trolling motor expetrs or will this work ?

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Dave B

Active member
I have never owned a trolling motor and so am not familiar at all with their limitations/abilities. My buddy just starting using one with his ZTW BBSB and loves it over his regular motor. However, he lives on the lake and the run to his spot is very short so it is mostly used for chasing crips.

So, I too am messing around with the idea of replacing my regular motor ( 5 hp briggs and stratton air cooled) with a trolling motor. My boat is a Zack Taylor wigeon style made of kevlar. I'm probably 250 with waders and clothes. Then figure in gun, shells, about 100 dekes ( mainly plastics but some e-allens) , 2 anchors, etc for the load.

With all this I average 6-7 mph ( depending on wind and waves). Most of the runs out to my spots average 20 minutes at those speeds with the longest maybe being 30 min. Once I set up I only need the motor for chasing crips if there are any until its time for the return home.

Does this seem doable/reasonable, to replace my regular motor with a trolling motor ? What lb thrust would I need ( if its even possible) to get 5-7 mph with this set up ? DO the distance/time of running seem reasonable for a trolling motor (battery) , figuring going out and back would be at or near full power ? Would I have enough power to make it if weather kicks up? The briggs doesn't have much for power either but due the the wigeon's stability I have made it home safely when weather kicks up . Farthest I am out from shore is 3 miles ( usually closer as a rule), but one nice thing where I hunt is that the water is fairly shallow all along the shore so if weather kicks up I head straight to shore and once I'm 500-700 ft out from it I am usually in 3 ft of water. I then just follow the shore home.

Any help/insight is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dave b
 
I think you would be taking a big step backwards with the electric trolling motor. Is low power elec. motor and very heavy battery really simpler? Too many what ifs. The biggest one is once you run out of juice you run out of juice no simply adding gas.

I just got a 3.5 HP Merc. for my displacement-hull scull. It likely goes about as fast as yours. I am basically at top speed at half throttle. No way am I going back to the elec. motor and battery. Don't bass boats have multiple batteries to run theirs?
 
I have a 15 foot marsh boat and I run a 40 lb. thrust trolling motor. I have about a 1/2 mile run each way. It's not fast, but it does go through the weeds better than the 7 1/2 horse gas outboard that I have. My battery will last two days easy. I have a push pole if my battery goes dead. It sucks to have to pole or paddle that far, but I never feel like I am trapped if the battery goes dead. Worst case scenario, I get out and push. I would say that with my boat loaded with three people, a dog and two bags of decoys, it will go as fast as a man walking.
 
Dave,
I have a friend who hunts far and wide with a canoe and a trolling motor. He is not carrying the load of decoys you are but a good new batterie goes a long way.
40 pounds of thrust is a lot when talking displacement speed.
If you are willing to go slow it might work. But you are on the long end of the capacity if I had to guess and you are going to need a good charger to get one batterie back for the next day.
 
Dave ,

Most motors out there nowadays are equipped with battery opimizers that allows the battery to last longer , i would think that if a trolling motor can push an 18 foot fibergalss bass boat for 6 hours of on and off use it should be fine for your load in your boat , i would recommend putting an inline battery monitor in or voltage meter so you can monitor the draw on the battery and keep the battery at a full charge. Speaking of batteries look into the new gell batteries they last a while between charges. Good Luck with your decision !



Dave M
 
Thanks for the info so far guys. I do have oars on mine for in times of trouble. In fact, that is one of the reasons I'm thinking of going the way of my bud and trying the electric motors.Twice now I have had problems with my regular motor starting when it was time to leave and had to row back. I can row at about 2.5 - 3 MPH according to GPS, but its a pain when dressed for duck hunting. Not so bad on the way back but a pain if I'd have to sweat that much on the way to a hunt.

I see they have reconditioned trolling motors w/2 yr warranties in the 160 lb thrust range for sale for a bit less than a new briggs 5 hp so that is why I was wondering if this would work. I may have to check and see if I can find someone with a larger size trolling motor who would let me try their motor on my boat to see what kind of performance I get.

The briggs weighs about 60 lbs vs 2 12 volt batteries ( with the 160 lb) at 47 lbs each for an increase of 34 lbs over all .

Thanks again,

dave b
 
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I had previously used a 30# motor. It went slow and I did occasionally run out of power. I was really a pain in the neck. I can imagine a #160 motor would use about 5 times the juice. Electricity seems rather efficient that way. Very little losses to heat ect. I have gone through the same questions as you.

Have you checked on the price of a good deep cycle battery? $100-175+ I think comparing elec motors to a Briggs is not a good comparison. The Briggs are sub-standard by most accounts. The Merc I got cost just under a grand and weighs 40 pounds full of gas. Another option I considered was a Suzuki 2.5 Hp that weighs only 30 pounds and I have seen for $650. I wanted the extra 1 hp and got a deal at Cabelas. I got $200 of credit with the purchase, so the price gap really closed in.

I of all people realize that funds are tight. It only took me 14 years to buy a new motor. It better last a long time. If you really want to go cheap, I have my old 1 hp evinrude that needs some new carb parts to idle and run properly. It can't be worth much and is very, very light.
 
Dave,

Good advice for you so far in this thread. I run a Fatboy DP with a 55 lb. thrust electric, and I have not been disappointed at all - quite the opposite in fact. I too agonized over the decision for that vs. a small gas outboard, but I'm now very happy I went with the electric. My situation sounds similar to yours - most of my spots are at most a 20 minute run, with up to 30 minutes in some current for one of my favorite rivers, and I've never felt I made the wrong choice. My original reason for it was that I was cartopping the boat and didn't want a stinky gas engine in my wagon. I now trailer the boat, and don't think I'll ever switch.

I frequently have the boat overloaded with two big hunters, a 95lb. lab, gear and a mess of decoys, and the motor moves it all along just fine. I baby my battery and I think a brand new one is well worth it. When it's just me and the dog, I often run the motor at less than full power. My partners are always surprised at just how fast we move (GPS gives me similar speeds to you - 6-7 mph), but what I like most is the silence as I slip into the marsh. Like you, I'm not worried as even hunting off shore a bit, I'm still usually in wading depth water.

Still, I would definitely try to test out a system first before committing. Two big batteries and a big electric sounds more cumbersome than your current set-up. You may find a lower-thrust motor with just one battery will do the trick.
 
I have an MLB Wigeon.I have a 5hp Briggs same as you.I tried a 40# thrust motor and 1 large
battery.I found that the electric was a lot better than I thought it would be.It wasn't fast
but figuring 2 1/2 hours of run a day,out and back and picking up birds,I could go a couple of days
without charging and still have some battery left.I tried several motors ,up to 15 hp on this
boat and frankly ,in terms of safety and efficiency,the electric was better than all of them
with the possible exception of an older 3 1/2 hp 2 stroke a friend let me try .
 
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