Trolling Motor Back up

[diveman05]

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, ours went great until we were heading back to the launch and our impeller went out for the water pump. Engine never got above 200 so i am not worried about damages as i am a look at the gauges every 10 seconds driver, call me paranoid! and we were lucky to be close to shore and had a nice couple tow us back, but this got me thinking about a safety backup in case if no one is around.

We've got an 89 Four Winns 205 Sundowner, cuddy cabin. Heavy enough boat NADA says around 3500 lbs so probably more than 4000 with fuel and gear.

I've been looking at trolling motors that i can mount in an emergency on the back and run off my 2 batteries. but the thrust of them doesn't seem enough. Would a 30-50lb thrust motor even push us. 95% of the time we are within 2 miles of the launch so long run time isn't necessarily a big concern just moving forward. Anyone done this or any thoughts on it?

 

[joelybob]

Re: Trolling Motor Back up

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, ours went great until we were heading back to the launch and our impeller went out for the water pump. Engine never got above 200 so i am not worried about damages as i am a look at the gauges every 10 seconds driver, call me paranoid! and we were lucky to be close to shore and had a nice couple tow us back, but this got me thinking about a safety backup in case if no one is around.

We've got an 89 Four Winns 205 Sundowner, cuddy cabin. Heavy enough boat NADA says around 3500 lbs so probably more than 4000 with fuel and gear.

I've been looking at trolling motors that i can mount in an emergency on the back and run off my 2 batteries. but the thrust of them doesn't seem enough. Would a 30-50lb thrust motor even push us. 95% of the time we are within 2 miles of the launch so long run time isn't necessarily a big concern just moving forward. Anyone done this or any thoughts on it?[/QUOte https://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdoors/Subject/SubjectRead.aspx?sid=14&aid=175100&type=T

 

[diveman05]

Re: Trolling Motor Back up

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, ours went great until we were heading back to the launch and our impeller went out for the water pump. Engine never got above 200 so i am not worried about damages as i am a look at the gauges every 10 seconds driver, call me paranoid! and we were lucky to be close to shore and had a nice couple tow us back, but this got me thinking about a safety backup in case if no one is around.

We've got an 89 Four Winns 205 Sundowner, cuddy cabin. Heavy enough boat NADA says around 3500 lbs so probably more than 4000 with fuel and gear.

I've been looking at trolling motors that i can mount in an emergency on the back and run off my 2 batteries. but the thrust of them doesn't seem enough. Would a 30-50lb thrust motor even push us. 95% of the time we are within 2 miles of the launch so long run time isn't necessarily a big concern just moving forward. Anyone done this or any thoughts on it?[/QUOte https://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdoors/Subject/SubjectRead.aspx?sid=14&aid=175100&type=T

Great site with some good info, deff need a pretty big one!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Trolling Motor Back up

So for that boat, you will need a BIG trolling motor to move it forward in a stiff breeze... A better option would be a couple horsepower outboard that you can stash in a compartment. Way more thrust and virtually unlimited runtime. (as long as the initial reason you are stranded isn't running out of fuel!) Just store the outboard completely 'dry', no fuel...

(quick look around, you can get 5hp for around 700 and 2.5's for under 500. They are all 2 strokes though, so you will want a sealed 1 gallon gascan with oil already in it, and a way to get fuel out of the main tank into that.)

 

[joelybob]

Re: Trolling Motor Back up

they even have propane outboards. a little pricey though