electric motor

[jr sherwood]

I have 15' Smoker Craft & I am thinking about going elec. this year. Sloooooow is what i'm looking for. My ? is how big or small should i buy, thrust 30,50,80 lb. What i have seen sells for $99 to $500. If any of you guys have elec. please let me know what you think. Thank You. :wave: jr

[Codfish]

With electric motors you are better off being over powered than under. You have to take in account fighting wind and current. A bigger motor doesn't use as much juice to get a certain speed as a smaller motor would working harder to get that speed. On my 15' boat I have a 55lb thrust because it was the biggest 12 volt available and it works great. Just my 2 cents.

Codfish

[sbasser]

If you are saying that you also have a gas outboard on the Smokercraft, then I'd say 28 lbs minimum would be ok. If this is to be the sole power on the stern, then 50. My 17.5' fiberglass bass boat with 150 Merc came with 42 lbs thrust on the bow. Seemed ok, but it has been upgraded to 67 lbs. It does depend on wind and current. I have used max power to slowly pull upstream on the Columbia at Brewster, WA. I'd be hesitant to put more on the bow, but on the stern, I don't think you could have too much, and might save your bacon. C&R, Steve

[bucketmouth]

15 foot SmokerCraft, Id go with 55 lbs thrust. In fact, I'm getting ready to upgrage and you can buy mine if you like! :grin:

[jr sherwood]

Thanks for the info. I'll look around and do some more research before spending my hard earned money. :cheers:jr

[shalom]

Codfish , has stated it correctly and well . The bigger the better , and it will take less out of your battery's . Don't try to save money on battery's . Buy the bigger sized groups as they will last longer and work easier than smaller ones . What good is the proper bow mounted electic motor if you can't use it . There are many good quality deep cycle batterys available . I like the Trojan brand batterys .
:angel: :jester: :yay: :dance: :dance: :angel1:

[Cliff]

theres a post about a free one! Check that one out if you dont wanna spend too much money!

[JeepMcMuddy]

I have a Minnkota Endura 50 Transom mount, on my 12 foot sportcat (livingston style), it pushes myself (and Im a big guy!) my wife and a third (along with 5 gals of gas, a 6 hp motor, ice chests and tackle boxes and gear) around the lakes with more than enough power. I have used it with a single deep cycle marine battery, and have trolled all day long for kokes around merwin and have yet to drain the battery. I love it!

[jr sherwood]

Thanks again to all you guys for your info. :bowdown: jr

[Hunt'nFish]

AMEN to all that has been said! Bigger is better.

I put a 42lb Autopilot on my Tracker & a couple cheap BiMart batteries and it was ok, but the batteries only lasted about 1/2day. and I found myself w/o cranking power for the outboard a couple times. :blush:

I upgraded to two 225 Trojan batteries and I got about 3/4 to full day. And I always have another Trojan left as backup. (I like to only take then down halfway so I still have a backup, should one short out.)

I then upgraded to a 55lb Autopilot (& added Copilot) and it's even better. Since I carry 2 batteries anyway (sometimes 3 when I plan on trolling for walleye), I'm thinking of going to a 65-74lb 24V..... If I can only find another good deal on one.

Lately when walleye'n, I've been using my 4hp kicker locked straight as a pusher and my Autopilot to hold the heading in the wind. Seems to be working out pretty well. On a hook-up I just push a remote kill button for the kicker and flip the bowmount around to land the fish. Eats up the juice, but beats steering all day!! Besides w/ the wireless Copilot, I can just kick back and enjoy fishing.
Boy that Columbia wind can be a bear!!
Tracker