trolling motor on bow only

[bowtech_182]

I am getting close with my boat project to getting a trolling motor.  The boat is a 14ft aluminum v-hull.  I am not putting an outboard on the boat and I really want a foot control trolling motor.  Does anyone use a bow mount trolling motor as their only source of propulsion?  Does it make it more difficult to get to the fishing spot, or does it not even matter?  The motor I am looking at is the MK powerdrive V2 40 lb.  Thanks for any opinions.

Andy

[HPBB]

40# on a 14 footer is ok, but if its your only motor there are afew questioin I would answere  first. On my 14 footer i have a 55# MK power drive, and lake that are TM only. I wish I had more power. I end up taking my big boat to the TM only lake cause it has a bigger TM.

Like was said in another post about TM's, buy the biggest one you can afford. just cause you have more power doesn't mean you need to use it all the time, but its nice to have.

questions?

1. Do you stay out long each trip?

2. do you use your TM alot ?

3. Lake being fished,

are they big?

do they get very windy?

Are they very weedy?

4. are you going to run more than one battery?

5. will you run long distances?

If you answered yes to any of these question. I would look into getting a 24 volt TM. for the extra money you will get alot more motor that will run longer, faster, and be able to control the boat better. and if your going to carry more than one battery, then why not run a 24volt. A 36volt TMwould be the best, but its overkill. I have put my 36volt TM on my 14 footer and it is a blast. And a 36 is a lot of $$. I think a good 24 Volt maybe 65# or 80# would be the better choice for you.

[bowtech_182]

1. It would be very rare foe me to stay out past 4-5 hours

2. Don't know as I have never used a TM before

3. Not very big or windy, one has a lot of weeds

4.  I thought about running 2 batteries just for a safety factor and I can get them relatively cheap

5.  Don't know as I have not yet fished off of any boat and am not sure how fast I am going to get around.

The beginning question was more about location of the TM on the bow only verses having a stern motor for running around.

Andy

[RobDar]

I fish a few trolling motor only tourney's...

when the water is rough or choppy or it is windy...you are going to wish you could sit down in the back and steer an sternie trolling motor.

[bowtech_182]

I fish a few trolling motor only tourney's...

when the water is rough or choppy or it is windy...you are going to wish you could sit down in the back and steer an sternie trolling motor.

When you say sit down in the back do you mean that because of the location of the motor, or the location of you?  With the  Powerdrive it has a 17' foot control that will reach to the back so I can sit at the stern and drive the bow mounted motor.

How differently does a bow mounted motor handle as compared to a stern drive?  I have not driven either one so I have no comparisons to make.

Andy

[HPBB]

You can run a Power drive from anywhere in the boat so sitting down is not a problem. If you are going to run 2 batteries, then i would go with a 24 volt TM. A 24volt will run longer on the same two batteries as a 12volt tm on the same batteries. Also a 24volt will run faster

[Guest whittler]

One other thing about bow mount, its easier to pull a doghnut along straight with a string than push it along with a pencil.

[Long Mike]

If you will be trailering the boat, then you will have a hell of of a time trying to get the boat back onto the trailer with only a bow mount - especially in windy conditions.

[surfer]

For the actual act of fishing while using the trolling motor you will want the bow mount.

For the act of getting across the lake it doesn't make much difference. The 17 ft control cord will allow you to sit in the back of the boat that rocks/ bounces less and is therefore more comfortable.

Carry an oar for back up. 4 or 5 hours constant will not kill the battery as long as you take care of your battery. You will most likely not run constant. Learn how to take care of your battery and it will last 5 years. If not it may last 6 months.

A 14 ft aluminum boat is very light. You should get about 1.5 or 2.5 MPH. Plan on it taking you 30 minutes to cross a 1 mile round lake. Get the most thrust you can afford will shorten this time and increase handleing.

Long Mike makes a good point about trailering. I am not sure how to handle that.

My motor collects weeds.

[dickenscpa]

If you will be trailering the boat, then you will have a hell of of a time trying to get the boat back onto the trailer with only a bow mount - especially in windy conditions.

He's right there. I recently switched from a foot controlled bow mount to a tiller style with the head flipped around. I have a 14" fiberglass tri-hull and a 30# pulls me along just fine. It has 5 speeds and I rarely go 3 or higher.

BUT, not only will you have trouble loading the boat with a stern mount up front, but just getting close to the dock to tie off. I use to take my foot controlled and troll right up next to the dock and pull the rope at the last minute. I had my engine go haywire on me when I first got the boat and had to troll onto the trailer. At the time I had the traditional bow mount and I got up speed, lined her up and pulled the rope at the last second.

This will be more difficult with a stern mount up front. A normal bow mount retracts all the way up and rests completely on top of the boat, i.e. none of it over hangs. A stern mount up front will hang out a bit when retracted. It took me once to realize this when trolling into the courtesy dock. When your coming in, with no brakes, you have to get that TM retracted before it bangs against the dock. It's not as quick getting it up as a normal bow mount. Where I learned my lesson was forgetting about it hanging over the front of the bow. It was resting about 3-4" above the dock. I stepped to the front to get out and BANG, it hit the dock hard. Another thing to remember is unclamp it before you launch and reclamp it when you get into the water. I launch alone and tap my brakes to get it to slide off. The overhanging portion will bang the foremost roller. Luckily I thought about that before it happened.LOL!

