I am looking at purchasing a electric trolling motor this spring. What a confusing mess. I plan on using it on a 14′ aluminum V hull. any suggestions on a motor batteries would be helpful
Do a search on this site for electric trolling motors & batteries, you will find lots of good posts on this subject. Are you looking for a bow mount or transom? I have a bow mount Motor guide and have had no problems with it, but I think that Minkota will get more votes here than the Motor Guide. Not sure yet which one I will go with when it comes time for a new one?
Everyone will tell you to get the biggest one you can afford, but to be honest, a 14′ aluminum boat won’t take much to move. The original motor on my 15′ glass boat was a 24lb, and it moved it just fine, even in the Miss river current most places. I’ve since upgraded to a 54lb which I run at half speed most of the time.
You might even check the swap forum to see if someone has a small to midsized out there.
Taz, as others have indicated there are numerous threads on trolling motors. Some general thoughts: – 12V. For a 14ft boat thats all you need. – Thrust: Generally more is better. One consideration is is battery usage. In your boat will you have 1 battery for everything(like live wells, depth finders, etc); or 2? If 1 you have to consider overall battery drain, as in that case you likely don’t have a charger off your out board. – Transom or bow mount. Its always work better to pull a boat rather than push a boat. So if you intend on fishing from the bow, get a bow mount. If you intend on fishing from the stern get a transom mount.
Just wondering here but wouldn’t running a small thrust motor on high speed drain the battery faster than a higher thrust motor at a lower speed. I thought there was a chart on my last motor that made some kind of refrence to this.
Just wondering here but wouldn’t running a small thrust motor on high speed drain the battery faster than a higher thrust motor at a lower speed. I thought there was a chart on my last motor that made some kind of refrence to this.