Trolling Motor?

[Blaze]

Sorry for the "off-season" question, but you've always gotta be thinking ahead - and Joe Suits' anchor post got me into open water mode...so here's a question that I need some help with.

I have a 19' Crestliner Phantom with a 125 Merc that I'm looking to add a trolling motor to. The boat weighs about 1700 lbs (not sure how much that impacts the decision), and I'm wondering how many #s of thrust I need in a trolling motor for this rig. I've been looking at Minn Kota Powerdrives - will a 50#-55# be enough? Any other brands I should be considering here? Looks to me like Minn Kota owns the market.

Thanks in advance.

[Fisher Dave]

50-55# is a bare minimum for that boat .. your not going to have enough power to control the boat with any amount of wind or chop. Your better off going at least 65#. More power will give you better control in less than perfect conditions. Personally I would consider one of the 100 lb models .. they are spendy, but worth it when pushing that much weight.

[Guest]

Bow mount or transom?

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[Fathead]

Blaze,

If you are talking bow mount, then it probably will be enough. Although I would suggest a little larger in a 24V system.

If you are talking transom...well, that is just too underpowered for that boat. I have a 50# transom motor on my Angler 1600, and I regret the day I bought it. I would definetely go 74lb or 100lb (24v/36v) for that boat. Not having enough power in any kind of wind 10mph or more is a big bummer.

[Blaze]

Good input guys. I'm looking at a bow mount. Understood - the more power, the better. That makes perfect sense...that is, until you try to convince the wife on the price of a bigger unit. Everything I've seen that's 74lbs or bigger has been $950+. OUCH - I'm looking to spend around half that if possible.

To further show my ignorance here, what will the difference be between a 12/24/36v motor? I have the plate in front of the bow to hook up a trolling motor, though it's not wired yet (I don't think - has knockout on plate). Any implications I need to consider between the 12/24/36v in terms of wiring compatabiltiy, etc? This is my first "real" boat and I'm still learning this stuff.

Thanks again.

[Guest]

Bow mounts come in Powerdrive(powerdriven) or cable driven. Power driven is nice being you dont have to keep your foot on the pedal but its not as responsive as the cable driven. Cable driven needs more foot control but it has a faster repsonse time.

If you are going to be doing some general trolling with a bow mount in light wind conditions, you can get by with a 12v 50-55# motor.

If you plan on fishing in windy conditons and using it more than 4 hours during the day, you will want to go with a 24v 60-72# motor.

If you like fishing the edges of the mud or edges of the gravel, the cable driven is best.

If your going to be using your motor to control drift, general trolling over the tops of the flats or gravel, then the power driven will be ok for you.

Which ever motor you get, follow the manual for wiring instructions. If you go with the 24v. They need to be wired together, so plan on having them within 3-4 feet of each other or closer.

When choosing batteries. Get the biggest you can fit in your boat. Onboard chargers are great for 24v-36 volt systems.

Give fish-electronics a call in Fridley MN.The carry re-conditioned Minn-kota motor with a warranty and they can cost half as much as new.

Good Luck

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[This message has been edited by D-man (edited 01-09-2003).]

[Blaze]

Thanks for the info, D-Man.

One thing I'm still not clear on is the advantage of 24v -vs- 12v? Does it give you longer operating time? It sounds to me like you have 2 batteries with a 24v system or am I misunderstanding something here?

[Guest]

Yes, the 24 Volt motors have higher thrust giving you more torque to fight wind thus giving you more time on the water. I have the Minn-kota Vantage 36 volt 101# thrust transom mount motor. Even though its 101#'s of thrust, it draws less amps than the 24 or 12 volt motors giving me even more time on the water.
12 volt motor= 1 battery,24 volt 2 batteries
36 volt 3 batteries

Also if you fish in windy conditions, get the longer shaft models that will keep the prop in the water when bouncing waves. Its better to have a longer shaft, they are adjustable and can be raised but cant be lowered if you aint got it.

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[This message has been edited by D-man (edited 01-10-2003).]

[Guest]

Blaze i highly recommend purchasing a 24 volt trolling motor. With a 24 volt system you are able to run the motor a lot longer than a 12 volt trolling motor. I have a 74 lb maxxum on the bow and stern of my rig and im able to run at least a full day on a charge. Well worth the extra money in my opinion.

[trollneyes]

I agree with the 24V motor for your rig. My father has a 17' Sylvan w/ a 12V 54# thrust bowmount, it can barely make it 5 hours of constant use. My bro-in-law has the same boat w/ a 24V bowmount and we can run it all weekend. Definatly worth the money! Good luck with your sales pitch to the Mrs.

[kwkfsh]

If you get a 12v motor get 2 batts,that will will give you twice the run time of one batt.There is a neat gizmo out that most people don't know about. It is made by Charging Systems Intl. and is called a Pro Xtra II. It costs about $119.00 and takes about 5 min. to install. What it does is take all the juice from your alternator once the starting batt is fully charged and puts it into the trolling motor batts. I keep my boat on the river and don't have power available. This season I charged my batts maybe three times, just because I had the boat at the house before going to Winni or Millelacs. I used the boat around 100 times between May and Dec. and the trolling motor almost every time. Get one of these and you will never own a boat without one!!!!!

