Trolling motor size

I’m looking to buy a different trolling motor for my new 17ft Lund. I plan on getting into trolling cranks this year and I don’t have a kicker. Do you think I could troll fast enough with a 80lb Terrova or would I need the 101lb. It seems on CL there isn’t much of a difference between the 80 and 101. I know I could use the big motor, but I’d like the option of the electric.
Thanks for any input.

If you’re going to troll with the trolling motor only, go with the 101. You’ll wear an 80lb out at 2mph, the 101 with decent batteries will last much longer

If you plan to troll for long periods, it would be a good idea to look at a kicker. Trolling at 1.5 or faster will kill batteries quickly even with a 101. Finding space for 3 trolling batteries on a 17′ boat will most likely be a challenge as well.

If you can fit 3 batteries in the boat, go with the 101lb thrust. Bigger is always better when it comes to trolling motors

Out of curiosity, what do you have for a main engine?

I have an 80 lbs on my 1775 Lund and it works well for running cranks up to 2.5 mph.

You mention a different trolling motor, what do you have now?

Tohatsu kicker would probably be less than a new TM, and then you’ve got the best of all worlds.

Kicker for speed, trolling motor to steer. No time limitation. Or trolling motor for 1mph and lower speeds.

2 cents.

I ended up finding a steal on a 80lb terrova so that made my mind up for me…My old motor is a 55lb v2… It’s got a 96 115 merc