I’ve been kayak fishing for 20 years and am amazed at the technology advancements available to kayak anglers these days. Like most kayak anglers, my journey started in the simplest form with a basic kayak, a hand paddle, and a thirst to learn. Fast forward, and these days we have amazing tools available to us, including foot pedals, sounders, wizz-bang accessories, live scope, trolling motors, and now GPS Spot Lock capability. It really is unbelievable.
Watch our detailed on-water testing of the Haswing W40 trolling motors with GPS Spot Lock.
I first saw the Haswing W40 trolling motor with spot lock capability at the Geelong Boat Show in March 2025. I was a guest for other boating and kayaking brands that day and stumbled past the Haswing stall and started chatting with their staff. Up until then, I had tested Bixpy’s, which for good reason had become very popular, FPV trolling motors and even bow-mounted watersnakes. However, the Haswing W40 trolling motor had a few very interesting features. Firstly, it plugged straight into the drive well of your Hobie and didn’t need to be bow- or rear-mounted, which is great. Secondly, it was 40lb, so you would likely get impressive speeds, and thirdly and most importantly, it had GPS spot lock capability via a remote control, and some additional routing and mapping options which was going to be a game changer.
Now, don’t get me wrong, one of my favourite things about kayak fishing is the exercise you get by paddling or peddling around. However, having a trolling motor makes it so easy for you to go from spot to spot. I have kayak fished in so many different systems, and often you’re drifting at fast speeds, which can be really tiring when you’re fishing. Or most challenging when you find a big school of fish, and you keep drifting away from them or need to drop an anchor. This tech changes all of that. You can now motor around effortlessly, and when you do find a good patch of fish, you simply press a button that holds you in place and keeps you there.
Haswing W40 Onwater usage
I was pretty excited to use this product. Like all gadgets, there is a small learning curve. Initially, pairing the unit and remote control. Next calibrating the unit when you hit the water to get accurate GPS reading, and then get familiar with navigating around. I found the first hour on the water was spent mostly experimenting and testing, but soon after I was confident motoring around and using features like GPS spot lock. The remote control is very intuitive, and most features can be worked out quickly. It didn’t take long to get comfortable with its use, features, and application on the water. To really put it through its paces, we tested it with multiple kayaks, particularly filming initial testing with a Hobie Outback and a Hobie Pro Angler 14, which are among the most common kayaks likely to use a trolling motor like this. You can see the results of that detailed on water testing in the embedded video above.
W40 Performance
We planned our initial testing on a day with gentle northerly winds; however, Mother Nature had other ideas, swinging the winds to the south, which meant we had to deal with small waves. It wasn’t too bad, but we do realise we may have achieved slightly better performance under flatter conditions during testing.
Testing with a Hobie Outback, we got top speeds of 8.4 kilometres per hour and averaged around 7.2 kilometres per hour at full speed. Testing with a Hobie Pro Angler 14, we got top speeds of 8.1 kilometres per hour and averaged around 6.8 kilometres per hour at full speed. Overall, that’s really good performance. I know when fishing on my own, I wouldn’t need to go to those speeds and prefer to use more comfortable speeds, but for our testing, it was great to see their capability.
Also, keep in mind that the trolling motor has a magnetic kill switch for safety. I simply tether the lanyard connected to the magnetic kill switch to my leg, and if I fall overboard for any reason, it will disconnect and automatically cut power to the trolling motor. This is essential safety. The last thing you would ever want is for the trolling motor to keep going with you off the vessel, as that will leave you stranded and in a very compromised position.
Powering the Haswing W40 trolling motor
In my case, I purchased the Ultimate pack, which included the trolling motor, remote control, GPS capability, cables, accessories and most importantly, an InfinitiPower IP-12105-D-BT IP67 waterproof LiFePo4 lithium battery with Bluetooth monitoring and dual terminal posts. The battery weighs 11 kilos, so keep that in mind; however, these batteries are well-made and gave us heaps of running time. In our initial tests on the water, using the motor off and on at full speed for 6 hours, I still had 68% remaining on the kayak battery when finished at the end of the day. The battery has Bluetooth, and when you download a free app called “lithium hub 360”, you can monitor live the battery usage and availability, which is really handy.
I simply stored the battery in my Hobie H-Crate, which fits great. I simply had the cabling running beside the chair; however, this can easily be tidied up, which I plan to do over the coming weeks, so minimal cabling is exposed, and so you can connect the battery via a quick clip switch to make the process quick and seamless.
The following week, I took the trolling motor to Coliban Reservoir in calm, flat conditions. I trolled at a slow speed for 3 hours chasing Murray Cod and Yellowbelly with size 2 and 3 stump jumpers. At the end of that session, I still had 92% battery usage, which is excellent.
