how big of a trolling motor can i get.

[zuke1]

i have an 88' 16' cajun demon. i have an old johnson trolling motor on it right now, and i think its about a 24-36lbs thrust, and because of all the wind on the lakes here in az, my little bow mount trolling motor just cant cut it. ive almost slammed into the rocks a few times. i was wondering how much lbs thrust is too much? i am looking at a 70lbs one at the cabelas store, and its seems pretty moderately priced. so i was just wanting to know before i get one.

thanks
zuke

 

[PuddleJumper]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

70 lb thrust motot ought to control your 16 ft boat more than adequately8)

 

[JB]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

Don't overkill it, zuke.

Anything over 55lb will be a 24 volt motor, requiring another battery.

I have used Minn Kota 55lb (12V) motors on two 17' Boston Whalers. Any wind strong enough to overcome them would have produced waves that I wouldn't want to fish in.

My motors were Minn Kota 55PD/AP. The AP feature is priceless when working a shorline or rock bar because you don't have to mess with it when a gust tries to push the boat off track; it corrects and keeps going the same direction you set.

 

[zuke1]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

thanks...
that makes sense.
i will look at some lower power ones now... i guess another good thing should be the amount of money i save...

another thing i was wondering was, is there an advantage of electric steering as apposed to wire steering?

thanks..

 

[JB]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

Well, without the Autopilot or a CoPilot it's just bling, but for either of them it is required.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

A big advantage of the power drive is you don't have to keep your foot on it all the time. And with the auotpilot, its even better. My old legs really appreciates that.

 

[zuke1]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

not having to keep your foot on the petal does sound like a good advantage... one of the guys at cabelas told me that one downside to the elec steering is that it is slow to react...
i have never used the elec steering but i like how much more space you get when there is no stiff cables lying around.

just wondering before i break down and buy a new motor , probably in the next week or so.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

I had a Minn kota back in '89 that was electrically controlled and was sluggish to respond; but it had the big thruster prop which may have had something to do with it.

I was always having problems with one of the switches not making contact.

Good news was that I could sit in the middle of the boat and run the motor.

Been plenty of new innovations since then so good luck.

I am currently running a 60 lb (the other brand) and it's more than adequate for my 17' boat on Texas' windy lakes. But it is 24 volt.

Mark

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

There are pros and cons to both. For me, I prefer the cable operated steering. I like to fish new places as much as possible. New places means you don't know where the obstructions are yet. I have to sit/stand at the bow watching what is in the water. Often, I need to take evasive action and I can't wait for the electric motor to slowly swing the troller, I need immediate action. The last place I fished had huge boulders scattered about, most just inches below the surface. Talk about having to concentrate and weave around them! YMMV.

 

[cwilt]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

just put a 55 lber on my 17 nitro, it has adequate pwr to pull me through the thickest pads. i had a 40 lber before. i just bought a transom mounted motor and swapped out the motor and shaft took only a half hour. i was'nt going to buy another power drive when i already have one saved me about 350 bucks 8)8)

 

[zuke1]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

so, i thought i would just change out the prop on the old johnson trolling motor and see how it would do...
as it turns out the blades on the minkota blade i got turned the opposite way to gain thrust... so other than being hard to handle, it still worked a little better ... another thing i thing was a huge contributing factor to my crappy motor bad performance was the fact that there must have been about 100yrds of line wrapped around the drive rod ( thing that hold the prop on)...
so, allthough it worked better, it still sucked and was difficult to handle...

i think after today the wife saw the benefits of a good trolling motor... and since she caught her first striper today, i think shes hooked, so now i think i can pretty much get what i want... and i think i am going to look in the 55lbs range for a new trolling motor. can anyone tell me which brand is better... minkota or the other one???

thanks
zuke

 

[JB]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

Minn Kota and Motorguide are both good, reliable brands. I wouldn't call either brand "better".

As for individual models, I prefer MK's PD/AP models and think I will soon add CoPilot to mine.

 

[zuke1]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

ok...the verdict is in... i have decided on the MINN KOTA 55auto pilot

the only thing i am wondering now is how long of a shaft i need...

as i stated before i have an 88' 16' cajun bass boat, and it sits pretty low in the water so i imagine that a 48" shaft is perfect...

the only thing that is making me hesitant to buy this specific model.. is that i have never used a trolling motor with elec steering. and i dont know how fast it turns, or how fast it reacts to commands...

the one cool thing i saw in the features of this specific model was the fact that it has auto pilot, this is supposedly where you can set it in a direction, and regardless of the wind/current it will continue on the heading you give it... is it really that easy??

thanks

 

[Silvertip]

Re: how big of a trolling motor can i get.

I have used cable steer, RF, and my current boat has a MinnKota PD. Power Drives (without the co-pilot feature) are NOT radio (RF) controlled motors which do have slow response times. They have an electric cable connected between the foot control and the motor. Response to steering is instant. Motor response at start up is gradual so you aren't thrown off-balance when standing. It does not steer as fast as a cable steer motor but it is perfectly adequate.