Transom Trolling Motor – How Much Is Enough?

Buying a 16′ MirroCraft & need a transom trolling motor.

How much thrust should I be looking at and is a 12V strong enough to push this boat around?

Your expert opinions please.

Thanks

Pete

A 40lb. would push that boat just fine.

12 volt 55 pound thrust would be awesome on that boat. You could get by wih less thrust but when fishing in wind or current you would appreciate the 55 pounds of thrust.

I’ve got a 55lb minkota vector 3x12v on my 1648 lowe flat bottom and wish every time I’m out that that I’d have gotten the 24v. If your fishing the river at all get the 24v.

You will never regret having more power! If you have a higher thrust motor you will run on a lower power which will result in longer battery life. If you are going 12v then get the 55 pound thrust and if you can go 24v go with the 74-80 pound thrust motor. Good Luck!
690reece

I wouldn’t hesistate to put a 55lb on it.

Of course, more = better, but then you also have the added expense/weight of an additional battery and additional bank for onboard charger. Not to mention you need a place to put the extra battery, which isn’t always easy in a smaller boat.

For lakes a 12 would be OK. River I don’t think so. I have a 65#thrust PD on my 16 footer and I never run out of battery. If you like to fish all day on the river, you will run out.

What RW said

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Buying a 16′ MirroCraft & need a transom trolling motor.

How much thrust should I be looking at and is a 12V strong enough to push this boat around?

Your expert opinions please.

Thanks
Pete

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It’s not so much the voltage has it is the thrust for pulling the boat around. Now the more the voltage (24vdc) the longer you will have a charge and be able to use that trolling motor. First I would check if you have room for 2 more batteries (24vdc). If not then your stuck with the one battery and a 12 vdc motor. I had a 16.5 foot Lund Pro V with a 42# thrust and it was worhtless on the river. So I would go 55 or larger

Now that I saw your main motor, it should handle most cases.

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You will never regret having more power! If you have a higher thrust motor you will run on a lower power which will result in longer battery life. If you are going 12v then get the 55 pound thrust and if you can go 24v go with the 74-80 pound thrust motor. Good Luck!
690reece

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Agreed. This is what I was told here on IDO and I think it is great advice.

Here’s my experience with a transom mount 55#, 12V, Minnkota with Maximizer mounted on my Lund Rebel 1440 SS with Yamaha F40 (4 stroke). This boat has only a portable fuel tank which is 7 gallons. The 12V trolling battery is in a front compartment ahead of the livewell. The boat weighs 600# bare, 250+ in the engine, 100+ in both batteries, anchor, gear, etc brings the total to well over 1000#, not counting fishermen. Add another 500 for two of us with all gear and accessories…gets the rig up to about 1500# loaded in the water.
My partner and I have fished this rig on the Mississippi several times and our latest outing was on March 15th, just as the water was rapidly rising but still not wild and crazy. I have a new Cabelas, group 30, AGM battery hooked to the electric motor. I believe it specs out at 1525 marine cranking amps, 1205 CCA and has 205 minutes of reserve capacity. Given that, here’s how a 55# electric performed.
We fished current seams and breaks, were out of the main channel flow and the motor was at 4.5 to 5 (out of 10) to barely move forward in the lower current. When I swung out to move past a wing dam or made a turn, I needed to punch it to 10 or the boat would not make headway. If we were nearing a wingdam, where currents accelerate, I frequently got caught in a current the motor could not handle…even at max power (10) so we’d have to light up the 40 to pull us out of that seam.
For lakes, the 55# motor is fine, for moderate river current it’s fine as well…but I’m installing a 24V system into this Rebel and a 80# Terrova will be mounted shortly.

I have a Tracker V-16, I am going to put a vantage 80 on it. I fish the river I have a PD 40 on the bow and it is worthless.

The biggest problem I found was wind or current catching the bow. Once it does my 55# cannot keep the bow straight. This problem will be worse with a transom mount imo. I am looking for 70 to 80 lbs. for my 16′ boat.

I would vote for a 24 volt setup if you can fit the extra battery in. My previous boat was similar in size (Crestliner Fish Hawk 1650) and I put a 70 lb transom-mount on it. It could easily move the boat over 3 mph, which came in handy when fishing a reservoir where gas motors are not allowed, and when my main motor failed in the middle of Lake Vermillion just after dark.