Trolling motor confusion

[ratherbfishin1]

So I am interested in doing a little Jon boat-bass boat build. Nothing special just put some wood and carpet up front.  I want to put a nice-ish trolling motor with the foot control up front as the only motor due to me only using it on smaller bodies of water (canals so I would just be trolling down them casting the banks).  Anyways, I am so lost on what to do as far as setting it up.  I want to know how much I am looking at for the trolling motor setup (not including the trolling motor because the can be found for around $300 used) what all do I need to do this. I read stuff like circuit breakers, battery chargers, etc. and I am really lost. BTW I am planning on getting one in the 45-55lb thrust 12v range if that matters.  I was doing research and it looked like people were just getting minn Kota battery boxes and directly hooking their trolling motors to it.  Could I do this? If I were to do this how would I charge the battery?

 Thanks in advance!

 

Oh and I don't know if this is the right topic, sorry if it isn't...

 

[12poundbass]

I did the same thing you did for several years. I didn't use a fuse (I probably should have). I just bought an Everstart from Wal-Mart probably $60 or so. You need a battery box like you already mentioned. I used a Schumacher battery charger. I simply unhooked the TM from the battery, hooked up the charger, and that was it. You should be able to find and inline fuse at Wal-Mart too, along with a battery charger. Everything is relatively cheap, if I had to guess you could get everything for $150 or so, not including the TM obviously. 

[Arcs&sparks]

If your just using one battery,  something like this would be good. Has fuses built in.  You don’t have to install an onboard charger,  just get something decent at Walmart or Tractor Supply. 

 

 

 

I did a short description of my small boat build last night in the electric boat thread.  I’m running a 55# Kota Edge bow mount I got for $100 on Craigslist,  has plenty of power for the size of the boat.  86# 24v Newport Vessels tiller.

 

one thing to keep in mind is you may not want to add a casting deck unless you have a wide boat.

[ratherbfishin1]

6 minutes ago, Arcs&sparks said:

 

one thing to keep in mind is you may not want to add a casting deck unless you have a wide boat.

Thanks for the replies! Do you think something like this would work?

 If not what would you say would be ideal?

[Arcs&sparks]

Is it a 12’? That’s basically what I have.  Check out the electric boat thread to see mine.  Feel free to ask questions,  I’m on lunch break but after work I can be more descriptive.  I think It would be alittle unstable with a casting deck.  There’s a guy on YouTube that shows his build of his 12’ and it’s not as stable as he would like.  I’ll try to find the link later.  A wide Jon would be something to look for.

[ratherbfishin1]

1 minute ago, Arcs&sparks said:

Is it a 12’? That’s basically what I have.  Check out the electric boat thread to see mine.  Feel free to ask questions,  I’m on lunch break but after work I can be more descriptive.  I think It would be alittle unstable with a casting deck.  There’s a guy on YouTube that shows his build of his 12’ and it’s not as stable as he would like.  I’ll try to find the link later.  A wide Jon would be something to look for.

Ok, thanks! Yes that is 12ft and I'm checking out your boat now

[haggard]

I had a 14 ft aluminum jon, probably a little on the heavier side for a 14' jon, and used a 55 lb. thrust trolling motor and it worked just great. Single 12 V RV/marine battery. The TM was cable steer, with foot pedal and had digital power management but was otherise very basic. Plenty power to move the boat around.

 

Whatever you do, a circuit breaker or inline fuses is critical for preventing a fire if something shorts out.

 

I used an inline fuse in each battery lead, as close to the battery as possible, plus an inline resettable circuit breaker (I think it's rated for 55 amps) at the helm. The trolling motor manual should specify the appropriate current ratings for any fuses/breakers.

 

[LonnieP]

I'd go with a Walmart group 29 battery . $100. Less than 20 bucks for a battery box and circuit breaker. Find a decent charger , then you're good to go. 

[TOXIC]

How long do you plan to fish in a day?  I had a light 2-man PVC Bass Hunter with a rear mounted 12 volt TM (46lb thrust) that would do ok on a small 300 acre lake.  The boat you pictured would need some modification for a bow mounted TM and it is a lot heavier than my little pvc boat was.  You would be better off with a sit down style seat  because if you build in a casting deck, your center of gravity will be too high and it will be very tippy.  I would look for a jon that can hold the TM upfront and you can stand and work your TM.  With a good sized jon you could step up to a 24v system and never worry about running out of juice.  There are some electric only lake jons set up around me that have 3 TM's.  2 in back and 1 in front.  

