIY Lithium Batteries.
Here are some things that KZhead makes me say: This contest is not sponsored by KZhead and KZhead isn't affiliated with it. I'm supposed to provide a link to the community guidelines for KZhead (kzhead.infocommunity_gu.... KZhead is not a sponsor of this "contest" and by participating, you are releasing KZhead from any potential liability, whatever that might be. Privacy notice: I won't steal your info. If you do win, you can choose to send me your address so I can mail you a paperback copy of the book (or some other prize if that changes) or you can send me an email address and I'll send you a copy of the ebook. I will do everything in my power to immediately forget your personal information afterwards.
Outro Music: BenSounds
The fact that the company can make the boat, make the cage give you a million life jackets and make a profit is mind blowing.
Well their economy and labor is under value tho so, its western countries exploit them for cheap labor and products. But won't hold forever tho, as their own people will want "fair" wages as well. If this was american made with fair wages without exploitation, its be 4-6x amount; thats if "fair" is in their business model lol..
It shows how much things really cost without all of the taxes.
@@koilamaoh4238 Its not about "fair". It is about cost of living. Everything is cheaper there. It is the economy of scale. A "dollar" in China goes much farther than a dollar here. You can't compare the two.
It's an economic tactic of domination... they basically do it for free... a war effort.
@James Craig Henderson that is just the taxes. Not the labor and supplies.
In the US, it would have been impressive to get the 300 screws, metal frame and plywood that made up the packaging for $1000.
sad but true
@@micahsdad5388 In Canada it would cost $9000 easily and 5 ppl would live in it
In the US you could get a jon boat and a trolling motor for half the price that would last 2 decade unlike this junk
@@penskepc2374 True - But a jon boat doesn't have a full fixed canopy, molded in seating for 5, front steering, high free board, guard rails, self bailing hull, sealed ventilated below deck space, etc etc. So being able to buy any boat at less cost is not the same as buying a better boat with more features and better filling the need case. Just didn't want a clapped out jon boat. That's all. No basic disagreement.
I saw something which said stuff from Temu (so probably also Alibaba?) is made by “slave labor” which makes sense when you can’t believe how inexpensive the stuff is. Just repeating what I read. Believe it, or don’t.
According to the Google camera translation app, the top yellow text is: "Normal Driving". Under that is "Green environmental protection". The bottom text is "Battery Power Indicator". On the right is "Full battery". On the left is "Please Charge".
the app is called "Google Lens" and a sad lot of people don't seem to know about it.
@@kirstyblack3432 Google Translate and a downloaded language is like a superpower when traveling
this guy is not talking about Google Translate, he is using Google Lens built into Android phone cameras. if you don't understand, Google search for 'Google lens' if you cant do that then stick with google translate and suffer. You can't use google translate to do what this guy just did.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing I don't know how people don't know what Google lens is it's a lifesaver and easy.
So basically the light indicates the battery. From right to left, the battery goes from full to low. Don't worry about the text in the middle and the bottom, they don't really have any use.
Im so glad you were able to forge these memories with your pops. IYou two laughing together made me really miss my dad. ❤
very true. i never knew my dad. no memories to forge. dont ever miss out.
I bought the same boat. The first thing I did was to adapt a 9.9 Evinrude prop on it. Secondly, I installed a golf cart controller with the foot pedal to control prop speed. It will run about 9-10 mph now...
Interesting. What did you do to get the prop deeper into the water. At this point the biggest problem we see with it is the terrible cavitation because the prop is not fully below the surface of the water. And the prop really needs to be more than just a hair below the water, it should be several inches below at least. Your input welcome. Regards
@@micahsdad5388 We cut the old one out and I took a piece of 1-inch round stock for the prop shaft, a 1/14 pipe with two seals, to make the true hull pipe, fiber-glassed it back in the correct lower position, and then did away with the motor that came with it and used the entire electrical system out of an old Yamaha golf cart...
Would that setup you did be good enough to go against the current of the Colorado River?
@@gregorydaniels3884 Wow, I do not know how to answer that question as I have not experienced the Colorado River...
