Trolling Motor Purchase

I recently bought a Lund 1675 Explorer and am looking to buy a bow mount trolling motor. The boat will be used 50% on the Mississippi River, and 50% on inland lakes. Two questions: 1) any recommendations on what size of trolling motor I should consider (I was considering getting the largest 12-volt model, but maybe 24-volt is the way to go). 2) I would like to mount an LCD to the bow motor — should I buy a unit with the transducer already attached, or should I try to do this myself.

Any help appreciated. I searched previous threads and have some ideas. Thanks.

Hi….

I was looking at the 1675 lund explorer in the 2002 lund catalog and it says the weight is 990lbs….I ran a lund that was 1270 lbs and had a 24V on it…and now run a lund that is approximately 1600 lbs and have a 24 V on it. I guess I ran into a similar question when I was deciding whether to buy a 24V or a 36V system for my bowmount. I opted for the 24V based on some research I had done…and am glad I did that. It has plenty of power, and allows me to have just two batteries in the boat, rather than 3…that means I save cost on one battery, save storage, and don’t have to go to a 3bank charger for my bowmount batteries (again saving cost). Some people told me that it was better to go w/ a 24V because it’s less weight than the 36 V (one less battery); but the 3 previously mentioned reasons seem to me to be more important than that. Anyway… I know the 24v/36v question doesn’t directly apply to you. But, geez I run a 24 V system on a boat that is probably twice as heavy as yours (once the motors are added in, etc.)… and I have a TON of power with it, even in high current and winds. I know it’s important to get all the power you can…but I don’t think you’d need a 24V system for that boat. I’ve run other boats similar to the size of the 1675 and had a 12V system on them and they were great. One thing that can be frustrating as heck is not having a reliable trolling motor…….I won’t mention any names that I’ve had trouble with…but I will say that I LOVE my new MinnKota Maxxum. It’s awesome… I bought the universal sonar model with the transducer in the trolling motor… I wasn’t going to do that..but then thought what the heck I’d try it. I was kind of sick of having gone through a couple of transducers by pinching the cable a couple of times in previous years. I hook it up to a Lowrance X-15…not sure what electronics or bowmount you’re looking at… I know some people have said they’ve had trouble w/ interference w/ having the transducer in the bowmount…but I haven’t had trouble at all….and neither have a bunch of my friends who run the same model. But, if you’re going to attach a transducer to it on your own…it’s not a big deal…. I really haven’t made a solid decision as to the advantages of having it in the unit yet…I haven’t run it long enough to decide that honestly. The other thing I’ve done is when I absolutely need a TON of more power than I can get out of my trolling motor (say it’s super high current and super windy…), I’ll put my kicker in the water, run it in forward at the slowest speed possible, and tighten the steering so it is going straight…it gives me just the advantage I need to gain a bit more speed while controlling steering and some speed with my bowmount.

Well, not sure if I really answered your question…but I totally understand what an important decision it is because it is incredibly frustrating when out on the water and not having a bowmount that is reliable and has just enough power.

Good luck!

~Jenn

Hey Big E

on that boat I think you would be ok with the heaviest 12volt you can get which is the 55lb thrust Minnkota (I Believe that is the largest) I know on my Mr.Pike I ran a 24volt system with a 65lb thrust and it worked great but the Mr.pike is a little heavier so I think you would be fine I know if it was me I would get the 24volt just because you can never have enough power on the river when the current is strong you don’t want to be the one who didn’t catch any fish because you couldn’t hold with the rest of the guys.

just my opinions

Nate Cadwell

Big E,

I have a 1700 Pro V and run a 12V-52lb Motorguide. I does the job in most cases on the river. The key is the battery, I use Trojan SCS225 which easily last 8 hrs pulling 3-ways on the river. I have a second battery with a quick connect plug on it. I run my electronics off it and can switch my trolling motor over to it easily late in the day. I would go with the separate transducer mount. The money saved on the motor will allow you to buy a better locator. Plus I can pull mine off easily and use it ice fishing.

The locator is a personal choice to me.It’s real simple to install,and the necessary mounts are available at most sporting goods stores.I run a 1700 Pro V,using the Minn Kota 50PD.In a nutshell,i’d never go with a 12 volt again on this size boat.It is nearly useless in the river with wind.I do use it from time to time while fishing on the lakes and it is fine there.But a great majority of my time is on the river.I do have lighter wiring than the newer boats,and will upgrade soon in hopes that will help.It’s also too light to use for an anchor,so looks like i’ll be upgrading to a 24v soon!This motor is for sale if your content with 12 volts.It’s in it second year of use.