[ratherbfishin1]

14 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

How long do you plan to fish in a day?  I had a light 2-man PVC Bass Hunter with a rear mounted 12 volt TM (46lb thrust) that would do ok on a small 300 acre lake.  The boat you pictured would need some modification for a bow mounted TM and it is a lot heavier than my little pvc boat was.  You would be better off with a sit down style seat  because if you build in a casting deck, your center of gravity will be too high and it will be very tippy.  I would look for a jon that can hold the TM upfront and you can stand and work your TM.  With a good sized jon you could step up to a 24v system and never worry about running out of juice.  There are some electric only lake jons set up around me that have 3 TM's.  2 in back and 1 in front.  

Maybe like 3-4 hours???  Ill look into a wider flat bottom because I am really wanting to have that casting deck. Thanks!

[slonezp]

6 hours ago, Arcs&sparks said:

If your just using one battery,  something like this would be good. Has fuses built in.  You don’t have to install an onboard charger,  just get something decent at Walmart or Tractor Supply. 

 

 

 

I did a short description of my small boat build last night in the electric boat thread.  I’m running a 55# Kota Edge bow mount I got for $100 on Craigslist,  has plenty of power for the size of the boat.  86# 24v Newport Vessels tiller.

 

one thing to keep in mind is you may not want to add a casting deck unless you have a wide boat.

Looks like a pretty cool setup. Minn Kota has something similar

[Arcs&sparks]

5 hours ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

Ill look into a wider flat bottom because I am really wanting to have that casting deck.

Good choice,  Jon boats are much easier to modify.  There are entire websites dedicated to Jon boat mods.  It would be worth spending a good amount of time reading and looking at other builds to help you choose the proper length and beam for what you want to do.  I would’ve been better off with a Jon,  but worked with what I had at the time.  No deck for me, works good bass fishing and has been fine for trolling larger lakes for other species as well.  I’m building up a new-to-me boat for primarily “other species” over the winter,  I’ve spent probably 100hrs this fall reading/learning, and quite a bit of loot to make sure this new build will be what I want it to be.  I will NEVER get rid of the old one,  it will still fit a niche in small waters. My advice is to not rush it and be smart about your decisions,  so you don’t want to upgrade next year. 

[JustALineWetter]

6 hours ago, Arcs&sparks said:

If your just using one battery,  something like this would be good. Has fuses built in.  You don’t have to install an onboard charger,  just get something decent at Walmart or Tractor Supply. 

 

 

 

I did a short description of my small boat build last night in the electric boat thread.  I’m running a 55# Kota Edge bow mount I got for $100 on Craigslist,  has plenty of power for the size of the boat.  86# 24v Newport Vessels tiller.

 

one thing to keep in mind is you may not want to add a casting deck unless you have a wide boat.

 

24 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Looks like a pretty cool setup. Minn Kota has something similar

That's the The Newport Vessels box which is superior to the Minn-Kota Power Center box.

 

The Minn-Kota only has a circuit breaker for the aux-ports, not a main breaker so you'd have to add a breaker for the trolling motor.

 

The Newport includes a 60A breaker for the main terminals.

 

Neither has a built-in charger, so that's an additional purchase no matter which one you get.

 

Also, Amazon has the Newport for $55 - cheaper than E-Bay...I never use E-Bay anymore.

[Arcs&sparks]

I feel like I went off topic a bit

 

To the original question- I think with just one battery your better off with the premade battery box with integrated over current protection.  Even seasoned mechanics and marinas make horrible splicing jobs that will fail sooner or later. Poor splices corrode easily causing problems, and can cause fires, and the fuse or breaker may never notice.  With a premade assembly you won’t have to worry about making multiple splices or crimping on terminals to connect fuse holders and whatnot.  

[ratherbfishin1]

1 hour ago, Arcs&sparks said:

I feel like I went off topic a bit

 

To the original question- I think with just one battery your better off with the premade battery box with integrated over current protection.  Even seasoned mechanics and marinas make horrible splicing jobs that will fail sooner or later. Poor splices corrode easily causing problems, and can cause fires, and the fuse or breaker may never notice.  With a premade assembly you won’t have to worry about making multiple splices or crimping on terminals to connect fuse holders and whatnot.  

Your going off topic could have saved me a lot of frustration with a “tippy” boat in the long run, so thanks! 

 

Thanks for all the help everyone! It looks like it won’t be nearly as complicated as I thought it would be.