Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

[IHDiesel73L]

I live between two large (2000 acre) lakes that are 9.9HP limited, but here in NJ we also have a lot of 300-500 acre lakes that are electric only, so I'm going to be building this:

Boat plan details, Jon Boat 12 (GF12), Dinghies up to 12'

Right now it's only me, my wife, and our two year old. It's only a 12' boat, but with a 5' beam it's fairly roomy with a generous weight capacity:

http://www.bateau.com/studyplans/GF12.PDF

The question is whether or not a 35lb Minn Kota trolling motor mounted at the stern would be able to push the boat around at a reasonable speed? I know we won't be planing, but I'm hoping that we could get around at 8-10 MPH. Is this a reasonable expectation? If not, I have a few options. The gas motor I'd be using on the larger lakes is a 7.5HP Gamefisher. I've toyed with the idea of selling both the Minn Kota and the Gamefisher and using the proceeds to buy a large electric motor and battery setup that would provide ample power for the large lakes and still allow us access to the smaller electric only lakes. Can anybody point me to a chart of some kind that lists electric motor power ratings and suitable boat sizes/weights?

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

I can't imagine a 35lb trolling motor getting you going 7-8mph in much of anything short of a 6-8' plastic pond boat. I'd be looking for a 55lbs unit or better if you are wanting to get anywhere quickly (relatively speaking), but I doubt you get over 5mph with a 55lbs unit. I forget the conversion rate, but I think the 55lbs electric units are equivalent to something like a 1HP gas engine.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

7 or 8 mph with 2 adults even in a small boat is not going to happen with 35# thrust. In order to do that you will need a minimum of a 2 battery setup and you do NOT want that much additional weight. Besides-- 7 mph will only make you want more. Look around for a 7 HP or so as they are cheap- no one really wants them except on the dingy pulled behind a sailboat. A little more and a 9.9 can be found. That boat may handle it and you will want a bigger boat after your 3rd or 4th trip anyway. I see a 16' tinny in your (near) future.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

Hmmm...Need to give this some thought. A couple weeks ago I was shore fishing at one of the smaller electric only lakes and saw a mini-pontoon (probably about 14' long) with four people on in zipping along at a decent clip. I should have tracked them down to see what they were using. Here's a crazy thought, what if I got another 35lber (they're all over Craigslist) and somehow rigged a way to operate them in tandem. That would give me 75lbs of thrust, of course it would be a pretty power hungry setup.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

No electric trolling motor with the stock prop is going to give you that kind of speed, regardless of thrust. They are designed to max out at something like 4 MPH on top speed.

 

[Alumarine]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

If you google "electric pontoon boat" you'll find a few examples.
They don't use trolling motors though.

 

[pootnic]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

Like mentioned above...that type electric trolling motor,isn't made for speed.
If you get to 5mph you would be lucky and that's at wide open so fun time would be limited.(depending on battery/s used)
I'm not even sure if they are made for wide open speeds,for long periods...?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

This is what you saw on the back of the pontoon... Be prepared for sticker shock, they are NOT cheap! Also, a pontoon is much better at handling weight than a jonboat. They have sizes ranging from 1-8hp equivalent, and also a 80hp model. (no price listed, if you have to ask...)


Torqeedo, electric outboards, outboard motor, boat motors, boat engines, outboard engines

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

Yup, Torqueedo is the only electric option I can think of if you want any decent speed.

Or, you could buy a Duffy...

Tri Cat 16 | Duffy Boats

That one moves at a blistering 5mph... For ONLY $25k!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Electric only boaters? (Need boat/motor combination advice)

The Torqueedo is the only game in town as far as electric outboards, electric toons are out there but they are few and far between.

I have seen 2-3 boats go out in last few weeks that are no pre-rig electric but the dealer handle the power end so I couldn't say what the set up is.

Someone at work was talking about the 80 horse model but it is so exorbitantly priced they will never sell, just the battery bank was in the thousands, still very very impractical.