Trolling motor recommendation

Guys, I am new to trolling motors, and want to purchase my first one. I am running a 18ft lund alaskan with a 50 on back. Approx 1000 pounds. I fish big water at times. I have looked at the new minnkotas and the terrova is 1499 the power v2 is 750. One is 80 lbs, the other 70. Is there a big differnce between the two to justify that price. Do i need 80 lbs for my boat? I also have a feeling that not everything is included to rig the boat when i purchase the trolling motor. What else will i need to be up and running? Thanks in advance.

The 80# would be nice but I think the 70# will pull it

along without a problem!!

Depending on wether or not you have a receptacle at the bow

for a trolling motor plug (which I don’t think the Alaskan

does, at least not the 1600) you’ll have to decide if you

want to put one in or direct wire the motor to your

batteries.

If you direct wire you will need to add ring terminals that

will fit onto the battery posts. At least for the negative wire. The ring terminal on the positive lead will connect to your circuit breaker depending on which breaker you go with.

You will probably need to extend the leads from the motor unless you plan on putting the batteries near the bow. Make sure to use a heavier guage wire (Minn Kota web site FAQ’s) if you have to extend.

You will also need a couple of batteries (Deep cycle 27

series min) a short jumper wire (24v) and a min 50 amp

circuit breaker.

Optional would be a quick release mount for easy on and

off for covering. If you plan on removing the motor

and are going to direct wire to the battery, you will

want to add a quick disconnect at the end of the factory

motor leads to the end of your extension wires.

Otherwise your having to disconnect the whole setup

every time you want to remove the motor.

Good Luck,

Dan

Thats a nice rig Eagle,
If you look at charts or talk to boat salesmen,they will tell you just how much thrust the book say’s you need for your size and weight boat. I have owned many many trolling motors in my life and I would suggest you get the biggest 24 volt you can afford and don’t use all the power, Trust me there will be a day when you need it, also be carefull you don’t get too short on the shaft ( I’ve done that too ) My favorite is the Minn Kota Maxxum They are cable driven but very reliable and bullet proof, But that is mostly a matter of preference and the kind of Fishing you do. There are Pro’s and
Con’s to all of them. If your boat isn’t rigged for a 24 volt ,It is a Fairly simple job to change it especially on your boat as you have lots of places for the extra Battery.
Good Luck and enjoy that new toy

Bang for the buck sure hard to beat the power drive IMHO, and 1499 for a 80# terrova is crazy, atleast $150 too much, check out Jolly ann marine, with auto pilot and universal sonar they are $1249, shipped to your door, and a plain one is like 950 ish.

Personally I have a terrova, is it worth all the extra money? over the powerdrive IMHO, no, not in the Bang for the buck, would I still buy a Terrova over a Power drive? yes, I do like it a bit more. Everything else even I’m not really sure the Terrova is really honestly is that much better. The power drives are solid, and they work day in day out, my last one had a couple minor issues in the 5 years I owned it, but parts were easy to get, cheap, and I did all the work myself. If my boat had come with a power drive with auto pilot and universal sonar, I would’ve happily run it til the day it died, but I had to buy a new one, so I went for the terrova and I’m happy with it.

Then again I like to say buy the biggest trolling motor you can afford, never heard anyone say they had too much trolling motor.