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i found a good deal locally on a 105lb thrust trolling motor but i have an older style aluminum boat that is easily less than 1000 lbs. i currently have a 55lb thrust and it works perfectly. i want to buy a trolling motor with the spot lock anchor feature. would 105lb be too much to use spot lock anchor features on a minn kota or motor guide? thanks.
Not in my opinion. The power adjustment is pretty good and doesn't jump into boogie mode instantly like a set number of speed unit would. The question I have is do you have the room to put 3 batteries away. Good luck with it, you'll love the spot lock feature.
Sooner or later you will be glad you have the extra power, I'm running a minn kota 112 and before I pulled the trigger was wondering the same thing but knew I would regret it if I realized later that I should have went bigger. Now I've been in at lest two maybe three situations with 2 ft waves and wind and had to run at full power "10" to push through it. Without the extra power would have had to fire up the big motor.
Guy once told me years ago..."You know why I use a 105? Because thats as big as they make!" Back then of coarse. They make even bigger now. But no such thing as too much power. Just dont use it all at once! lol
Can't have too much power with a troller. Only reason not to have it is cuz of the cost but if buying used or gettin a good deal then the more the better.
I have a '94 17 1/2' tracker pro-v, not a super heavy boat but not light either. I've had it since it was new and it came with a 30# 5 speed TM. It was a little under powered and when it came time to replace the tm I found a 5 speed 70# thrust tm for sale on a great price. I absolutely hated that thing. Even on it's lowest speed it was too much power, I couldn't slow it down enough for me and I never used it at more than speed 3. At speed 5 it was so strong it almost ripped itself off the deck of the boat, it was very hard to control and God forbid if the motor turned expectantly it almost threw me out of the boat. Need less to say I got rid of that thing and have never regretted my decision. One thing I will mention is I also asked this same question on another forum before I bought that TM. All the reply's came back as "go for it, you can't have too much". I will say that the guy who influenced me the most (I later found out) had a glass boat and had never owned an alum boat with that size TM. Even if I had bought the variable speed I would have still hated it because at the top end It would have just been way to strong, I would have never used it.
Here where I am now and I'm very happy with my decision. I want to mention I fish 3 to 5 days per week and fish year round in all kinds of weather. Also I've had this set-up since 2008 so it's not something new. I went with a 55# 12v motor but this time I went with a digital (variable speed). I do run 2 batteries because I used to LL troll quite a bit. I plan on going back to 1 battery when 1 of these batteries die since I rarely troll anymore. Part of my thought is why carry the extra weight and cover the extra expense if you don't need it or you aren't going to use it. Actually the variable speed motors are more efficient so I would probably have no need for that 2nd battery anymore.
I hear people say you can't have too much power but I'm on the flip side of that. Honestly I fish in some miserable weather but I do have my limits as to what I will endure to catch some fish. Here's one thing to try...stand in the bow of your boat, turn your TM either right or left 90 degrees and turn the power all the way up and hit your power button. Now imagine you have twice that much power in your TM. In my opinion, go buy the TM that you want. Even though this isn't normal to do with you TM I do know I've had my TM on it's highest speed (didn't realize it) and turned it on. It does happen.
You won't save anything by the time you pay for the wrong TM and then go out and replace it with the right TM. This is from a guy who's been there.
If 55 works perfect, how can you improve that?
Can you have too much bacon? Its a good deal. Buy it. Run it at 30-50% and enjoy it.
I will echo Crappiemax - BUT - if the motor is a 5 speed I would say - Yes the motor is too big.
If the motor is "Digital" (Motorguide's term for electronic speed control) then - No it is not too big.
You MUST have the ability to turn down the motor to a point where you can use it.
My MG Tour 106 on a 16' Monark will barely turn over at the lowest speed, because it is a Digital model that has a very linear speed control.
So the question is on the motor - "How low will it go?"