Yellow Bird or Ebby(electric boat)
An approximate translation of the Chinese on the gauge is, as follows: The long white string of characters at the very bottom reads: "Battery charge gauge". Above that, in white: "Eco-friendly" The red characters on the left: "Please charge" The blue/green characters on the right: "Fully charged" The yellow characters at the very top: "Nominal" (These are not literal translations but are what my wife and I arrived at as being most natural - My wife is Chinese and tried to explain the terms she was reading and I provided the more natural English terms)
Well done! 👍
Good explanation❗️
Super production and info THANKS
As a Chinese myself, Chinese is as followed. White.. propeller might fail without warning. Blue.. well trained swimmers only . Red .. not recommend on weekends. Purple.. we really don’t know how it works please google when troubleshooting
😂🤣With all those lifejackets, 'Blue' can be ignored!!@@youtubechangemynamewhy
I love the dad and son working together on this, great family fun!
I was just saying that to myself as I grew up without a father and I wish I knew my dad.
My dad was always working and never got into hands-on craftsmanship or anything like that
❤❤❤ I was just gonna say that🎉🎉🎉 I guess I don’t remember doing much with my dad but he was my dad. He died in 1967. I was nine years old just saying that’s beautiful to have a father and son relationship good day, my friends❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉
A boat this cheap would feel weird to complaint on anything else than the floating ability. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I think the relationship you have with your Dad is one that every man wishes he had with his. Thank you both for a very enjoyable video
My Dad liked the mini truck video, He has since died of cancer :(
@@mindseyemelodies So very sorry - please accept our condolences. May his memory be for a blessing and support you and your family during this difficult time.
@@mindseyemelodies So sorry to hear the loss of your Dad. My Dad passed in 2013. But, you know what? I am glad he hasn't been here to see the changes in our country (USA). My Mom passed in 2015. I don't think it would have set too well with either one of them when we had the lock down in 2020. I love knowing they are in Heaven, and I am absolutely sure of that.
Thank you so much. Micah and I have done projects together starting when he was 4. But they are getting more complicated each time !!
I went to the comments to say this and you put it well. I hope to have a relationship like this with my son.
The biggest surprise for me was the inflatable dock. I was expecting that to sag wherever you stepped on it. It looked surprisingly rigid.
Yes because it's like a big inflatable SUP with dropstitch tech. Awesome!
@@simonmiller5118 The inflatable dock is killer - so much more than we thought.
Its got strands that pull the top and bottom rigid. thats how inflatable paddle boards work.
Nah Botes a fairly well known brand when it comes to inflatable paddle boards and such, those things have been around for awhile. Even seen some people tow them around on Seadews using it for camping tents on out the bays of FL.
Ss sunken nugget...
You can't keep calling this $1,000 bucks when the batteries were $1,300 alone.
The $1000 was worth the extra quality time with your Dad and all the laughs.
You are very fortunate. Your Dad appears to love doing anything as long as he is doing it with his son. Priceless!
You, sir, are absolutely correct. Cherish the time with my son. Best regards
Hi, Micah. Here's the translation for the Chinese on the gauge: Top line (red, yellow, green): "Normal behavior electricity" so it is a charge indicator, my guess is green is good, yellow not so good, red bad Middle line (white): "Green" Bottom line (white): "Battery indicator" Taking the top two lines together, I'd say they're trying to tell you that lights on the right side of the dial (the "green" side) = proper power from the battery Throttle: Top line = Forward Middle line (with arrows) = Neutral Bottom line = Backwards You likely figured that out already! Hope this helps
i assume that the LEDs are single color with basic control circuit, and since 3 seem to be dead you could swap each segment with color matching LEDs
Do girls also have interest in these types of videos
@@juliettaylorswift Good idea. My husband could do that pretty easily, I'd have to study on it.
@@khanbasharat Probably not a lot, but I love gadgets and especially anything electrical.
Google Translate rules!
Listening to your poppa and yourself laugh an joke on the water was truly priceless to me. I lost my father 7 years ago. Godspeed my brother!
A father son memory that will last forever ! Priceless !
I remember these types of boats when I was a child visiting China! They would be dotted across all the major lakes and rivers in major cities, and you could pay a couple of yuan to book them for a few hours. Those were really fun things, practically indestructible and were good childhood memories
i like it. I would find an old wave runner somewhere and take the motor out put it in the boat.
I was thinking it looked like it was designed for that kind of use, certainly nicer than a pedalo.
