Looking for trolling motor advice

[Fishingmickey]

Howdy Y'all,

     I've got a new Kayak on the way.  I'm planning on outfitting it with a spot lock trolling motor.  I know Motor guide has the Xi3 and Xi5 with spot lock and remote. Minn Kota has the Terrova 55 and 80lb.  I want to have it salt water compatible too. Weight is one of my big concerns. Batteries will be Lithium Ion 12V if I go the 55lb route or 24V if I go 80lb.

    I'd love to hear about your experiences or any insights you'd like to provide.

Thanks,

Fishingmickey

[airshot]

both the 55 and 80 is overkill.  Electric motors only go so fast even when power rating is doubled. Around 5 mph is top speed, adding more lbs of thrust will not increase the speed !  Even a 40 lb is probably overkill for a kayak and remember...the more thrust the motor has the more battery power it uses....

[ATA]

Go to Glenn Videos, You can see the review on all of them with pro and cons from him(priceless videos).

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, airshot said:

both the 55 and 80 is overkill.  Electric motors only go so fast even when power rating is doubled. Around 5 mph is top speed, adding more lbs of thrust will not increase the speed !  Even a 40 lb is probably overkill for a kayak and remember...the more thrust the motor has the more battery power it uses....

I is not about speed with trolling motor thrust on a kayak as they are all displacement not planing hulls.  It is about having the torque/power when needed.  You will also find that with a higher thrust, you will not have to max the throttle to achieve the speed you want which in turn extends battery life.

 

I have roughly 90-100lb thrust (1.8hp electric) on the rear of my kayak and there are times I wish I had more for river use.  

 

[Fishingmickey]

2 hours ago, airshot said:

both the 55 and 80 is overkill.  Electric motors only go so fast even when power rating is doubled. Around 5 mph is top speed, adding more lbs of thrust will not increase the speed !  Even a 40 lb is probably overkill for a kayak and remember...the more thrust the motor has the more battery power it uses....

     Well on my other kayak (Hobie PA14) I am running a Torqueedo 1103AC. It has 155 lb's of thrust and it does make a difference. I can cruise at 5.5 mph at about 50% throttle and firewalled is about 6.3- 6.4 mph.  I walk away from the Xi3's that are on PA14's at the start of a tournament.

    What I am more concerned about is how well they perform spot lock wise and any problems maintenance wise or other problems that they have been experienced or encountered. I should have been more specific in my original post.  Thank you for your reply, airshot

FM

1 hour ago, ATA said:

Go to Glenn Videos, You can see the review on all of them with pro and cons from him(priceless videos).

Thanks ATA, I'll check that out when I get home this evening.

FM

36 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I is not about speed with trolling motor thrust on a kayak as they are all displacement not planing hulls.  It is about having the torque/power when needed.  You will also find that with a higher thrust, you will not have to max the throttle to achieve the speed you want which in turn extends battery life.

 

I have roughly 90-100lb thrust (1.8hp electric) on the rear of my kayak and there are times I wish I had more for river use.  

 

What motor are you running Fly?

FM

[airshot]

I was refering to typical electric trolling motors, the Torqueedo is not a typical trolling motor, it is an electric outboard motor so to speak.  The difference between a typ 40 lb thrust and a 80 lb thrust won't be much difference on something light weight.  My 12' alum jon boat runs a 36# or a 55# trolling motor, less than 1 mph difference. 

[flyfisher]

7 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

     Well on my other kayak (Hobie PA14) I am running a Torqueedo 1103AC. It has 155 lb's of thrust and it does make a difference. I can cruise at 5.5 mph at about 50% throttle and firewalled is about 6.3- 6.4 mph.  I walk away from the Xi3's that are on PA14's at the start of a tournament.

    What I am more concerned about is how well they perform spot lock wise and any problems maintenance wise or other problems that they have been experienced or encountered. I should have been more specific in my original post.  Thank you for your reply, airshot

FM

Thanks ATA, I'll check that out when I get home this evening.

FM

What motor are you running Fly?

FM

NK180s on an ATAK120.  

 

[Bankc]

Maintenance should be about the same on all of them.  Just make sure you have a sturdy mount, as a spot lock will be pulling in every direction often.  And if the mounting isn't reinforced properly, you'll tear holes in your kayak eventually.  

I imagine they'd all do about the same, spot lock wise.  Kayaks are light and don't need much torque to move around.  The main issue will be keeping the kayak pointed in the right direction, and that's going to be an issue with all of them.  It's just something you have to get used to.  Which one would I get?  Well, Xi5 is larger and heavier and sticks out further, so I'd probably opt for the Xi3.  And the biggest difference, to me, is that the Xi5 has a foot pedal option, which, at least for me, wouldn't be very useful in a kayak.  I'd need a more stable and larger platform to fish from before I wanted to mess with a foot pedal.  

 

Definitely stay away from anything 24v.  That's adding weight (both the battery and motor) and cost, and not gaining anything in return.  In a bigger and heavier boat, you may need the extra torque and benefit from a 24v system.  But it'll be wasted in a kayak.  Remember, with something as small and lightweight as a kayak, balance will play a huge factor in how it performs, and a spot lock TM will work best beyond the bow.  So opting for a heavier motor may throw off your balance and could slow down your kayak, even if it has a more powerful TM.  Kayaks are usually more hull limited than torque limited when it comes to top speed.  

[flyfisher]

7 minutes ago, Bankc said:

...Definitely stay away from anything 24v.  That's adding weight (both the battery and motor) and cost, and not gaining anything in return.  In a bigger and heavier boat, you may need the extra torque and benefit from a 24v system.  But it'll be wasted in a kayak.....

I will disagree that 24V is wasted on a kayak.  It isn't always about top speed.   A more powerful motor will not require as much throttle to move which will extend battery life by a lot.  Weight distribution is a big thing on a kayak for sure.  Moving my seat 2" forward or back can impact performance a lot