All I can say is WOW!! Got to try my new Ultrex today on my 1652, and it's awesome and is the power I've been looking for in a TM. I trolled cranks at 1.5 - 2.1 mph today for 6 1/2 hours and about half that time going into 5mph wind. Checked the batteries when I got home and still had 45% which means I could have trolled at least 3 more hours or so. I agree, for most folks they aren't going to stay out in the heat and troll crank-baits all day. I was also worried I went to big on thrust and too long on shaft length, nope & nope!! I would say you could get away with a 55# tm (two 29's in parallel) and be fine if you wanted to troll for 4-6 hours and call it a day. The one thing that made up my mind on the Ultrex was the foot control for single poling, still has the cable style feel I'm used to, with electric steering assist. The variable 20 speeds are awesome, I couldn't answer a lot of your questions yesterday when we spoke Mr. Curtis, but to me this unit was worth every nickle I spent on it. Only downside I saw, it frees you up to do a lot more snacking Is it a requirement for everyone to have an Ultrex 80# or 112#? Absolutely not. Does it fit me and my style of fishing, you bet!