They really don't compare to paddleboats though. You could probably just buy a paddleboat for a lot cheaper and jerry rig a trolling motor and anchor on it for the same or maybe even better effect, but there's also some research you would have to put in about weight distribution and listing and a whole bunch of nautical physics. And I know because did torture tests on a paddleboat before. But keep in mind I'm only talking about lakes specifically.
@@nickirmen6671 lettem twist the engine out of the hull, we need more videos.
@@gabbymcgibson984I'm talking about if anyone wants to make one at home. A lot more reliable than something chinese.
The meter is a 'Battery level indicator', red = 'please charge', yellow = 'normal drive', green = 'fully charged'. Enjoy your video man, great work! Also love your relationship with your dad, he is a cool guy!
Thanks. I keep telling Micah how cool his father is LOL. Best regards
My wife agrees with you. She says the white in the middle is something about "green-environmentally friendly" or something like that. She does not quite understand what they are getting at with that part of it.
Thank you
*While seats are likely molded into deck, moving front seats inboard 5cm towards centerline and lower 5cm would greatly increase stability. Bow thruster in the rear (center) sponson would make it turn on a dime.*
I've got to say I'd spent that money on a small sailing boat any day, but then again, son-dad time with a project like this is priceless so can't say it's a bad decision in the end really
Honestly wish I had a dad like this! My dad died as a kid so never go to experience precious goofy moments with my dad like this
The gauge is the battery level indicator. The bottom reads "battery level indicator". The center is "green and environment friendly". The green part is "battery full". The yellow is literally "normal drive", which means batter level is fine. The red characters are not clear in the video, but it is safe to guess it says battery low. These boats are used in urban parks in China. They are used on lakes crowded with its own kind and row boats, often operated by kids. So they are not supposed to be any quick. Like someone commented, the hull mold might be old. Actually the hull shape looks very much like those when this type of park boats are equipped with foot pedals twenty years ago. A lot of people are kind surprised that a Chinese company can sell such a boat so cheap yet still making profit. Some people even commented saying slave labor, which is very ridiculous. Most people in the US are just not familiar about how people live in China. I am not a economist knowing a lot of theories, but I came from China in the early two thousand. When the living essentials such as food, clothing, transportation, and house rental are so cheap, the labor cost (salary from the worker's point of view) is also very low, which is in turn, also the reason goods and services are cheap. When you convert the Chinese salary to US dollars, the number may seem outrageously low, but the living cost can also be outrageously low. So seriously, for those people saying slave labor, think hard or even better go and investigate yourself, how can a country become the second biggest economy in the world built on slave labor. So in general, the whole country lives in a different economic scale than the US. That's also the reason everything imported from the US or Europe is luxurious in China, and why China sells more good to the US than buying from the US.
Thank you. I appreciate your insights.
Me as well
I wish more Americans would research themselves and find the truth. Asian cultures are generally hard-working, and their success is certainly not ill-begotten.
We are not all lacking that insight, but mostly are here in America. Our schools need to teach the world better.
What are the batteries made of???
This was just lovely. My father died when I was 19. I like to think we could have spent time together like this.
Wow, I was thinking how cool of a memory an event like this would have been.
I cherish the time with my son, Micah. We have worked on projects together for nearly 30 years. MANY great memories. But the latest ones are more complicated (and dangerous !!). Still makes me laugh. I hope you have your own good memories of your dad, even though you had less time with him. Best regards
Mine died when I was 10, so I understand exactly. I've asked him "how am I doing, dad" a thousand times at least. But I'm 63 now. Never fought in a war like him - but I do love America.
@@gregwillis7767 thank you
Thank you for saying that wow wow wow that’s just how I felt about this father and son I love to see them together working together what a great father and son connection wow love it that’s just how I felt watching the whole thing watching them together was more important than anything I’ve ever thought about the boat or anything just the relationship between father and son beautiful awesome, it just warmed the cockles of my heart,Infinite blessings everyone
love the light hearted tone of this video. and that you were brave enough to buy and test this 'cheap' boat. Well you saved me money on trying same buy. thanks!!!
