trolling motor

[bmc2b]

I have an 85 lund 17' tyee with a 90hp johnson and am looking at a bow trolling motor. Any suggestions? Would just want one that ran off its own single bow battery. Is the minn kota 55lb with autopilot decent, would co-pilot be worth it, or does someone else make something better? Thanks.

[snapjigger]

bmc2b, the 55 pound model is the biggest (minnkota) that will run on 12v. Anything bigger and you will need 24v. setup. Next size up is 74lb. I have a 55AP on my boat 1650 Rebel,50 yamaha. It pulls that around no problem but your boat weighs considerably more. Hopefully someone with a larger boat will give ya a holler...

[CabinBoy]

bmc2b-
The 55lb will do fine for your boat as long as you get the 54" shaft, which you will need on the windy days. You will notice on windy days that you'll have to run it at a higher speed and you'll draw your battery down quicker, so you may want to think about adding another battery and connecting the two. I had one on a 18' Lund and it did ok, but many times I had wished I would have went with a 24V.

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fish smarter, not harder

[bmc2b]

Could I link my bow battery to my stern battery to run 24v to the trolling motor on the bow? And do it while running my stern electrical stuff at 12V? If I could, that would let me get the 74lb model.

[This message has been edited by bmc2b (edited 04-18-2004).]

[This message has been edited by bmc2b (edited 04-18-2004).]

[Fishinglund]

I have a 2001 1675 Lund Explorer with a 74lb Minn Kota bow mount trolling motor, and I absolutely LOVE it. I will never go back to a 12 volt again no matter what size of boat I have. Most of the time I only have to run the motor on 10-20% to move my boat along, (which saves battery charge) but if I need the extra thrust it is there for me. (At 100% the trolling motor will pull my boat over 2 mph)

Fishinglund

[musky hunter]

I have a 1991 Northwood Pro Tourney 17' with a 120 Force. This should be comparable in size to the 17 Lund. My 55 Minkota AP pull it just fine. But without a doubt, a 24 volt system with more thrust is better. You'll only notice it on the windy days. I'll never be without Auto Pilot. This will be my 4th season with the AP, and occasionally the compass acts up. I hope the newer ones are more reliable. And go with the longer shaft.

[92python]

Don't hook up you batteries in series (24 volt)and hook your 12 volt stuff to the batteries putting out 24 volts.

You need 2 batteries in series for the 24 volt trolling motor. You would need a seperate 12 volt battery for everything else.

I think most people would be fine with the 55LB 12 volt. Get a big battery with lots of reserve capacity.

Sometimes it comes down to how much space you have in your boat for batteries.