Newbie Questions Electric Motor Pontoon

[dmac37]

I just bought a home on a small electric motor only lake and have never owned a boat before. I have driven gas motor pontoon boats but I am lost when it comes to electric motor pontoons.

Money is short after buying the house and used electric motor pontoons are hard to come by in Michigan so my plan is to purchase a used pontoon- no motor, furniture or trailer and refurbish it with new furniture and an electric motor.

Lake is only about 30 acres and a short canal connects it to a 25 acre lake
I'm thinking a 16' - 20' pontoon. Most of the time it will be used for 2-3 people but I would like option of seating 8-10 at times.

I'm interested in going on short cruises, fishing and sitting out on the lake. Not looking for speed or real long hours just a large enough trolling type motor to power the boat.

With the above information and looking to spend between $500-$1,500 on a new or used motor here are my questions:

What size boat?
What is the minimum thrust motor I will need?
Bow or transom mount motor?
What type of battery system? backup battery? low level indicator?
What motor would you recommend?

I appreciate any advice or recommendations you may have.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Newbie Questions Electric Motor Pontoon

In my view those two bodies of water are ponds so a 20 footer is a bit overkill. 18 footer is ideal with a 16 being the next choice. An 18 footer with a bow mounted 55# thrust MinnKota PD (power drive) or MotorGuide equivalent would be just fine. Both of those are 12 volt motors but since it is ONLy source of propulsion, you should have two group size 27 or larger (29 or 31) deep cycle batteries connected in any number of ways. Using a dual battery switch for example would let you run on BAT #1 until it was down, then swtich to BAT #2. Each battery would provide about 2 hours of constant run at mid-range or slower speeds. Top speed will depend on the size of the boat but 2.5 - 3 MPH would be possible with a 16 - 18 footer. The batteries need to be recharged immediately after use. Do not leave them sit in a discharged state. You charge them with either a portable charger you plug in at the dock or you install an on-board charger that is simply a battery charger that mounts permanently on the boat. You also plug it in at the dock.

 

[mrbusdriver]

Re: Newbie Questions Electric Motor Pontoon

I put a 54 lb Minn Kota on my 18 ft. pontoon and I run it for hrs. trolling. Only use the outboard to launch and retrieve. And when I get home I charge it, but it is only down less than half. Love it, no gas bill to speak of.

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Newbie Questions Electric Motor Pontoon

I would do the 20' pontoon -- while the bodies of water are small -- it's irrelevant to how many people you can put inside the pontoon.

We have a 24v 80lb trolling motor on our pontoon -- it's a transom mount, that I flipped the head around and use it on the bow. I use it almost exclusively -- we love the quietness of the electric motor, and with 5 of us on the pontoon, we can get 4-5 mph on it -- we like it so much, we added a second set of batteries this spring. We can go all day long, plug in over night, and it's ready to go the next a.m. for fishing.

I'm glad I went with the bigger TM.

my $.02

 

[dmac37]

Re: Newbie Questions Electric Motor Pontoon

Thanks for the information guys.

I'm going to try and get a 16 or 18 foot due to size of lake and most often it will just be me and the wife.

I thought I saw a trolling motor (Minn Kota?) that used a battery built into the motor that can be removed from the motor and charged rather than a bank of batteries, does anyone know about this option?

I would prefer to go with a thrust of 70-80, is it worth doing or are the extra batteries a pain to deal with?