RAILBLAZA Kayak Motor Mount

While not an actual review of the motor mount performance, since I haven’t tested it in the water, I wanted to share these photos in case it might help someone dealing with heavier motors and the high torque produced when folding the motor in the horizontal position. Railblaza’s product seems well engineered for light motors with low thrust and short shafts. I adapted mine for a OldTown Predator MX and a Newport 55 kayak trolling motor. The opposing turnbuckles used here provide a resultant vertical force directly through the StarPort stem (which is the only weak point I could identify). I will amend this review after it’s been on the water.(Updated) After having tested this set-up for one month I can heartedly re-recommend it. You may notice from the photos that the turnbuckles were aluminum and some of the connecting hardware was chromed or galvanized steel. Replacing these items with stainless steel or nylon is suggested. The only performance suggestion I’d mention is to add locking nuts on the turnbuckles to prevent them loosening during use.The motor is much stronger than necessary for this kayak but for testing purposes I did open the throttle completely which while not suggested for operating the kayak, would test the motor mount system. The results were outstanding. The mount remained rigid but resilient during use even after the motor skeg struck an underwater log at half speed. This simple hack can be installed and removed in under five minutes without modifying the kayak in any way. Now I’m adding a 5th star.

Pretty easy to install for me. But if you dont know how to navigate tools it may be difficult. Its not plun n play. I had to use the noodle on how to mount on my particular kayak. (Ascend hybrid 10 bass pro)

I had to mount this to my kayak with screws rather than bolts and it stayed solid so far after 10 hours of hard fishing. Mounted a 54lb thrust trolling motor with no problem.

The layout of the mount is great. The locking system between the bar and the kayak deck mounts is great.Cons:I was shorted all of the hardware for the actual motor mount that secures the two pieces of plastic and the mini bar to the main bar. Also shorted the loop mount, hardware for the loop mount that secures to the upper side of the kayak, and the motor mount to loop mount tightening knob.Fortunately I overcame this as I had my own hardware in the garage.Also, the hardware that mounts to the kayak is not sufficient. You need to use bigger diameter screws and I highly recommend using something as a backing plate for the kayak mounts on the bottom side of the kayak. Not having a backing plate for these mounts for the underside of the kayak is a major flaw for this design. I am using two pieces of 1/4 inch lexan plexiglass that I cut myself with a dremel tool.One star rating until these shortcomings are addressed. Not impressed for a simple mount that cost over 100 dollars.

Well built and very strong when supporting an electric motor on an inflatable kayak. There is some flex in use and steering takes some getting used to. I have a NRS Pike kayak and this allows me to troll perfectly. Railblaza makes excellent products.

In order to truly get the best out of this product you will also need to get a mounting arm of some sort to attach another brace (pictures) to help prevent the plastic from bending. My brace is a scotty base with ball attached to the kayak itself, marine double Arm, and a ram attachment and ball end attached to the motor mount. Quite literally a smorgasbord of different companies so nothing fancy is needed. Just need to brace it otherwise the plastic will bend far beyond comfort level when the motor is parallel to the water. With this brace attached this product is a solid 5 out of 5.If Railblaza was smart they would add the mount in the package and charge $200. If you plan to get the brace with it this product is well worth it. If not, it'll do the trick, just have to be super easy on it when it is in the up position. Even when down have to ease into the speeds without the brace as the plastic of the mount bows a fair amount.

We installed a Railblaza Kayak Motor Mount on our Eddyline Carribean12 recently. I have been having shoulder problems and can't always paddle comfortably. I love being on the water so I did some research and decided that adding a trolling motor to my kayak would be a great solution. My husband did the installation. Since Eddyline Kayaks are made from a light weight thermoformed plastic material that looks beautiful and keeps the weight down, he added stainless backing on the inside of the kayak to be sure the deck wouldn't be damaged. It provided a solid mounting area and has worked well with a 30 lb thrust trolling motor. The Railblaza Mount is well made and very sturdy. It came with all the parts needed for the installation. The StarPort mounting system is great. I really like that I can easily pop the Railblaza Mount off when I don't need it. Very satisfied with this purchase.

I have two kayaks and the railblaza motor on both. Works great with the 30 lb of trust and the heaver 55lbs of trust motor.Wish it came with a extra eye pad so we can flip it for righty’s and lefty,but that’s easily fixed with a trip to home depot. I made a backing plate out of a plastic cutting board for more strength but thats just for my peace of mind . I have other railblaza products and like them all.