80lb thrust trolling motor for 15 foot KaBoat.

Does anyone have experience with this set up? I found my 45 lb thrust motor was slower than I wanted, with a loaded down raft and two people. Doing some additional research for this purchase decision.

Thanks!

What are you looking to know? You will likely get about 3 mph all day with that set up.

Thanks SD! Im asking for opinions/experiences on if-it’s worth it to upgrade from the 45 pound thrust motor to the 80 pound thrust. I’ve read some articles that say the larger pounds thrust won’t matter for speed but I find it hard to believe. I’m looking for more (reasonable) speed and safety if I hit high winds/waves on a small-mid sized lake.

Does your current motor and batteries go dead? If not get a aftermarket prop for more speed. If it does. Get better, lighter,
More powerful batteries. If you want more thrust, get the bigger trolling motor.

I have a few questions.
1. What kind of speed are you expecting?
2. Are you limited to electronic power only, or can you use a small outboard?
3. Where are you located and using your boat?
4. No offense, just curious, but why have you chosen an inflatable boat?

1. I’d like to go slow enough to troll effectively and fast enough to move with “decent speed” maybe 4-5 mph. Basically feel like it’s not too sluggish.
2. I could but I’ve found the 2.5-5 hp gas outboards are a lot more expensive than a TM. They mostly all have terrible user reviews. So am looking at a bigger trolling motor instead.
3. Im in Denver – mostly 150 acre to 2500 acre lakes.
4. I have a soft top Jeep now, so there’s no easy way to get a hard structure boat to the lake without a trailer and I don’t have the space for that. With the KaBoat it weight 78 lbs and I can just put throw it in the back of the Jeep and inflate at the lake.

Thanks for the info on the aftermarket prop. I’ve got no probs with battery dying but it’s one of the big ones. So would like to get one or two of the smaller ones.

Bill Basswell wrote:

1. I’d like to go slow enough to troll effectively and fast enough to move with “decent speed” maybe 4-5 mph.

Will not happen. The coefficient of drag is too great. The low end is no problem but like I replied in first, 3 – 3.5 mph is my guess at your top end with that combination.

Agreed. Have you looked at used gas engines or maybe there is an electric motor that is built for speed.

You might want to look at this rack.

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thanks for the replies. I will take the KaBoat out with the old TM and gauge how fast it goes and then figure out if dropping the cash on the 80lb thrust and batteries will make much of a difference.