Trolling motor for 15'?

[79camaro]

I have a glastron gt 150 with a mercury 900. The motor is pretty old and occasionally craps out on the lake and I have to either get towed or row back! I am thinking maybe a trolling motor would help in case of emergency? Would a 40lb thrust be sufficient? It may never be used so I don't want to spend too much. Thoughts?

 

[wifisher]

Re: Trolling motor for 15'?

IMO the 40# is plenty for what you want. As long as you are not looking for speed, it will get a boat that size back to the dock without looking for a tow. The larger trolling motors may move a little faster, but will also drain your battery(s) faster.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling motor for 15'?

Rather than spending money on a trolling motor, why not spend the money making your engine reliable? Besides, if the body of water you generally run on has any size to it, you may not make it back to the dock with the troller either. Batteries only last so long. A 40# motor will draw about 40 amps of current at its fastest speed which is what you will need to do to make any headway. A smallish battery would not last long.

 

[79camaro]

Re: Trolling motor for 15'?

Well that wasn't really my question, it's a 33 year old outboard with a lot of original parts. There is no way to anticipate everything that could go wrong without spending a lot of money, a 150 trolling motor seems like good insurance.

But I don't have any experience with trolling motors so I don't know what to expect? I do have a backup battery on board. So how far could I expect to get with 2 batteries and a 40# motor?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling motor for 15'?

Batteries are like buckets of water. A big bucket holds lots of water. A small one not so much. Not knowing what type and capacity your batteries are run time cannot be calculated. I would guess the battery for the engine is a "starting" battery and not a deep cycle. That is another limitation. If the backup battery is not a deep cycle and neither of them are fully charged then that is another complication. But here are some numbers to chew on. A group size 24 (physical size) battery has a reserve capacity of about 150 minutes with a 23 amp draw. Since your troller draws nearly twice that amount of current, that cuts the reserve minutes in half (75 minutes or little over an hour run time). The maximum speed of the troller is about 2.5 mph under ideal conditions so if you are more than 2.5 miles from the dock when you break down you won't make it back. If both batteries are starting type (not deep cycles) you probably would not get back on both of them -- especially if neither of them are fully charged. I would also suspect the engine battery would be useless for the troller since you would have discharged it significantly trying to start the engine..

 

[pootnic]

Re: Trolling motor for 15'?

How about a small kicker motor...gas.
Alot are small and only around 60lbs,tuck it away or attach it to your stern(may need a bracket).
A small 2-4hp will get you make alot faster and more distance.