Trolling motor for canoe

[AustinHellickson]

I am going to be getting a trolling motor for my canoe, i just need to pick one out.... what is the most reliable, longest running for one day that i can buy? Price under $200 if possible. I am hoping to be able to be out on water all day, so about 4-6 hours.

[fishnkamp]

I have used several good ones, but I like the Minn Kota Endura C2 40 pound thrust for your needs. I used to run two of the 55 pound thrust motors on a 15 foot aluminum mod v bass boat. I think the 40 would be good. Then I would get a Cabelas brand deep cycle agm battery. These batteries have given me tremendous hours of use per day, and over 6 years of consistent battery life.  I use the group 30 but that is on a big aluminum bass boat .  Go and get the group 27 threaded post version and it is on sale.  It normally sells for $219 but it is on sale for $129. It weighs almost 60 pounds but will last all day and a couple more. I would extend the original wiring from the trolling motor to move the battery up front, just add ring terminals instead of alligator clips.Recharge it as soon as you get done with it and get a charger designed  for AGM batteries like the ones Walmart sells for around fifty bucks . They call it a Shumaker  Ship and shore 15 amp charger. I I have three and they work great.

[AustinHellickson]

12 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

I have used several good ones, but I like the Minn Kota Endura C2 40 pound thrust for your needs. I used to run two of the 55 pound thrust motors on a 15 foot aluminum mod v bass boat. I think the 40 would be good. Then I would get a Cabelas brand deep cycle agm battery. These batteries have given me tremendous hours of use per day, and over 6 years of consistent battery life.  I use the group 30 but that is on a big aluminum bass boat .  Go and get the group 27 threaded post version and it is on sale.  It normally sells for $219 but it is on sale for $129. It weighs almost 60 pounds but will last all day and a couple more. I would extend the original wiring from the trolling motor to move the battery up front, just add ring terminals instead of alligator clips.Recharge it as soon as you get done with it and get a charger designed  for AGM batteries like the ones Walmart sells for around fifty bucks . They call it a Shumaker  Ship and shore 15 amp charger. I I have three and they work great.

Thanks, I've been looking at the minn Kota trolling motor, how do I find the group 27 thing? I might look into that one or the cheap Bass Pro Prowler 30/30 trolling motor...  Have you heard good about it?

[fishnkamp]

Deep cycle batteries come in different sizes and they range from group 22, 24, 27, 29, 30 and 31s.  Each battery gets physically larger in width,length, height, and weight as the group number increases. I suggested a group 27 because it holds enough amperage to provide all day use. Deep cycle batteries come in 3 types as well. First is your lead acid, these are built using the same old technology a car battery uses. They are the "wet" type and that means you need to check fluid levels and they have the same type caps your car battery has. This is a poor choice for your use. Way too much chance of getting battery acid on you, or your equipment.  Next comes Advanced Glass Technology deep cycle batteries. These are referred to as AGM batteries. These are specially built so they are sealed and could actually be installed upside down and it would not matter. I use only these.  These use totally different technology so they won't leak, and were designed to discharge very evenly for a greater use before the voltage drop affects your trolling motor. They must be recharged properly with a charger designed to recharge an AGM battery. The third type is Gel Cel batteries. These are really the top of the line and their price reflect it.  Go here to Cabelas and see the battery I was suggesting  http://www.cabelas.com/product/boating/auto-boat-batteries-chargers/marine-deep-cycle-batteries|/pc/104794380/c/104698080/sc/104446080/cabela-s-advanced-anglers-8482-agm-battery-ndash-size-27/1679063.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fmarine-deep-cycle-batteries%2F_%2FN-1100564%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104446080

look here at the trolling motor: http://www.cabelas.com/product/boating/electric-trolling-motors/transom-mount|/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104645880/minn-kota-174-endura-8482-c2-40-trolling-motor/1116687.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ftransom-mount%2F_%2FN-1100546%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104645880

Here is a bracket to mount your trolling motor if you have no found one http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Canoe-Motor-Mount/product/67133/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions 

[trick worms]

For a battery, academy has some 12 volt ones that sell for 50. They last for around 4 hours or so. I have a Walmart brand 30 pound thrust trolling motor that works good

[Goose52]

If you are REALLY concerned about run-time, it is highly recommended that you stretch your budget a bit and get a TM with digital speed control instead of a 5 speed model - the run time will be considerably longer. Look at the Minn Kota Endura Max or the Motorguide R3 Digital models. You can get 40 pound thrust models of either the MK or MG for about $220.

