I recently purchased an 18' alminum Bass Tracker with no trolling motor. I have no idea what size motor to buy. Would a 45lb thrust be enough or should I buy a bigger one? I mostly fish lakes.
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I recently purchased an 18' alminum Bass Tracker with no trolling motor. I have no idea what size motor to buy. Would a 45lb thrust be enough or should I buy a bigger one? I mostly fish lakes.
I have an 18' Tracker All Fish and just took a 48lb (24V) MG off of mine. It pulled the boat pretty decently but a really good wind and you could tell it wouldn't hurt to have a little more thrust. I'm putting an 80lb Terrova on it. I would look for something bigger than 45lb.
The 45 lb thrust will pull the boat sufficiently, but if your fighting a good wind, your single 12 volt battery will drain fairly quickly. I was getting about 4 hours of steady longlining depending on the wind. I bumped up to a 24 volt Terrova and have gone 3 days between charges. Part of that is the maximizer technology ( a pair of servos) and part of that is the extra juice.
I put a 24v, 80lb Terrova with i-pilot on my 175 pro crappie and love it, will change the way you fish, especially if you fish alone like I do.
at least a 70lb, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. and go with a mk.
Awight, I wasn't goin to bring this up since you were talkin trollin motors. But beware of IPilot and a higher thrust TM on a lighter aluminum boat. The spot lock function is .... shall we say less than desirable.Quote:
Originally Posted by majflyboy
I had a 17ft aluminum boat and I can tell you right now that 45lbs will not be enough. If you are out in any kind of wind or waves, this will not do it for you. I'd look for a variable speed unit and something 65lb or above. 5 speed units are also an issue that I've had enough of. 4th and 5th setting are almost the same, 3,2,1 are weak. Variable will give you complete control over the speed.
I have a 18' aluminum G3 that had a 55 on it and it was not enough! I bought a 24v Maxxum 70lb and it was the best thing I ever done! Go Big with your trolling motor you will not regret it!
Amen, +1Quote:
Originally Posted by MEATGETTER
Thanks for the info guys. Do they make a 70 lb trolling motor that is 12v or would it just drain the battery too fast? How difficult is it to rum a 24v system?
My boy has a 17.5 tracker boat with a 55 lb I-pilot and does OK. I have a 16' Carolina Skiff and I have that same trolling motor and I do OK also. Neither one of us goes fishing if there's a 15-20 mph wind though.:rolleyes::o
I just put a Terrova on my 18' Lowe 180 last year. The motor I removed was a Evinrude 48# cable controlled unit and it came up a little short in the wind. I looked
in my Grizzly catalog and the Powerdrive 70 and the Terrova 80 only come as 24 volt units. Switching to 24 volt isn't hard, it's only two 12 volt batteries in series.
With a 24 volt setup you would have twice the runtime over a 12 volt motor with same thrust as you're only drawing 1/2 the amps for the same amount of thrust.
NOTE: the higher thrust motors do require #6 wire from the batteries to the front of the boat.
JOE
I got the same tracker and TM it will run 2.5 mph on high.Quote:
Originally Posted by gabowman
Max speed is 3.5 mph with 80# Terrova on a VT17. I think I pilot does ever bit of that when in Spot-Lock mode and trying to get back into the 5' circle.
Go with the 80# Terrova, with I-Pilot you will love It !not hard to go with 2 batteries if you have room, I changed from 12v to 24 v , just make sure you go with the right size wire & breaker, , who ever you get the TM from ask them to also set you up with all you will need ,
You should not need to go to heavier wire or CB. A 24 volt system will draw only 1/2 the amperage as the same 12 volt system and wire size is based on ampacity.
Not sure what you're saying to "beware" of and I agree that the spot lock feature is a little sloppy but I still love it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stymie
"Beware" - my line is almost horizontal when its trying to get back in the 5 foot circle. If it would ease back in it would be nice, but mine races back.
I now just use the infinite speed on the pedal to try to keep me where I want to be or just drift over the spot.
I'm glad it works for you, just aint cuttin it for me.
I agree with you that the corrections are too abrupt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stymie
i have a 17 fter with 55 powerdrive ipilot and wish i would have went bigger,but i pull cranks in the summer is the reason why because u want to stay 1.5mph of faster.if i was just a regular fisherman and didnt pull cranks i believe the 55 would be suffecient.
Pulling cranks is where the 80lb Terrove/i-pilot really shines, especially if you want to pull over the same track more than once.
Yes , but I went from a PV2 to a Terrova 80# it calls for 60amp CB, and larger wire for it , we do it for code I think it draws 56amps or so under full power and the CB that came on my PV2 was 40amp, just trying to be safe,also check what size wire is from your TM batteries already install to see if it will handle the full load,of the TM you buy.be it 12v or 24vQuote:
Originally Posted by cache22
yeah major i wish i would have went bigger ,for the 12v 55 pd i carry 2 batteries with quick disconnects so i can change quickly and usually run my big motor when going into the wind so i just installed a trolling plate too
Quote:
Originally Posted by majflyboy
Yep, I do like the track feature, the cruise control, the two autopilots of the I-pilot and the remote. And I agree, that 80# thrust is nice horizontal fishing be it cranks or jigs. I don't have to worry about the wind slowing me down below my optimal speed.Quote:
Originally Posted by majflyboy
Even spot lock works when casting. I just aint found a way to make it work vertical.
Do I have buyer's remorse?.... Heck no. Do I wish I could go in there and adjust the gains?...Heck yeah.
Why dont you just use both BAtt together in parallel You will get double run time with no switchingQuote:
Originally Posted by blueball
tried that and had problems with one pulling the other one down ,so i installed quick disconects and ive been good since,
Were both bats the same Maybe one was going bad? The reason I ask is Ive only been running 1 But plan on 2 this year in parallel. Maybe this isnt a good idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by blueball
one battery was 8 months newer same battery brand size and everything ,one time out and i would be fine ,then the next time wouldnt last long.when i installed the disconnects it started working great ,anyone who plans on pulling cranks i also recommend 15 amp onboard charger ,that way u are always ready for tommorrow
When that junk 12v MG on my 08 Tracker PT-190 shot craps I went with a 24v 70# MinnKota Maxxum variable speed. I have no regrets.