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Guys I have a Minnkota 40lb edge on my 17.5' crappie boat, the motor works fine but when the wind picks up it is a little under power with my boat. I just want to know what ya'll think we be a good one, I want to stay with a 12volt system. Thanks for any info!
My 17ft procraft had a older model 55lb minnkota it worked good and was a 12 volt.
Ive got a 16/48 war eagle and have a 55lb terrova and like it too. It will keep up with the wind for awhile. I have fished windy days zig-zaggin across the lake for bout 5 hours without too much problem.
Is that terrova hard on battery?Quote:
Originally Posted by tommyboyrn
if you are going to invest in a new motor, think about this, you need 55lb thrust and it is fine cause you have 55 lb thrust motor, now you need on a real windy day 65 lb. thrust.you have 55. not good, say you have 70lb thrust and it is a real windy day and you need 65 lb thrust. no problem. always get more than you need, if possible, it will run the boat longer, and 24 volt will hold up twice to three times as long. just my opinion.
In my opinon theres a fine line with trolling motors,if you have a big one on a small boat and its a calm day will you be trolling to fast even on low speed,but it sounds like on a 17.5FT boat your a little under powered.
The boat I have is an Alumacraft 175 Crappie Pro, about like a Bass tracker 175. The boat is pretty heavy and on a flat day the motor does fine but you get a 5 to 10mph wind and I have to kick the power up pretty high. Now I know you have to kick the power up on all motors when the wind picks up, I was thinking about a 55lb trolling motor and I'm pretty set on that size. Now the problem I have is to get a Power Drive, Wireless or edge. My concern is on Wireless and PD motor is the cord for my tranducer because I have it mounted on my trolling motor now. Please give ya'll thoughs on it guys, and thanks for all the responses so far.Quote:
Originally Posted by striperking
Lynn
12V means you can only go up to about 55lb thrust. A digital motor will be easier on the battery at lower speeds than a 5-speed motor. The 5-speed used the same power at all settings, the digital uses lower power at lower settings.
Minn-Kota recommends 2 lbs. thrust per foot of boat, that said, I have a 40lb pd on a 17' glass boat and in a good wind it's under powered. I do believe that a 55lb pd would be the ticket, besides if you go bigger then most trollers are 24 volt and you'd have to add another battery for it. JMO
I know you said you want to stay with 12 volt, but if space for an additional battery is available do the 24 volt. I have a Tracker 175 pro crappie that came with a MG 46lb that I replaced with a Terrova, 80lb US2, i-pilot, 24 volt and I wouldn't consider trying to fish without it now. I fish alone and pull cranks mostly.
I have a 17 1/2' deep-v and upgraded from a 30# 12v to a 71# 24v and absolutely hated every minute that motor was on my boat. Besides being just too fast, it seemed pretty had on batteries as well. I sold that motor and bought a 55# digital. Yeah, there are some days I could uses more but I'm glad I made the switch back to 12V. I still use 2 batteries and the digital has less draw so it works well for me.
One advantage to 12v is if my main battery dies, I can pull one of my TM batteries and just keep fishing.
I have done this twice.
My 1860 Triton has a Minn Kota Maxxum Pro 80# 24v, it's variable speed. I can slow it down to nothing or blast off. Trolling motors are like hot rod cars, you can't have too much power.
I havent noticed any real difficulties in batt. life. I carry a spare battery "just in case", but have never had to swap over, even after 6-8 hours of fishin
tom
What do ya'll think about motorguide? I found a 55lb motorguide bow mount that is wireless.
I owned a MotorGuide once, it was ok. Now I have a Minn Kota and like it way better than the MotorGuide.
I've had both MG and MK. I currently own a Motorguide 55# digital. Mine is a foot control. Would I buy it again? Yes.
I feel you can't go wrong with either brand. They both have there followers.
Look for the features you want. in the price range you can afford. Then get out fishing.
as long as ur not wanting an ipilot or the autopilot features,the motorguide would be fine.i use two batteries for my 12volt 55 powerdrive ,don`t need the extra battery until summer when i troll cranks.i had them wired in parrall but one battery kept pulling the other down,so now i have installed some quickdisconnects and just switch from one two the other when one dies.
Jamie, I have thought a lot about it and I'm going to go with minnkota 55lb power drive. That way I can upgrade like your talking about. We had nice 8point walk in front of my wife's car Wednesday night, he was chasing a doe.:) Thanks,LynnQuote:
Originally Posted by blueball
Thank you all for the help!:)
I would second that choice of TM for your boat. You could do without the US2 to save a few bucks but that's up to you. Aluminum boats can be a genuine pain to control in the wind as I'm sure you already know. The new PD motors are better than the pd40 I had a few years ago. With that motor it will be more accurate and more hands off than any other motor out here once you learn how to use it. And what they're saying about the bigger, the better is spot on. Better too big and not used than needed and not there.Quote:
Originally Posted by majflyboy
. Yes the aluminum boats are hard to control in the wind! I would love to go with the 24volt system but space is the problem, so I have to stay with the 12 volt system. I'm really leaning toward the power drive v2 55lb and co pilot. Thanks for the info.Quote:
Originally Posted by skeetbum
get ipilot u won`t regret it
Triple DITTO. I have the terrova I-pilot 55lb and I can't say enough about its advantages. I have never ran the battery down or even close to it. On low it will creep as low as 1/10 mph or fly on high at 3.4 mph on a 16.5 ft alumacraft. Don't worry about running the TD cord, it is no problem. If the wind is so strong it outpowers my 55, I have no business on the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by blueball
If it drew the same power at all 5 speeds, it would go the same speed at all 5 speeds.Quote:
Originally Posted by CatFan