Electric troller on a jet boat?

[Spinhead]

Recently I've gone out walleye fishing on a friend's boat. I like catching walleye and want my boat to be more walleye-trolling friendly. It's a 20' Duckworth welded aluminum with an inboard 351 Ford motor. This boat weighs at least 2 tons. I am thinking about mounting an electric troller on the bow. How much thrust would I need for a heavy boat like this? Would a 24V be enough, or would I have to step up to 36V? Thanks for any advice. :cheers:

[jet2go]

I have had an electric troller motor on both my last two jetboats. Currently, I have a 21' Alumaweld Formula V with a welded hardtop adn sliding windows (Pretty heavy for sure) It has a 6.0L engine and a Yamaha T8 kicker just to add a little more weight. I use a Minn Kota riptide electric motor with autopilot. I am pretty sure it is a 65 lbs thrust motor, with a 24v system. Works great unless the wind is really howling. I use it for bass fishing, walleye fishing, lake trout fishing and any other time I want quiet control. Don't hesitate to put an electric on - you will love it!

[HOOKUP]

I am putting a minn kota 101 on mine. I am hoping that 3 group 31's in the bow wont hurt my bota performance

[Fish mojo]

There are 2 main types of electric bow mounts- cable steering and electric steering. The cable steering is faster response and comes with the 36 volt more powerful motors, but requires you to man the controls nearly full time at the bow. Works great for bass boats and walleye boats with large bow decks with seats. Doesn't work well for full size sleds. The electric steering has a long control cord that you operate from the rear of the boat, or better yet- the wireless "CoPilot" that has a small key fob type controller. The best part is the autopilot option. Set your course and it keeps on that line until you correct the course. It allows you to fish instead of fighting the boat full time. You can get this now from Minnkota up to 80 pounds thrust in a 24 volt system. Get that with the longest shaft (60") and the autopilot/ copilot and you are set. Use Trojan Deep cycle (group 31 if you can fit them) and a good onboard charging system. You can troll all day and part of the next (sometimes 2 days) on one charge.

[Spinhead]

Thanks for the input, guys. It's always better to get info from fellow fisher-freaks than from someone who wants to sell you something. :cheers:

[jet2go]

FishMojo has it just right. I forgot to mention the autopilot feature. You definately want it - it makes fishing along a shoreline much easier. Set it at a slow speed, and it takes care of most of the work. Only takes minimal steering on your part.