You didn't mention the size/length of your canoe. A 40 pound thrust motor will move just about any canoe nicely in still air but if you plan to operate in strong winds frequently you might want to increase your thrust (but more thrust = more $).  I started with the 45lb MK Traxxis on my 12 foot canoe and after a few years moved up to a 55 lb Traxxis to better handle winds.

A Group 27 battery is a good compromise between giving good run-time versus weight. I actually run the smaller Group 24 battery in my boat and have no range/run-time issues but I do get a bit of range anxiety on some of my largest lakes.

Walmart sells the Everstart Maxx marine battery for around $100 and this battery has a lot of fans on this site. That is what I run on my boat. The Everstart battery is a wet-cell battery but I keep the battery in a battery box and have no issues with leakage. Also, the AGM battery that is on sale at Cabelas (see fishnkamp's link) is a great buy if you have a Cabelas near you - otherwise you'd have to factor in shipping and what is the recourse for warranty claims. 

I've had my canoe on the water with trolling motor power just over 400 times for a total of about 2,000 hours. My set-up works great and it's nice to fish...instead of paddle...

 

[fishnkamp]

Goose52 that is an incredible setup!

[Goose52]

Thanks !  It gets the job done....

[AustinHellickson]

On 7/31/2016 at 11:25 AM, fishnkamp said:

Deep cycle batteries come in different sizes and they range from group 22, 24, 27, 29, 30 and 31s.  Each battery gets physically larger in width,length, height, and weight as the group number increases. I suggested a group 27 because it holds enough amperage to provide all day use. Deep cycle batteries come in 3 types as well. First is your lead acid, these are built using the same old technology a car battery uses. They are the "wet" type and that means you need to check fluid levels and they have the same type caps your car battery has. This is a poor choice for your use. Way too much chance of getting battery acid on you, or your equipment.  Next comes Advanced Glass Technology deep cycle batteries. These are referred to as AGM batteries. These are specially built so they are sealed and could actually be installed upside down and it would not matter. I use only these.  These use totally different technology so they won't leak, and were designed to discharge very evenly for a greater use before the voltage drop affects your trolling motor. They must be recharged properly with a charger designed to recharge an AGM battery. The third type is Gel Cel batteries. These are really the top of the line and their price reflect it.  Go here to Cabelas and see the battery I was suggesting  http://www.cabelas.com/product/boating/auto-boat-batteries-chargers/marine-deep-cycle-batteries|/pc/104794380/c/104698080/sc/104446080/cabela-s-advanced-anglers-8482-agm-battery-ndash-size-27/1679063.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fmarine-deep-cycle-batteries%2F_%2FN-1100564%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104446080

look here at the trolling motor: http://www.cabelas.com/product/boating/electric-trolling-motors/transom-mount|/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104645880/minn-kota-174-endura-8482-c2-40-trolling-motor/1116687.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ftransom-mount%2F_%2FN-1100546%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104645880

Here is a bracket to mount your trolling motor if you have no found one http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Canoe-Motor-Mount/product/67133/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions 

Great help,  thanks! 

[ClackerBuzz]

On 7/31/2016 at 4:29 PM, Goose52 said:

Minn Kota Endura Max

I came to say this^

to clarify more: a standard 5 speed will have 5 click positions you must choose from.  The Endrua max doesn't have positions so you can increase/decrease throughout the 'dial'/handle.  it saves power b/c you can in essence spin to 1.60 instead of having to click to 2 position like the old ones.  adds up to alot of savings throughout the day. hope that made sense

[YourBassIsGrass]

On 8/6/2016 at 2:59 PM, ClackerBuzz said:

I came to say this^

to clarify more: a standard 5 speed will have 5 click positions you must choose from.  The Endrua max doesn't have positions so you can increase/decrease throughout the 'dial'/handle.  it saves power b/c you can in essence spin to 1.60 instead of having to click to 2 position like the old ones.  adds up to alot of savings throughout the day. hope that made sense

To add to this they have a digital maximizer. Fancy lingo that means the power is pulsed instead of a steady flow. It switches power on and off extremely quickly. For any given period of time, power is only drawn for half of that time. This dramatically increases the run time of your battery. 

 

I run the endura max 40 with a wally world 24 group lead acid marine battery. I have went 12 hours on a river and still had at least 1/2 the battery. I ran up river to begin and then floated down, but still used the trolling motor to hold positions here and there along the way back down. I was happy to know it would last that long.