Trolling Motor Recommendations for 16ft Rebel

I am looking at a bow mount trolling motor for a 1997 16ft Lund Rebel tiller and looking for advice. Looking for advice on thrust and shaft length. I plan to occasionally fish the river but mostly mid-sized lakes.

My initial research brought me to two types: Minn Kota PowerDrive with iPilot 55lb or 70lb thrust with a 54″ shaft. I am debating between 55lb or 70lb.

I had a 93 rebel and only had room for 1 battery up front so I went with the 55lb powerdrive. I thought it was plenty even on the river. The rebel is a very light boat. The 54 inch shaft is a perfect match for that boat as well.

I have a used 55lb powerdrive v2 for sale. It was converted to spotlock and works great. Send me a PM for reasonable price if interested.

I had a similarly sized boat. Sure, a 70lb (24v) might be nice, but I went with a 55lb (12v) Terrova and thought it was plenty for the boat. Pretty sure it has a 54″ shaft that worked well, too.

Whats your main fishing style? How much do you plan to use the TM and do you have charging capabilities where its docked if on trips?

I’d also opt for 12v, but if you use it alot, and go on trips quite a bit with no recharging abilities, and have the HP adequate enough and room in boat for 24v system it could be advantageous to go that route.

Thanks for the tips. I would say 95% of the time I fish I go on day outings, not trips. Most everything I read/hear about seems like a 55 is more than adequate.

This is a 16′ Pike. The Trolling motor I bought used off of craigslist. It is a 24V PowerDrive V2 (pontoon version, 48″ shaft). Converted to a PowerDrive I-Pilot link. The batteries are mounted front to back on the port side next to the rod locker to balance the weight.

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The side by side location as in the picture didn’t work as well as the front to back.

On my Rebel I ran a Motorguide 55 lb. 12 volt. The 55 was more then enough to pull the boat around but it ran around 6 hours of foot controlled use and was ready for a charge. I ran a 60″ shaft and glad I did. With almost 2 ft in the water I had around 8 – 10 inches left on top. I wouldn’t go with anything less then 60″ shaft.