I’m looking forward to seeing your upgrades! 👍🏻
It’s supposed to be a battery gauge. I spent most of my childhood in China and these little boats were everywhere. You can rent a boat like this at your local park for about 10 dollars an hour (and they also have pedal boats for rent at a even lower price). Because the boats can’t go very fast they even let kids to drive them. My favorite childhood memory was going to park and driving boats around with my grandparents. Sometimes my whole family would rent a bigger boat and have for a family picnic. This boat bring me so many memories, and now I want to buy one too 😂
Double up the batteries and go 48/52volt. Go 3000 watt motor. Solar panel and a better prop. You forgot Life Jackets, be safe.
and dont go any farther away from shore than you can swim 😂
The life jackets came with the boat!!
DEFINITELY SOLAR PANELS
@@martinedwards4522 Add pedals or oars
@@toyotaprius79 and a bilge pump
Best part of that endeavor is the dock! Your dad made me laugh.🤣😂🤣
I honestly like these videos that are more on other things electric than an all bike play list 😊
Seems you and your dad have a awesome relationship. I lost mine last year and I really miss him but watching yall together made me feel so peaceful thank you.
Wow - Such a beautiful comment. Thank you. Our sincere condolences on your loss. May the memories of the good times with your dad be a source of comfort for you and family during these difficult times. Be well. Stay safe. Love life.
Loosing your Dad is a tough thing to accept and my condolences go out to you. Just remember the good memories and know you will see him again.
💉💉💉☠️☠️☠️
That laugh after he said its completely ridiculous was genuine, hes awesome. hope you can upgrade and have fun with your new toy
Working on the upgrades. Best regards
This type of boat would be often available to rent on German small lakes and rivers in the 1960”s . I have seen many photos and Super-8-Films of my mum, uncle and grandparent on them. A great fun family boat on a sunny Sunday. And since in the 50”s/60”s Italian style and dolce vita was a huge trend, the white and yellow colours are perfectly matching. Since many boats have female names, why not call it Bella (for Bella Italia) or Capri (an Italien island known for its beauty , lagoons and amazing flowers)? Or better Lemon Twist, that goes well with a Floridian cocktail or ice water 😊
S. S. Quack quack
You should do a "Fixing everything thats wrong with my $1000 boat" video.. That would be really fun to watch! Maybe adding solarpanelos, better motor and prop etc. I would love to see that.
working on it now. stay tuned
I can't wait to see an update with some improvements.
I would install a longer propeller shafter to put that prop under the surface of the water! Or move the whole motor , shaft and prop to the stern to put the prop under water. Oh, thanks to your Dad. Great Dad to spend time with you.
as an oceanographer he needed a good laugh
This seems like it could be a great foundation for a project boat! Mods that you mentioned, such as upgrading the motor (along with a variable throttle), upgrade the prop and rudder, solar panels, storage... With sufficient battery capacity, you could put lighting on it, such as SUV/off-road lights, and running lights. I'd also look at filling much of the empty voids with buoyant expanding foam, as a safety measure! And the tubular steel cage it comes in, I'd bet it could be used to modify pretty much any basic frame trailer to properly carry the boat!
Seems like you could get an entire package from Bass Pro Shop for about the same money and no hassle.
Sea Doo motor and this thing would move
Two trolling motors in the rear with two toggle switches both having temporary forward off and temporary reverse would give you total control of the boat. Rented a mini pontoon boat with this set up 25 years ago. Lot of fun
Looks like a fun project but that went from a 1000 to a 5000 boat real quick 😂 and all that battery weight must really make it lag on the juice a bit
5k? How? Thats what $1500 worth of batteries? Im sure rhe shipping was atleast another $1000
Boat = bust out another thousand!
Awesome toy. A Cyclone motor (at 3k watts) might expand the uses. I want to see a race between the boat and the ducks;) Your dad is awesome. Loved his reactions to the boat.
I was laughing a great deal, for sure !
@@micahsdad5388 זה היה לצחוק.
@@michaelsprinzeles4022
@@micahsdad5388 Are you his daddy?
I was, perhaps, particularly happy to see that the Coast Guard sent a plane to make sure you guys were okay! :-)
Yep - we love our first responders !!
So great to see the relationship between you and your dad. The boat is cool, too!
Thank you so much. Been doing projects for 30 years with him. He's more handy now !!
Love his dad’s response! So cute ☺️
Love when your dad cracks up about how ridiculous it is 😂 really cool seeing father and son getting to hang
white guy thing .$1000. sent for unknown quality boat
@@Dr.evil.porkchop That's because even if it's trash, he will still be able to make a video from it which he got almost 2 million views from which covers the cost of the boat & then some.. lucky b*stard...
