What Trolling Motor?

[MrTexasRigs]

Alright, so finally getting a boat a good one for "really cheap" Ok so only things that i know about it at this point in time, is that its 17' fiberglass v-bottom. Here's the bummer, where i fish only trolling motors are permitted, since it is a pretty "pristine" body of water. So i am wondering what would be the best trolling motor that is not too much money. To push this boat at a "decent" speed. Most of the time it will be two people on it, maybe 3. I'm assuming since you're only allowed a trolling, the transom mount would be what i;m looking for. So i'm wondering how many pounds of thrust and what companies i should look for that are not too expensive. Also give me some more input about in info, opinions, etc

 

Thanks

[Darren.]

As far as brand, I've used both Motorguide and Minn Kota. I like Minn Kota better. But there are folks here who have far more trolling motor experience than I, so...fwiw.

You could move a 17' boat with a 30 lb thrust if you want to go as cheap as you can.

[Crookedneck]

My advice is to get as big of a trolling motor as you can afford.  I have a 17' aluminum that I have a Minn Kota Maxxum 74 on.  I had a smaller trolling motor on my boat initially, that just didn't cut the mustard.  Fishing lakes is different than fishing rivers due to the current.  But, wind will affect your fishing day if your trolling motor isn't strong enough to handle the load.

 

Get the biggest you can afford.

 

just my 2 cents.

 

Mike

[Fishes in trees]

Absolutely - no question - buy the biggest you can afford.  I think in the Minn Kota line, 55 lb thrust is the most powerful 12 volt available.  Go 24 volt or 36 volt if you can.  Don't assume that you have to put a transom mount on the boat, wait until you see the boat and then figure it out.  The old adage about "Would you rather push a chain or pull it?" , is correct.

[KevO]

If it was me and I could only use the TM I would buy a 36v maxxum or fortrex just so I knew I had enough power to fish all day long.

[J Francho]

Three guys, in a 17' glass boat?  Get the most powerful 24v motor you can get.  A Traxxis 80 lb. is $550.

[je1946]

After running a Minn Kota 55# on my 17' Lund I swapped it out for a Motor Quide 24V 82# digital the difference was like night and day, I have yet to kill the power on a days fishing with the new motor.  A valuable and expensive lesson learned.  Agree with others on here, get the biggest motor you can afford.   You won't regret it, nothing worse than being on fish on a windy day and your motor is dying.  If U check some of the places that sell and mount the motors and tell him what you want they can notify you when someone is up grading or trading in for a newer model and you can get out on the cheap.

[Nitrofreak]

No less than 50lb thrust, anything less than that the motor will struggle to keep the boat where you want or need it on windy days and will work itself to death trying to keep you there,  all the while using up a lot of your available current.

 

I too am with the rest of the group, go big or go home....or at least as big as you can go.