trolling motor ?

[mike11]

18ft warrior allready have 24 volt bow mount i want to put a transom mount trolling motor looking for some peoples info how small of thrust i can get away with and could i go with a 12 volt 55lb will that be enough to push/pull the boat around thanks

[waterfowler10]

id say go bigger than what you think you need, it also depends on if you usually fish alone or if the boats always full i can definitly fell the difference in my boat when its just me or if theres 6 more people in there, ive only had a 12V on my duck boat but the battery drains alot faster than a 24 or 36V

[MIDNIGHT777]

I think it depends on how you intend on using the transom mount. If you want to back troll into a decent chop a 55 lb will not cut it. I would go with as big a motor as you can afford. Motors with higher lbs of thrust do not have to be run as hard and make the battery(s) last longer. Plus, you already have the 24 volt system on your boat...............

Matt

[Larson15]

I would go with a 70 or 80lb transom mount and run it off the existing batteries with the other motor. I think you should be ok since you will be using one or the other.

[walleyemaniac]

I would go with a 24v also. Get a little bigger that way and run on the same system. Like alreay said you won't have to run the motors as hard the batteries should last longer. If your adding it to help boat control in a chop that should work fine. Maybe go to a couple bigger capacity batteries to be safe.

If your going to use it for back trolling pull the bolt out of the shaft and spin the head 180 degrees. So the prop is on the same side as the control handle. You get more speed out of it running the motor in foward then in reverse. Again you won't have to run the motor as hard this way and battery life will last longer.

[WaveWacker]

Yes, 24volt for sure. You'll be disappointed in the 12v/55lb motor. In my opinion, the one you should put back there if your going to be doing any amount of back trolling would be an 80lb thrust Minnkota Vantage. May require you to get a different splash guard for that side however (assuming you have them on already). That is the cat's you know what of transom trolling motors (I have and older 74lb vantage on my 17 1/2' Lund). You could go one click down and go with the Vector to save some $$. Important part is that they have either 4x (vantage) or 3x (vector)steering (for each degree turn by the handle the "lower unit" turns 3 or 4 degrees. Why is this nice? Well, your not hanging over the back of your boat trying to steer your boat from side to side.

[skyking]

I,ve got an 18' warrior as well. I run the 80# vector with 3x steering that is 24 volt. Usually have plenty of power, batteries last long time and less expensive than the vantage. I like the option on that motor to set it for front or back trolling with just a quick adjustment knob. Also had heard the vantages were having some internal electrical problems before, but that glitch may have been fixed. I'd suggest going with the vector for $630 and spend that extra $400-500 you'd spend on the vantage on some quality deep cycle batteries...my .02