I put a 24v on my 17 footer. It will last forever on a charge although I top it off every day. I have gone weekends of moderate use for 2-3 days and it still reads 100% on the battery meter. Just something to consider.

what can anyone tell me about an on-board battery charger that is a good one, and not one that just allows you to plug the charger in on the boat. We are looking for the kind that charges the trolling motor battery during use.

labsrule

I have a Lund Angler SS. I use a Minkota auto pilot 55lb 12V and it works great. I will fish the river 3 full days between recharging. I have two batteries wired in parallel and use a minkota on board charger. As for mounting the transducer to the trolling motor mine works great also. I use an Eagle Optima up in the bow and a X85 in the back.

Big E,

I also picked up a 2002 1675 Explorer SS, 50 Merc and had a Minkota 65 PD put on , 24volt 65lb thrust .

I have all the power i’ll ever need and I LOVE it !! I can troll up stream in the flood water on 4-5 setting this takes less battery drainage. If you were going to try this with the 12 volt version you would be up on about 6 and quickly draining your battery.

I also had a onboard charger in my boat. This sets up so when charging the batteries you only need a extension cord and both batteries get charged at the same time.

I think you will be very happy with this motor .

Better to have more than enough than not enough !!

ec

I use a Guest onboard charger and it has been great. I get home from fishing and plug it in. The plug is in the front of the boat and easily accessible with extension cord. Its fully automatic but I still unplug it when the batteries are full just for safety sake. Cabelas has there own line that are cheaper but they look like they are mfg by Guest. Take a look in Cabeles for details and prices on those and other units.

Big E-

I have a ~1000 lb starcraft (Li’l Bobber) with a 12 volt 55lb thrust motorguide. In any wind or current I’m forced to use the highest setting on the bowmount, which drains the battery in a hurry. I’m currently looking into adding a second battery since the motor is capable of 12 or 24 V. I’d recommend a 24 V system so you have power to spare. If you’re ever in central Iowa let me know. Good fishin’!

Big E, (Big E was my nickname in grade school, really)
I’ve got a 1675 Explorer with a 12 volt MK Powerdrive (55 lb. thrust) on the bow and I’ve been very pleased with it. I’ve never ran out of juice fishing (long days in current). I have a tranducer mounted on mine (the old way with a clamp) and it was pretty simple to install and it works fine, however, if the integrated transducers would have been available when I bought mine I would have went that route. Clean and simple. I’m in the Trempealeau area, so you can take a look at mine if you want.

The Powerdrive control (pedal) takes a little getting used to and it doesn’t have the response speed of a cable unit, but I think the benefit of being able to move the pedal around evens things out.

Have fun with your 1675!!

Might as well tell you what I think too. Go with the 24 v as everyone else thinks. I think you would like the built in transducer as that way you don’t have any extra cords. What’s nice with these is that before you buy the motor you specify which brand of locators you prefer so they already have the proper transducer in it. If you want to take the same unit for ice fishing just buy/build a box for the unit and get another transducer. Seems like most like the minnkotas but I have had 3 Motorguides and will probably never switch. I run a 24v 67lb laser ES on a 19 ft Javelin F/S and have more than enough power for a weekend. Good luck ————Pax

P.S. – – – According to Bass and Walleye Boats magazine Chargetek makes high quality on-board chargers for the cheapest out there.

go to http://www.alltrollingmotors.com very informative lead page to know exactly what minimum specs as far as lb thrust and length. it helped me out alot with my decision. i just bought one for my 16.5 starcraft last week.

Just remember…. nobody has ever complained that their trolling motor had TO MUCH POWER. Also remember power does not translate to speed. If the current in the river is ro strong your trolling motor will not carry you up up river, even if you have a 100lb motor on a 12 ft boat. It all comes down to the max RPM’s on the motor (they are all the same), and the pitch of the prop (they are all the same). Where power comes in is making sure the motor is strong enough to operate at max RPM while pulling your boat.

If 55# is strong enough for your boat (It probably is) and the only thing holding you back is 12v vs. 24v, you could go with the 55 and hook still hook up 2 batteries, they would just need to be connected parallel instead of in series.

Have fun in your new boat.

I have a 17 ft ranger bass boat, not sure on exact weight. i just upgraded to a minn kota maxxum 74 lb with universal sonar. I matched it with an x-91 and the picture is great- no interference noted at all. The lack of wires is nice, one down side is the temp which is standard on the x-91 is not integrated into the universal sonar. I agree with the 24 volt, if weight of the extra battery is not a big deal you can run a lot longer in the current with the 2 batteries. good luck.