[Guest]

I was looking at those before. Do they work good? Lets say iam using a 24 volt trolling motor and use half my charge on my batteries in 4 hours. My outboard puts out 6amps max at wide open throttle. Does the charger boost the amps? Or does it spilt it in half, meaning would i have 3 amps going to each battery? In that case i would need to run my outboard at WOT for about 10 hours to bring it back to max capacity. I was looking at getting one but don't know much about them.
Thanks

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[knoppers]

for sure, get a 24 volt system. for my boat, a 18.5 foot glass boat, it seems to run easy in light winds, but in higher winds, or rough chop, the system lasts much longer. I just wish I had more thrust in my motor, I have 58# of thrust which is about the lower limit you should look. 24 volt systems cost more, obvioisly becuase you have two batteries, so its also a good idea to have a onboard charging system, to keep those batterys fresh, and extends the life of the batteries.

[kwkfsh]

The ProXtraII chargers work great. The boat I have now has a 75 merc on it and it puts out 18amps. The charger splits the amps and puts half into each battery. On larger engs with higher output it works even better. I can literally go months between times when I hook it up to the charger. When I bought the unit I was'nt sure how good it would meet my needs. But I have been very satisfied with its performance. When I think about my running vs. trolling motor time it does not seem like it should keep up, but it does amazingly well. I would not go without one now!

[kwkfsh]

D-Man, I am sure you are putting out more than 6 amps unless you are running a 9.9 hp on your boat. I think even 40s now put out at least 10 to 12 amps. The unit will also limit the depth of discharge on the batts making them live longer.

[Guest]

Blaze do not get an undersized trolling motor you will regret it!!!

Are you a bass man (bay fishing)or a walleye man (high winds mean fish)

First you will catch more fish being able to stay on the spot and if your fishing near shore on the wind swept rocks a heavy wind will push you in faster then you can blink and possibly causing some damage. If you stay out of the wind or are a anchored slip bobber man then it dont matter to much. Most of the time you have to be in the wind to get the fish.

My thoughts are you got a nice boat there equip it right the first time. GOODLUCK

[Guest]

Hey KWKfsh where can I get one of those ProX chargers ? I am taking your word thats the way to go I also have a merc 75 and hate running the charger everynight and if I forget I am sunk.

[kwkfsh]

Cabelas sells them for $119.00. Try one you will love it. You just have to a fair amount of running for it to keep up. But at the least it will cut down on charge time, or give you a whole weekend of use instead of 1 day. D-man that 6 amp rating has got to be a typo or else they are talking about at idle. I would be willing to bet that they meant to say 16 amps.

[Guest]

Thats what i would have thought as well but their website shows all the mid-ranges have the 6amp output and the high powered motors have 18-20 amp output.

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[kwkfsh]

You are correct I just checked their website and everything from 8 to 70 hp is listed as 6 amps. That seems a little weenie! In that case I don't think that charger would work for you. Bummer!

[Guest]

My 75 Yamaha says 6 amps at WOT according to manufac spec. I have to check with them to see if that charger will work. Thanks

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[Blaze]

wcmnwalleye - I'm a walleye hunter on the open water so yes, that means wind, chop, and fighting to control my boat. Up to this point, I've typically used backtrolling and my drift sock as my main ways of controlling drift speed on rough days and moving around really calm days, which is certainly not ideal. This is why I'm looking for a trolling motor this year.

Looks to me like most anything over 55# is gonna be 24v anyway, so I guess my questioning on 12v -vs- 24v may be irrelevent since I'll probably do a 65#+ unit. Once again I'll ask the question on brands - Motorguide or Pinpoint worth investigating or should I just stick with Minn Kota?

[Guest]

MINN-KOTA enough said!!!!

I have had a minn-kota from the time I have owned a boat have never had a complaint.

I am going to get a new genisus this spring was waiting for them to work out the bugs sounds like they got them finely tuned. Expensive but to keep you in a certain depth for trolling or Lindyin priceless.

I have heard of the other two mostly on bass tv shows dont know if they can take the pounding of the walleye waters.

Good luck do some honest comparison to find the best for you!!

GOODLUCK THE FISH ARE BITING EVEN WITHOUT A TROLLING MOTOR

[Guest]

Does anyone know if there are seperate on-board charging systems for 12V and 24V systems? I bought a boat that used 12V and I upgraded it to 24V with new trolling motor, and am wondering if I need to upgrade the on-board charger as well. Right now I just have it attached to one of my batteries, and I assume it charges that one only???

[bigeyes]

Blaze- I would go Minn-kota and deffinitely not anything less than a 65, I would go for the 74, in the long run I really don't thing the few hundred bucks matter if you get the motor that fits your needs instead of cursing for the next 10 years cause you cheaped out(I know all about that). When I say fits your needs I mean that you will used it enough to justify having one and that you intend to use it in somewhat windy conditions with smaller caps, if not then you can go smaller.