Haswing W40 Cabling
One of the challenges you will have with the trolling motor is cabling. If you don’t have any electrical skills, then this can be challenging. In my initial testing, I simply placed the battery in the H-Crate, which is positioned behind my chair, and ran the cabling either under or beside the chair. Although this works its not ideal and a little untidy. I have since messaged Haswing, who has sent me quick clips that can be mounted on the kayak. So, essentially, you can run the cabling inside the yak out of the way and power the motor when needed with a quick, waterproof clip. This will be my project over the coming weeks, so at this stage I can’t comment any further on that.
Minor issues
So far, the trolling motor has performed extremely well. The only 2 notable things were that, at the end of the day, when you turn the trolling motor off, you need to ensure it is pointing straight. If you don’t do this, then you won’t be able to get the trolling motor out of the drive well. It’s something that will just need to become a habit. I also had one occasion in a remote area where the motor was giving message no GPS fix and wouldn’t pair with the remote. Shortly after, it paired, and I was back up and running, but only time will tell whether this becomes a problem in remote areas with poor mobile or satellite coverage. As mentioned, though, there have been only 2 very minor issues, and my testing to date has been overwhelmingly positive.
Overall thoughts
There are many great applications for a trolling motor with GPS spot lock. For serious anglers, it really allows you to stay on top of fish when you find them or to fish structure so much more effectively. It will be great for those who love trolling lures for long hours.
I’ve been unwell the last few months and am recovering. The trolling motor physically allows me to get on the kayak, and you can’t help but think that could also be great for others who may need help on the water, moving from spot to spot.
Overall, the trolling motor handled really well. The speeds were faster than other trolling motors we have tested, but within legal speed requirements. The remote control was intuitive, and the spot lock feature worked great. Please keep in mind that calibrating on first use is critical if you don’t. When using the GPS spot lock feature, it can be quite erratic and jerky, but our tests after calibration were great.
Kayak Trolling Motor Rules and Regulations in Victoria
We received many questions about the rules and regs associated with kayak trolling motors like this. Do kayaks with these trolling motors need to be registered, or do you need a license?
Please note that we followed these as a guideline https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/news/exemption-for-low-powered-kayaks-and-canoes-now-permanent/
If you have any further questions or queries, we strongly suggest reaching out to Haswing, Safe Transport Victoria, or Better Boating Victoria, who will gladly help. However, we did check all these with the manufacturer and key bodies before testing and creating content.
Haswing W40 Cost
The FishingMad motto is to always be honest and transparent and never come across as an infomercial. We never use or recommend products that we wouldn’t use or buy ourselves. Now, this isn’t cheap tech, and many will argue it’s too expensive, and many will even suggest that when you’re getting to that point, you might as aswell buy a small boat or a tinny.
However, I love kayak fishing, and I can tell you firsthand that kayaks are still significantly cheaper than boats and tinnys, and the experience on the water is completely different. For those who want a simple kayaking experience, a basic kayak will do just fine, and for those who want to take their kayak fishing to another level, there are endless options for sounders, scopes, accessories, and trolling motors like this.
The Haswing W40 trolling motor costs
- Basic W40 54706 ( no gps, no remote, no battery ) $699
- W40 54707 with remote and gps ( no battery ) $1,899
- W40 54707 Ultimate pack with remote, GPS, 105 amp battery, accessories $2,999
Yes, it’s not cheap, but its capability is amazing, and the experience you get on the water might completely transform the way you kayak fish.
Specs and Features breakdown from Manafacturer
Features:
Brushless motor for maximum durability and minimal noise
360-degree steering capability for optimal maneuverability
10-step speed control, optimizing battery usage and extending run time. A real-time battery voltage display keeps you informed, while the magnetic kill switch enhances safety.
Features an integrated GPS, the PowerDrive offers Spot-Lock style anchoring functionality, heading lock and waypoint tracking.
Hands-Free Positioning: Automatically holds the boat in a precise location, allowing anglers to focus on fishing without manually adjusting for wind, waves, or currents.
Precise Targeting: Keeps the boat over specific fish-holding structures, increasing catch rates by maintaining optimal positioning.
No Physical Anchor: Eliminates the need for heavy anchors, reducing noise, seabed disturbance, and the hassle of deploying/retrieving, ideal for shallow or sensitive areas.
Specifications:
Weight: 6.7kg
Voltage: 12v
Thrust: 40lb
10-step speed control
Designed for use in fresh or salt water
Minimum Recommended Power Source: 50ah
Motor Waterproof Rating: IP68
Remote Control Waterproof Rating: IP63
Compatible with Hobie Rotomolded Kayaks. Does not fit Passport, Lynx or i-Trek models.
Purchase and after-sales support
You can purchase their trolling motors directly from Haswing and in Victoria, reach out to our local Hobie Kayak Dealers, including AWS Action Water Sports in Geelong and Scott Lovig Hobie in Mornington.
You can also find out more from the Haswing Australia Website. We have not used any support or after-sales support, so we cannot comment on that at this stage. However, Greg Saville from Haswing has been very helpful, and we would recommend contacting him should you need any assistance.