When you said “looks like a quality propeller” I heard Pops give a laugh giggle 😂
Cute little boat. I think if you put rubber grommets on the mounting bolts for the motor it will run much quieter. As for the prop you need a much better one to get any speed from it and with that motor it may not do much. Then get new pulleys and arrange them for better prop speed. That should improve Speed performance and noise. Maybe put some ballast in the bottom of the boat to lower it in the water so as not to have the prop sticking out and causing cavitation witch destroys your prop performance. A bigger Rudder will improve your steering performance quite a bit. From an old sea dog.
Fisherman?
Yes sir, and a commercial shrimper as well as fisherman, I know enough to get me in trouble and out most of the time lol.
You wluld be sacrificing what little torque you had for some speed that might not even improve if you have too much weight. I would have tried to see incould have paid more for a more powerful motor and speed controller. Those batteries can put out 10x as much power that the motor can take.
Right after the word Cavitation i knew. Me not not done fishing but coasting vessels. If that is the correct English word. I have been fishing of them sometimes but then we had anchor. What i do have in common is that i am also old.🤤
That was super cool to watch! Thanks for making the video!
Call it the Solar Duckling, which with the solar power would be a nice name, plus it is a nice little duckling. Solar panels will mean never needing to actually charge it, and you can also use the charge port to connect it to the truck, so that the larger panels can charge the truck at the same time. I would say that the plywood and steel in that frame is actually most of the price, seeing as you now can use it to make a whole lot of smaller projects, like a small shed to shelter the truck under, or a nice table or three in the garage.
Honestly, I'm most impressed with the dock. I thought that duck was gonna sweep in and capsize you. Your dad's laugh is infectious.
Thanks. My laugh got a good workout on this project. And I continue to laugh every time I take it for a spin. Best regards
👆Write to me for gifting….###
You paid more for the dock then the boat...lol. I love the Bote products, I have one of their kayaks.
I screen shot the dial on Google translate. It has four words loosely translated, the top says normal behavior,middle says green, right side says full and last in the lower of the dial says battery power indicator. Very interesting and fun watching this, thank you. I vote for Quack Quack, thanks Mom. I hope the low seats don’t fatigue your knees. Be safe and have fun.
Cool little boat for an amazing price! I love the walk through in the bow. 👍
Having built an electric boat, I would say you have to get that prop fully under the water. Also try a bigger prop. Torqueedo makes some very nice efficient props. Then try a different controller with speed control.
Probably should have used the heavier acid lead batteries
The gauge is a 电瓶电量指示 (Battery Level Indicator). Red reads 请充电 (Please Recharge), yellow reads 正常行驶 (Normal Driving/Operation, and the green reads 电量满 (Battery Level Full). I would love to see if that prop can be replaced with something off the shelf, that wasn't made by a 12 year old on his first day doing stick welding. Upgrading the motor and controller sounds great as well, I can't wait to see you tear into that boat and redoing the wiring. Based solely on looks and my previous experiences with Chinese wiring, I suspect the actual gauge of the wire (inside the insulating jacket) is on the higher side, meaning it could be closer to 16AWG instead of 12AWG. So before you upgrade the motor and controller, I suggest taking a close look at the wiring loom and upgrade as necessary.
For a cheap pondboat its quite cute. And i see lots of potentials to upgrade it, other stronger engine, and a stereo. Fixing those inner pillar surfaces maybe put some leds there to. 😀👍
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed the video. Really cool boat. A little slow. But looks like you had a blast. Cool that you had your dad on.
If you're thinking of doing a motor swap, I wonder if you'd be better off just mounting a large trolling motor in place of the rudder. This would use the built in steering, allow you to adjust the depth of your motor, give you a better prop and probably be a lot quieter. You'd also get better steering in both forward and reverse. You could sell the motor and speed controller to recover part of the cost or save it for a future project.
This is exactly what I was thinking too. You will get way better steering with an outboard type engine, which would be akin to a stern drive, as opposed to the fixed propeller and a rudder. And you would get rid of everything related to the pretty shady factory motor/drive system/propeller installation. You would also free up useful storage space in the "engine room."
That's what I would do.
