I Made a Fishing Micro Skiff with a JET DRIVE motor and its AWESOME! (and Crazy CHEAP)

I made an amazing fishing micro skiff using a paddleboard from Costco and a Jet Drive outboard motor from Temu. The board is an inflatable paddleboard with a catamaran hull, its the Hyperlite Elevation 2.0 paddle board and it was on sale at Costco for only $299. The jet drive outboard motor only cost $280 and is a 4 stroke, it can travel through very shallow water. Micro skiffs are getting very popular in the Fishing world, manufacturers like BOTE, Live Watersports, and Lite Skiff make some amazing micro skiffs. However these fishing micro skiffs can cost over $5000 when including the motor and accessories. Altogether this DIY fishing micro skiff build cost me just over $600. This micro skiff is a fun alternative to Kayak fishing setups. Also compared to a fishing kayak this micro skiff is very cheap. This micro skiff is awesome for bass fishing, saltwater fishing, and more. If your into kayak fishing, bass fishing or paddleboarding you have to checkout my cheap DIY micro skiff setup from the Costco Paddleboard. If you saw my other kayak fishing setup video definitly check out this fishing skiff build video.

0:00 Fishing Micro Skiff concept
0:41 Costco Paddle Board Unboxing
4:09 Temu Jet Drive Outboard Motor unboxing
6:20 Costco Paddleboard water test
7:19 Temu Outboard Motor test
12:12 DIY Rod holders and safety lanyard
16:09 Micro skiff shallow water test
19:28 Micro Skiff Saltwater backcountry fishing test

[TheHappyDIYGuy-rinb]

THAT THING IS SICK MAN! You did a great job, good story telling and video edits!

[FrankStein]

Put door hinges where the black and orange part come together. Now it is easily foldable.
Great eye and creativity for a bargain skiff.❤

[cowboy]

I would get out a carbide drill and drill 1/4" holes through two layers of steel where the pivot point is on the motor. Put a spring loaded BB tip push pin in the holes and WALA!! No more flipping the engine in reverse. When needing to lift the drive jet just pull the pin.

[Radchenister]

Brilliant. Not sure where I would use it, but I want one. 😂

[effinhaoli]

Brah super rad! I would bring a beach umbrella for a canopy when you’re chilling or moving slow🤙🏽

[sirfishslayer]

An option could be to mount a seat swivel across those boards where the dry box is, then attach it to that handle so it does not move. That would put your weight on the boards and not directly on the skiff in on spot AND give you a back rest. With webbing, mount a small dry box (maybe in a backpack) onto the back of the seat that can pop off and float if overturned. Then mount your cooler in the front for your fish/lunch/water.
Overall, awesome build. I want one now!

[gfziywj]

That's awesome! Going to go to Costco next payday and seen that same motor on Temu but was skeptical, but not anymore since you showed me that I don't need to worry about trailer style boats being the only option because I don't have any type of hitch on my truck and not enough space for a boat trailer. Thanks for your great video on that awesome paddle board conversion, Genius!!!😮

[richardlellip.e.m.b.a.]

You would turn into a Gummie Bear to Bull & Mako Sharks -- had both take a tester bite on my Hobie.

[bobsmoot]

Very creative and innovative. You have a futile mind and the courage to think/act out of the box. Well done, sir. Enjoy your creation.

[georgecypher]

Excellent job dude ...that is what i call saving money the smart way .
Good luck on the fishing ...I wanna see ya do a catch and cook video on your first trip fishing .

[infernalbird]

You LEGEND! I'm putting together my shopping list right now! Love it man! I WANNA GO FISHING!

[localsms]

This is so cool! I really prefer fishing standing up, it sucks sitting for hours on the kayak would love one of these

[antonhoffart]

really cool that you think on the easiest solutions with the box and the pipes and the wood and the mantis

[charliegigante]

Have you contacted Hyperlite? You might be able to sell them your "Fishing upgrade kit" . 🤑

[jTroutuorT]

This is a great video! I would definitely do this If I had his fishing real estate.

[mrxman]

Amazing discovery! Great job and idea!!

[Internetpilot]

Great ideas/build! That's awesome. About the only thing I would've done differently is used furniture grade (already colored) PVC pipe for the whole motor mount frame. Furniture grade PVC comes in like a dozen different colors, including the usual pipe fittings so you could've made it in different sections to relatively match the colors on the board. Because it's made for outdoor furniture it's much more UV resistant than even painted regular PVC. You could also use "T" fittings to install rod holders, camera mounts, or even some sort of grab/leaning bar (also with rod holders) across the board. I would've also used the same furniture grade PVC for the motor mount but put thick pieces of HDPE (plastic cutting board material) for mounting the actual motor. Lightweight but super strong, no wood splinters (it is an inflatable), waterproof, already colored, etc. You could even make it so the PVC frame can be taken apart to more easily fit in a car.

But otherwise...wow. That's awesome! Great job!

[KaiColoiWai]

Great job! Very economical and efficient

[sm]

Just some things I see I would change. The rod holders I would spin them 180 degrees so the tips are facing you. Less likely to have rods getting caught up. If I missed it and they swivel and such, then disregard this. And move the cooler more toward the front and use a small chair and sit closer to the back. Also lower the motor into the water further when you are running in deeper water if possible. A trolling motor and a small lithium battery might be a good option too. Look for a HV Lithium battery. Trolling motors have come a long way from when I used them.
I love the design and tine you put into something you blow up. Kudos to you and enjoy that thing

[odbo_One]

Fishing and recreational industry is seriously taking advantage of people. They will see how we build things on the budget and soon will take advantage of that. Built yours ASAP.