Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

[Woodnaut]

Guys, I'm looking for a recommendation on a trolling motor. Here's the particulars:

- Saltwater
- Transom Mounted
- For use on a 17' Runabout with a 2 battery setup
- Will be used a couple of times a year to fish the canals and corners of the bay
- Nothing fancy, hand control, special features OK but not required
- Reliable Quality Product most important
- Prefer to not go over $500 if possible, but there's a little flexibility here

So far I've been looking at the Minn Kota Riptide 45 or 50 or 55, or the MotorGuide VariMAX 55.

On the internet I can find good and bad reviews for just about anything so I'm looking for some general comments on quality, or even some specific recommendations. Thanks for the feedback. - Woodnaut

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

On a 17 foot boat y0u want 55# especially if you need to fight wind or currents. The difference in prices are not worth skimping over. I happen to prefer MinnKota but others prefer MotorGuide. It's simply a Chevy/Ford decision.

 

[Star]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

Minn Kota ap 55 has been great over the past 6 years! May not be made any more due to the new Ipilot with gps in it. i am a techi of sorts and have done all of needed repairs. There support is very good and I have been able to add a wireless control in the last two years without any hassels. Compass and updated control boards are still supported. If you are on a 17' fiberglass 55# may be light.
I also feel you are making a mistake not getting a bow mount, a sligth breeze will push you over the canal because 17' x 2 is alot of surface area!!! Forget about $500 buy what you need to do the job and enjoy it. I generally don't disagree with silvertip, he is one of the more knowlegable Techs here, but I see alot more Minnys than MotorGs.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

On a 17 foot boat y0u want 55# especially if you need to fight wind or currents. The difference in prices are not worth skimping over. I happen to prefer MinnKota but others prefer MotorGuide. It's simply a Chevy/Ford decision.

Yeah I agree Silver, for what its worth. I have a 16 foot ALUMINUM boat with a 45lb. thrust MinnKota Traxxis and it works pretty well, but in wind and current, forget about it. Wish I had a little more juice!

 

[sutor623]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

new ipilot with gps in it.

drooooollllll

 

[sschefer]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

On a 17 I'm assuming you have a main motor also. What I used as a starting point was what trolling speeds did I need to cover. Mine was zero to 2.5mph. Once you have that covered then you look at how much sail the boat has. A bass boat has very little where a fishing style or Fish and Ski has a lot more and is more likely to get you into a wind fighting condition. Then I considered how long I was going to use it daily. My results for a 16.5' boat came up with a 55# motor and two 12v batteries in parallel. I also have a separate starting battery. Finally I considered convienence. Did I want to sit at the stern all the time and steer or would I be happier with a remote control and a motor on the bow. I settled on the Minkota Power Drive V2 with iPilot in the 54" 55lb 12v version. By the time I got done buying batteries, switches, fuzes, wire, etc., I was into it for about 1500.00 but it does exactly what I wanted it do and I'm very pleased with it.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

drooooollllll

LOL, I'm still grinning... Wait till you try the spot lock.. Keeps me within 5 ft of where I hit the button. It does drift down a little but I learned to compensate for that. The advanced GPS auto pilot is so much better than the magnetic compass version was. No more unexpected right turns out of no where! That drove me nuts!

 

[sutor623]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

LOL, I'm still grinning... Wait till you try the spot lock.. Keeps me within 5 ft of where I hit the button. It does drift down a little but I learned to compensate for that. The advanced GPS auto pilot is so much better than the magnetic compass version was. No more unexpected right turns out of no where! That drove me nuts!

Yeah man those motors are quite the innovation. The only thing that I dont like is that you have to first run a path, record, and then it will re-follow. I cant wait to see when you can trace a path by putting in a series of LAT/LON points on your chartplotter!!

 

[sutor623]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

http://rhodanmarine.com/gpsanchor.html

This is where its at!! Too bad they are $2000.

 

[gary@stratosowners]

Re: Requesting A Trolling Motor Recommendation

http://rhodanmarine.com/gpsanchor.html

This is where its at!! Too bad they are $2000.

I like that a lot. Looks to be relatively in line with the price of the Terrova line MinnKota makes.