Aren't most trolling motors 12VDC (or has that changed)? If so, that would also double your ampacity, but I think I would NOT put the battery packs in parallel, but use a switch arrangement to provide redundancy rather than ease of use. A 12VDC motor would of course also change your battery state indicator...but since the one provided is kind of iffy anyway, I'd use a voltage monitor in which I have more confidence and actually shows voltage...not dumb idiot lights.
What fun!
@@exgenica Most are 12 volt, but some of the higher output ones are 24 volt. (usually in models over 50 lbs of thrust) I notice that Minn Kota has a 24v trolling motor with 80 lbs of thrust. Something like that would be awesome on a little boat like this.
Before upgrade the engine, better to try to add two more set of batteries, the controller supports 24V-48V. It should run faster with 4 sets of batteries and 48V voltage.
But he said the 6.5 hours from the 24v was more than enough time he wanted to spend on the tiny boat…
So enjoy your purchases!! Thanks for sharing.
The fact that u spend a great day with your father 😍 make everything else worth it
Yes, your Dad laughing made the video enjoyable. I think your Dad named the boat already. “This is ‘Absolutely Ridiculous’”
Thanks for taking us on this journey. It's fun to see all this stuff that I didn't even know existed, and yet now I want for myself. Please post more videos of this boat out in open water.
I think it looks great and seems like a lot of fun to own.
It would be fun to experiment with different pulley sizes to see if you could get a little more power!
On the motor controller there should be a thin blue wire that loops back to the controller with a connector block on it, if you disconnect it this will remove the 750w limit.
Not before running much heavier gauge wires from the batteries to the speed controller and onwards to and from the motor. That wire from China looks like string, probably get warm at 20A. Plus it's likely copper coated Aluminium which hates bending ever. Terrible stuff.
@@Jeff44 Well it will be pulling 30A at 24v to make the 750w. I would go 48/52v ideally and replace the motor and controller.
@@Jeff44 The first thing i saw as well.
I love seeing you and your dad together. I miss my dad so much. Spend time together as much as you can!
We need an update! Can't wait to see how a new prop, moved batteries, and updated motor work.
Working on it !! Stay tuned - it will be killer !!
While your maiden voyage was very low key the Field of Dreams vibes between you and your pop were chill! Crazy what 1000 bucks will buy you! 😊❤
Your dad was cracking up laughing at the boat but honestly for $1000 you can NOT complain! Throw a larger prop on or just change the motor, create some storage, and find a way to charge it (most likely solar) and you will have a really cool machine. It's soo bad that you paid double the rice of the boat for shipping. Even if you could get the whole machine with shipping and batteries for under $3000 you have a hell of a machine! Edit. After watching the rest of the video you mention exactly what I said you should do, lol.
But for what he spent, a used boat off FB Marketplace is much more useful.
To get discounted shipping (about 10-25%) buy with 3 other friends or acquaintances at the same time. The seller/shipper uses 1 cargo container to one destination instead of 1 container with 4 crates to 4 destinations.
I love to watch these Chinese Imports, equally love watching you & your Dad trying them out together.
So true, *The crate looks fantastic.* You can tell the pride of workmanship just by looking at it. WOW ! The packaging alone is worth a couple hundred bucks !
Worth more than the boat! 😂
You can tell this was a ccp approved comment since he clearly said the craftsmanship of the actual boat was not impressove at all
It's a really nice boat for what you're using it for right now. It's nice for a backyard pond Big pond. Upgrade to motor and you'll be set. Nice little unit.😊
Your Dads laugh is worth more than what you spend the boat with. Happy memories 😊.
The quality time with my son on projects like this is certainly worth much much more. thank you and best regards
Ha ha ! The Pond Barge !!😆 I can’t wait for Micah to explain (demonstrate 😉) how he turns the boat prop from a air fan into a actual submerged propeller 😁 Nice inflatable dock too. Looking forward to boat upgrade videos 👍🏻
We have some plans for that. I assume that the prop height was pretty constrained by the hull design and with 5 people in the boat it would definitely place the prop fully in the water. For now, living with cavitation is just the way it is. I'll grind the leading edge of the prop to at least provide some reasonable profile until we do a prop upgrade
@@micahsdad5388 it’s a worthy endeavor. Good to see a father son collaboration and a few laughs too !
