Help with canoe and trolling motor

[ppdbass311]

I have a 15 foot canoe that I use for fishing and would like to put a trolling motor on it.  The paddling doesn't bother me but even a slight breeze moves the canoe around a lot so its difficult to stay on a spot and be positioned the right way.  I don't really need anything fancy, something like a Minn Kota Endura would suit me fine since the price is right but i'm curious what pound thrust I would need.  At the absolute most I would have roughly 500 pounds in the canoe but more often than not it would be less.  Also i'm wondering about a battery and what the drain would be like, I'm guessing I would need a trickle charger for it as well.  Anyone who uses a canoe with a TM feel free to talk about your experiences as well, Just wanna make sure this will work out how i'm hoping.  Thanks.

[basscat73]

I used to fish out of a canoe when I forst started bass fishing. I used the Endura 30 and it had plenty of power for my 17' canoe. You'll definitely need something to recharge the battery when you're at home. Wind can be a real pain in the butt though! If you mount it at one end, it's difficult to control the other end unless there's two of you, one on the troller and one with a paddle when your canoe catches a gust of wind. If it's not very windy, a trolling motor can be a nice edition, but I ended up selling my motor and going back to just paddling and anchoring.

If it's just you in the boat, make sure you balance the weight in the canoe. The trolling motor adds a lot at one end along with your own weight.

[basscat73]

Here's a drawing I did a long time ago for a homemade trolling motor bracket for a canoe. Cost me just a few bucks to make (some wood and some hardware).

[reellittlephish]

This will work fine.  I used a 35 lb MinnKota hand control and when really poor - a garden variety auto battery.   Mounted the TM bracket permanently near the stern of the canoe and set the battery just forward of midship to keep balance.  A nice touch is to use an Optima "blue top" deepcycle battery.  That way no possible fluid leakage from the battery onto you or the boat.   For charger you will need a 10 amp  to 15 amp auto store portable - I got one at AutoZone couple years ago for about $35 on sale.  I see West Marine has a very nice one on sale for $60.  These chargers last a long time.  Battery lasts maybe 3 years depending on use.  My Minkota lasted over 25 years and as far as I know is still running.

[VABasser]

I've got a 15 ft canoe I sometimes fish out of and we put a 30 pounds thrust Minn Kota on it and it gives you plenty of speed.  I would also suggest  an optima battery because there is no chance of leakage.  This will work fine but its still a pain even when it  is just a little bit windy because the sides of the canoe act like a sail and you're halfway across the lake before you know it (well not literally ).  Canoes can be good for some situations but its sure nice to have a boat as well.  We used a setup similar to basscats to mount the TM on.

[Skwerl]

Go to the auto parts store and pick up 25'-30' of 8-10 gauge wire and make some extensions for the trolling motor power leads. Put your battery all the way up in the very front of the canoe. This will help balance and keep the nose in the water enough to keep it from blowing around so much. A 30 lb thrust is plenty for your troller. I fished out of a setup like that for several years.

[ppdbass311]

Thanks for the help so far guys.  Guess my main concern is wind since i've had a lot of trouble before.  I try to stick to smaller lakes or coves of larger ones but still doesn't take much to knock you off a spot.  

[onewyr]

I have a 16'6" that I had a 50lb thrust on and you could just about ski behind it. But I took the tm off of it and now I am trying to get my 12 ft jonboat right