For my personal preference, the pros outweigh the cons and I like the stern mount up front better. I seem to control the boat better without thinking while actually fishing. Doing all the above with a stern mount up front is not impossible, but it's definitely more difficult and more to think about.

[bowtech_182]

I was reading the electric bass boat thread and how he was saying that he has a couple stern drives, locked in the straight position with a bow mount to steer.  I am seriously considering trying this as I can borrow a stern mount TM to try it out.

As far a getting the boat on the trailer I have done it a couple times with no motor whatsoever.  The way the launches and docks are set up all I need are a rope and a winch.

Andy

[surfer]

I am going to take a guess and say that if he has two stern mounts and a bow mount he is trying to see how fast an electric boat can go.  Not trying to fish.

I would go with a strong bow mount and a straight ruder in back.  

[Guest avid]

One other thing about bow mount, its easier to pull a doghnut along straight with a string than push it along with a pencil.

Yeah but it dunks easier when you mook it.

[dampeoples]

I personally have both a bow mount and a stern mount trlling motor on my boat, but there are several guys in my club that only run a bow mount with no problems. As stated before, if you are driving the boat on, simply lift it before it hits the trailer, if winching it on, it's no problem at all. Since the boat is a v-hull, you probably won't even need to install the batteries in the rear of the boat to keep the bow level, but it's not a bad option.

The only thing with operation is if you do not have some sort of weight in the rear, such as batteries, or a person, motor, etc, the back end will be light, and want to swing around easier, making it harder to control, but weight will counter that.

On the larger motor advice - I run a Tm only Jon Boat club, we all have just as d**n many batteries and motors as we can afford, so yes, surfer, he's probably trying to see how fast he can go, THEN fish, but, if you only run one, and it's large, make sure it's variable speed. Sometimes the first speed is too fast without being able to dial it down!

For fishing, once you learn how to operate the boat effectively, you'll love the foot control, you'll never have to stop fishing to fiddle with the motor to change directions, stop, etc.

If this boat will never have an outboard, I'd plan on eventually getting either a large, 24V variable speed motor, or a stern mount motor in the long run, just to make those trips across the lake a little quicker! I have a 43 on the front, and a 55 on the back, and get 4.5MPH with a flat bottom boat decked out, 2 batteries, livewell full, and loaded. Add another person, and that drops to about 3.75/4, though.

[hotspringsbass]

It is going to have a lot to do with the way you fish.  If you are BASS fishing and are going to be using artificial baits you are going to want a bow mount motor.  The Power Drive would be a great choice.  I would put the batteries in the back with you and the motor up front.  you dont want all of the weight up front.  If you are fishing with live bait and are just using the motor to get to point A from point B you will want a stern mount again with weight distrubition in mind put the batteries up front and the motor in the back.  If you have a front casting deck and /or seating up front the Bow mount will work best.  I would get the largest motor you can afford and the 12/24 volt system works great or the plain 24 volt system even better.  You never know when you might need to get off the lake as soon as possible so the extra power is nice to have.

[IneedAnewScreenName9886691]

One of my good bassin buds runs an old 17' tracker with a 24V 80lb thrust TM on the front only. It works pretty dang good. We use this boat on watersheds, he has taken it to a few larger lakes but doesn't go too far from the ramp with it.

Anyway, he has to get wet sometimes to get it on the trailer but it moves the boat pretty dang good with two fat fisherman and cooler of adult beverages.

NOTE: we have an old trolling motor that does not work we attach to the back to aide as a rudder. Without it when the wind blows that tail end moves around real good and makes more work for the driver. That is my best tip.

Good luck!

[bowtech_182]

Thanks for all of the replies and ideas.  I am set on the 40 Lb powerdrive for the bow.  If I don't end up putting a stern drive on also I will fabricate a rudder out of some sheet aluminum and extrusion to keep the rear end tracking better.

Andy

[bassboy1]

Alright, I didn't go to the trouble of reading all the other responses, but I run a 50 pound PD on a 12 foot vee, when in elec. only waters, and am not happy with it.  When you are running down the lake, the back wants to swing around, and you have to keep riding the pedal to make it go straight.  You would need some sort of fixed rudder or daggerboard to fix that - we haven't gotten around to making ours yet.  Also, I don't know about the v2 PDs, but the pedal on the regular one is hell to operate sitting down.  It takes a bit of force to get it to steer, and you don't have enough leverage if you are sitting on a bench seat.  The speed control is hell to, when standing.  It has thrown me out of the boat on numerous occasions, as it gets stuck, then goes farther than you want.  

As for trailering, if you have the daggerboard, it should work fine.  The only problem I have, is the stern swings to much when loading.  What you do, is pull the lever to tilt it up, tilt it back with your hand, and steer with your hand.  That is the only practical way I have found.  If you have a normal motor (which will be my next one) you pull the string up part way, and can still use the foot control.  On the PD, the foot control is in no way finesse, so trailering with it is impossible.  You cannot move it in infinite increments, as it goes to far one way or another.

I would advise getting a 24v transom mount.  Then use a 40 pounder up front to fish with.