My thoughts are 2 jet drives mounted in the sponsoons (outer lower hull sections) the suction ports/inlets would be at the lowest points in the hull using mechanical reversers as they would both allow for stable directional control and have added safety as there would be no prop to catch on anyone/anything
You could put a small waterproof tent on top with air mattress & down sleeping bag and leave it deployed , and on the metal lattice you can build a frame for a BBQ and a rinse rack for pots and pans in the starboard side and on the other side (port) same thing. Build a metal lattice to hold a fridge and a counter. Now you have a kitchen and a bedroom. Take out the front passenger backrest on the chair and run a seti along the side for a bunk and daytime couch. Lastly, drape roll up plastic rolls in the back and either side and roll them down if it rains
@20:00 yes, this is a standard single-phase CEE (IEC 60309) socket, typically used for industrial applications, stage lighting/audio and campers all around the world. Those usually have at least an IP44 rating. As for balance and the propeller sticking out above the water: I guess the boat was probably designed for lead batteries, which would be significantly more weight than you LiFePOs.
Listening to your dad finally laughing is infectious - I was in tears!
Lots of fun hearing all that you did to accomplish your journey. Very nice looking boat! You and your father are enjoying each other which is the greatest part of your story. I look forward to following you, I really enjoyed it..
WOW, That was really cool,thanks for sharing !!😮
Looking forward to seeing what you upgrade on it, and how you do it! If the results are good enough, this may be my next big purchase lol
Loved your video, love the electric setup and the upgrade thoughts from comments here. My hobby is electric planes and jets so I appreciate what you are doing here for the sake of electric (non-fossil fuel) power and the practicality of it. Of course, for the cost of the boat and shipping, you could have had a pretty nice used boat and motor but that would have defeated your goals. Keep up the good work...subscribed!
I was eyeing this boat for myself as well. Thank you for taking one for the team and posting this, now I don’t have to think it anymore! 😝
Oh my goodness... This isn't very lady like to admit this to the world but I actually had to pause this and run to the potty... This old lady was laughing so hard I was afraid I wasn't going to get there 😂. This is the cutest thing I've ever seen! The only thing cuter is going to be having it hooked up to the little truck, parked next to the blow up dock 😂😂😂. I'm actually looking to buy some property and I'm hoping to get a little bit of water like this- now I guess I have to buy a damn Chinese boat for the grandkids. 😳🤣 P. S.- Your dad is absolutely adorable.
it's been a long time since i had a in-board single prop boat, but it seems to me that every time you try to reverse, the stern would go clock wise. this i believe is due to the thrust/torque of the prop and the fact that the boat has a small rudder.. it takes a lot of practice and learning how your boat moves, it's ability to drift with current and wind. seeing that when you want to stop a boat the usual thing to do is put in reverse. so, when you are docking approach, bow first, so that the dock is on the port (left) side . when you go into reverse to stop it will pull the stern in toward the dock. if you wanted a bit more speed and control you might try replacing the the prop with an electric water jet drive. they are made to run at just below the waterline. have fun with it.
I really like the inflatable dock with the tie downs built in! That would be great for accessing the water without having to walk through the weeds and mud along the shoreline.
With that dock, a piece of wood and a trolling motor You could run rings around the boat. I recommend "the Donald" as a name in honor of the Disney character (not the former President - :)).
Love this, it’s great to see a Dad and son duo playing together ❤
You can set google translate to "detect language" for the gauges at @19:43 and get a general idea of what they say, the battery power indicator is on the right
Just wanted to say that I really love how you make your videos. Not the typical shouting that is so common. The interaction with your dad is also very nice to see on video. Keep it up!
Something to consider is using the weight of extra batteries as ballast on top of using lead counter-weights. Along with the solar panels, you'll have basically UnLiMiTeD pOwEr(!!!) and you can run things like MFDs to monitor power storage and output, refrigeration, flood lights and a stereo system. I would honestly go with quadruple the power, double the suggested motor power to 4000 watts, a couple of MFDs and a proper throttle. The added weight will drop your draft so that the screw reaches maximum efficiency and putting it in the bilge will lower your center of weight so it's more stable. An extra 500 lbs with at least 150 of that centered in the aft should do the trick.
