what size trolling motor?

[deermaster]

i just got this, my first boat, a 15' aluminum, and would like to use just a trolling motor for my first year, while i save for a decent 25 hp or so.  i know it needs some work and DEFINATLY a new paint job... :-X  but the trailer is solid and the boat is in great shape.  

my question is what size trolling motor should i get for my primary propulsion?  there will be 2 people in the boat, probably 400 lbs total weight of 2 people and out gear, weight of the battery and trolling motor not included.  i will be in sheltered water, so there will be no seas, but i would like to be able to go out duck hunting in wondy conditions, about 20 mph wind MAX, and distance will be no more than a mile or 2 one way.  so what size would you get to push a 15' with 2 people into a 15-20 mph wind?  thanks for any info.

[deermaster]

[Nick B]

I have a 14ft Jon with a 30lb Min Kota, and in high it gets me place to place quickly and I shouldnt have to worry about any wind that may come up. I would recommend a 30lb just for that reason, especially if it is your primary means of propulsion.

[memo43]

Posted by: Nick B Posted on: Today at 7:07pm

I have a 14ft Jon with a 30lb Min Kota, and in high it gets me place to place quickly and I shouldnt have to worry about any wind that may come up. I would recommend a 30lb just for that reason, especially if it is your primary means of propulsion.  

X2

memo

[deermaster]

well thats great news!  i was looking at the 55-80 lb and was not looking foward to paying for it  thanks again.

[Garnet]

Go big or stay home........ you can run that 80 slow but when you crank that 30 to the max that's it.

Almost everybody buys to small electric the first time and are soon out getting more power.

Garnet

[deermaster]

i dont have a pic showing the width, but it is fairly wide, 4' at the transom and 60" at the widest point in the bottom.  will this make a difference in how much power is required?

[zbass]

I would go woth a little larger than a 30. I second what Garnet said. I had a 12' semi V with a 42 and there were times when I wished it was a 50 or more. You may get a little bigger one than you think.

[NBR]

I have never had a trolling motor that was too big but I have had one that was too small. I didn't make the same mistake twice. As big as you can afford.

[scbassin]

After reading your post a couple of times I would think you want to stay home in 20mph winds. That boat has a lot of free board & with just a trolling motor your going to have a problem with that kind of wind. Even with a light wind your going to be fighting it. I would go with a 24v 80 lb thrust trolling motor even though it takes 2 batteries. It is much better to be safe than sorry. Make sure to get at least a 52 inch shaft because in rough water you will need it. I am not sure how you can be sheltered if your having to put up with 15-20 mph winds.

[BrianinMD]

A good train of thought for this is....

As big as money will allow. over time you will be happier. Although a 30lb may work well most of the time. There are times when the extra power will be a huge plus.

For example, I was out on an electric only lake, and was a long way away from the ramp. It wasn't supposed to get windy that day but a front came in quicker then expected and what started out calm winds turned to 25 mph with higher gust. Without the extra power not sure if I would have made it back in. I have a 14ft jon, with a 55lb thrust trolling motor.

[deermaster]

what kind of speed could i expect from a large trolling motor say a 60-80 and the load i described?  3 mph? 1? 5?  i really have no idea.

as for the sheltered water, the places i duck hunt are low marsh areas, and the wind really can whip across it, but do to the broken marsh, there is no real chance for seas to form, but you still feel the wind.  kinda hard to describe unless you see it.

[HPBB]

go as big as you can afford. I run a 109# on my 17'6 and I wouldn't have it anyother way. 99.9% of the time I do not need all 109, even 50% of that, but it is really nice when I do.

Now on my 15 footer I have a 52# and hate it. in fast water or wind it just isn't enough and it runs the battery down fast. as soon as I can afford to I will be putting a 82# on it. I have run the 109# on the 15 footer and it was great. was fishing a small lake and hardly started up the outboard. Like I said buy the biggest TM you can afford and you will not be disapointed

[sneaker]

One other thing you might consider. Trolling motors of similar thrust use the same amount of power at full throttle. But when you use partial throttle, that is most of the time for me, those with a continuously variable throttle will use 1/2 to 1/4th of the power that the 5 speed motors use. You will get a much longer run time on a battery charge. They cost more, and you will have to decide if the trade is worth it.

[Raul]

Get the biggest one you can afford, I do have a 30 pounder for mt 12 ft jon .......... should have purchased a bigger one  :

Everything is fine with the 30 pounder ..... until the wind begins to blow  :-/ , then 30 lbs ain 't enough !  >

[Chris at Tech]

s big as you can afford.

^^^ What he said.

[ArcticCat500]

I highly recommended a 55lb, I have a 10ft JB and with 2 guys n gear it rolls over the top all day with out breaking a sweat, and we've come back into a head wind and it pushed us threw it just as easy. It would be in your best interest to save a little extra and get the big dog.

for your viewing pleasure take a look here, this is where I got mine, shipping was super fast and the price was the cheapest when I was looking.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Minn-Kota-Endura-55-Freshwater-Transom-Trolling_W0QQitemZ380094950644QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380094950644&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1209%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[jack1]

Get as much power as you can afford.  You can always turn the power down when you don't need it, but if you're underpoweredyou can't turn it up when you need to.

There will come a day that you will be thankful that you have more power when you need it.

[jig]

get as bis as you can.I have a 10 ft jon boat  with a 46 lb thrust on it and when its windy thats not enough sometimes.

[Bassaholic84]

I have a 12' jon with a 30 and i am now looking at buying a 55lb variable speed.  There was just too many times that i wish i had more juice.  And i would definetly recommend the variable speed.