That's exactly what I got outa his post as well. Lesson learned, don't get a 5 speed troller. I had a 42lb motor guide 5 speed when I first got my boat. I couldn't go less than .6 mph. That's a problem. Got a 55lb with variable speed and can turn it down to .2mph.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clint
I am going to echo what Clint said and add, I have a 55 Terrova on my boat 17 ft Wareagle stick steer may weigh a little more but not much than your boat and it works fine for me. I fish with 2 different friends who have similar side console boats. One has a PdV2 24 volt 70 thrust. On this one I have found at slowest speed when spider rigging on a calm day it is hard to get down to .2 or .3 where I like to fish. Pulling cranks it does a good job for up to about 6 hr's if not to breeze. On the other one he has a 112 Terrova. It does really good at slow speed, has more than enough power and can long line or pull cranks all day with plenty of power left over at the end of the day. Rough on bow of boat though since there is no room to install a reinforcing plate under the mount. Added weight of extra battery and bigger charger affects boat performance and how it sits in the water. Same on second boat with added weight right at rear of boat. I disagree with these folks who always say bigger is better because that is not always true. You may get a Bargin on that motor but did you really when you factor in added expense of second and third battery, new charger to handle them, wiring to carry the load, loss of storage, loss of boat performance. If 55 works fine now, save a few more penny's and get a 55 Terrova with Ipilot and be happy. Think you might find the cost you would incur for batteries, charger,wiring and such would make up the difference.
I have a 17' g3 , it came with a 40# 5 speed. When it got breezy, I was on speed 5, battery wouldn't last. Put a 75# 5 speed on it. Can't stop it now. I've about gone overboard couple of times. Didn't realize motor was turned 90°, and on 5. Even on 4, if turned 90°, I've come close to going over.
A friend just put a maxxum, 80# I think, on his 17' Lowe. Loves it.
I highly recommend the digital version of whatever brand you get. I'm trying to figure out a way to make mine digital, or variable. I got ahold of motorguide, they said to slow it down, put on a two blade prop. That helped. They also told me their is no way to make it digital, problem with me is, I don't take no well.
Looks like I've decided on the 80#. I currently have an Optima 31 dual purpose used for everything. I have an interstate 24 dual purpose as a back up. Both are 12v.Would it be OK to hook these up in series even though they are different sizes and brands? Thanks.
It's fine. When hooking up different sized batteries they tend to "regulate" each other for voltage and amperage. Think of them as one battery. I would not recommend a starting battery and deep cycle battery together simply due to the deep cycle carrying the brunt of the weight causing both batteries to drain quickly.Quote:
Originally Posted by boomer11
Most things I've read say not to mis match batteries . I replace both at once on my 24 volt troller and use the best used deep cycle to start big motor and run everything (depth finders , pumps , lights , ect ) That way I have lots of reserve power to stay on the water all day . :twocents
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The talk in this thread about infinite speed control has me wondering: Is there a circuit board in the control head that controls voltage and the foot pedal just sends signals to the controller, or is it like a rheostat in the pedal? Wondering if I could change my endura 50 transom into a variable speed, I cant go slow enough to long line without dragging something behind the boat.
Don't for sure but might be able to add circuit board for Maximizer on minn kotasQuote:
Originally Posted by OrangeAgent
I have the exact same problem with my new boat, the trolling motor is a five speed and on the lowest setting it is still to much power. There is no such thing as an easy turn or sneaking up on something. I will be upgrading to a digital soon.
These can still be found new or like new on E-Bay occasionally. They were called the Maximizer. These have not been built for over 20+ years and were Minn-Kota's first version of a variable speed drive for any make of 12 volt trolling motor. We've used them with a 28 thrust Minn-Kota 565, a 55 thrust 12 volt Minn-Kota, and a 42 thrust Motorguide I believe. Hard to find but well worth it. Just wire it in between the power supply and the trolling motor. Mount where it is easy to reach and your done. Set your trolling motor on it's maximum speed and do all speed controlling with the Maximizer. 100% would be your trolling motor's fastest setting. I've found that with my aluminum boat 20% is just right on a fairly calm day to spiderrig without ever turning the motor on and off thus conserving lots of battery power. 8 to 10 mph winds I may have to kick it up to 35 to 40%.
The neat thing about a variable drive is how slow you can make the blade turn.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../maximizer.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...lectronics.jpg
I will have to look for one of those at a good price. Don't really need a different trolling motor but it would sure be nice to be able to creep a little more. 14ft narrow body john with 50lbs is hard to slow down.
Can you leave the maximizer turned on all the way and still control the motor with the handle?
Yes you can. There is an OFF switch on the Maximizer. Just keep in mind that if you turn your speed down "on the trolling motor" you will only be running that speed at whatever percent the Maximizer is set to.
I think I understand your question a little better. Yes, at 100% the speeds on the handle will work like normal.