Consider installing a couple of solar panels on the canopy and run the charge controller and an inverter and double your batteries and you might be able to really use the boat for a great time.
great time at less than1 mph, you could paddle faster than that boat
definitely change out motor and they got bigger esc controllers and that is what is going to give you more power and one more thing is the discharge of the battery . best way to describe this is for you to learn about rc boats that will explain a lot better on ESC Controllers and Batteries discharge punch rate to controller and motor . good luck im looking into this as well for a optional boat on a lake front homestead in Scottsdale Az it would be cool
It was fun just watching you and your dad enjoying your time together! Priceless. Ty for sharing.
I 2nd that.. Great for the memories..
Please do another videos upgrading the electric motor to something more powerful to see if it will make it worthy of open waters. It’s clearly underpowered and if you do that including a controllable throttle instead of on/off and maybe replace and lower the prop a little, I think it would make it capable of the open waters and rivers! Can’t wait to see the upgraded version!
it arrives in a DIY steel framed shed, this is a win win win, just stand the two halves of the box on end and you have a shed for pushbikes and garden tools etc, it needs solar panels on top as you say, run cables down the roof supports and no more plug in charging.
duckling cause its yellow and lake only! also floaters on the sides would make it more stable, specially with the weight of the panels, stay safe and have fun! great video
The most impressive thing in this video is the quality and stability of that inflatable dock! Yeah, as others have said you need to get that prop both replaced and located completely underwater, as you are losing so much propulsion and steering control the way it currently is with the prop just cavitating halfway out of the water. With the correct propeller type & location and appropriate gearing, you could easily double if not triple the current speed of that boat (and attain effective steering control), making it safe for river use. And the way that the drive-belt system is set up you can easily alter the gearing by simply swapping-out the drive pulleys for different sized ones to optimize the motor's output to the size & pitch of the new propeller you install. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
extend the shaft to get the propeller fully in the water?
@@nancyg7267 only works if it's angled down and it's in line with the rudder so can only extend so far
I agree the dock is very interesting and deserves a review of its own.
Love your channel man. You’re a great guy and I’m glad you get to experience the fun of building with your family
Building with my son is a real joy. Thanks so much !!!
I love how the label on the dock box says "bote dock" lol. Inflatable docks are the best way to dock your botes.
I bought a similar Eska boat which only seats 2 people back in 1978. It did not have a motor, so I used a 3 hp outboard to power it.
Saw your video for the first time, and I ended up subscribing and giving up a thumbs-up even before the video was over. Your video was fun to watch, and it was great to see you spending time with your dad doing this. I had a smile the hold time I was watching you guys. I lost my dad a few years ago and thought he and I would have had a blast doing this kind of stuff. I think your dad had as much fun as you did. I love techie stuff and gadgets so this was really cool to watch. Hope to see more of your video in the future.
Rounding up some recommendations from other commenters: 1. Water ballast tanks to stabilize 2. Swap out the LEDs on the charge indicator so you have actual green, yellow, and red ones 3. Solar panel on the sunshade 4. Power up the engine and get a better prop 5. Extend the steering wheel so the position isn't so awkward when steering 6. A 24v Minn Kota on the front too 7. Actual motor controller to allow speed control 8. Replace the steel plate rudder with a foil Does it have night running lights? If not, add those for sure.
No 3 - absolutely. No 2 - good idea we will seriously consider. No 1 - interesting but probably not entirely practical. Thanks for following along with our adventure, Ellen. Best regards
At what point do you just buy a used gas boat lol
@@NoNORADon911 Never
Sweet boat! I’d love to have one for our lakes and rivers. Yale lake, Lake Merwin and the Columbia river.
I have a suggestion for the name from the Hawaiian Islands……. “lilikoi”. In case you don’t know, Lilikoi is a wonderful fruit from the passion vine …. Passion fruit. The outside of the fruit is the yellow of the seats of the boat.
Micah, Here are some idea to gain boat speed which probably already know (1) Change the pulley ratio from motor to drive shaft. (2) Better propeller design. (3) Stronger motor and faster reving motor (3) Better drag coefficient of the boat. You need to install an additional bunks mounting brackets to secure the front bunks for safety. On the video, the boat is rocking, front and back. I'm surprised you guys did not cut the shipping container top brackets from the bottom base and lift the complete bracket off and away from the boat. It could have eliminated the pushing and shoving effort. You could have adapted the shipping container base to the trailer as your bunks. For new $4280 E-boat with future mods option, I think good price. For the name? CHARGE-ME- UP or AMPED- UP
Xxk