qs on trolling motor for a Lunker

[zelek]

I'm going to be purchasing a transom mount trolling motor for a '92 Alumacraft Lunker in the next couple of days.

Do you think the 12 volt, 55 lbs Minn Kota Maxxum would be sufficient?? I'll go with the 24 volt if I need to, but I'm just not sure it would be necessary with this boat would it??

Also, if I put splash guards on, don't you think the 42" shaft would be better than the 36"?? The guy from Whitecap Mfg said you want the head to clear the top of the guards when turning the motor.

[MIDNIGHT777]

Zelek, I just got the Minkota Maximm 40 lb thrust for the transom of my Lunker. It seems to work fine for slowing down a drift, ect. If I would use it for actual movement of the boat I think I would want a little more power. I have a 55 lb thrust bow mount that works great. As far as the splash guards go I dont know. Actually I was thinking about putting them on my boat as well. If you chose to get them let me know how they work! My guess would be the the 36" would be fine, but I dont know how high the guards will sit. I guess if you wanted to error on the side of safety get the 42". What made you decide on the whitecap guards? I am pretty sure Wavewackers does not make them with a trolling motor cut out for our boat.

Matt

[fishin magician]

I have a 2001 Lunker 16'6" tiller and just purchased a 12V 55lbs minnekota powerdrive. It works great. I also got a 54 inch shaft. My recommendations are exactly what I got. You can never have enough power.
Also check the co-pilot thread. Many people are happy with this option.

[MIDNIGHT777]

Chucky, The bow mount does a better job for moving the boat than the transom mount. Using the transom mount the bow of the boat is difficult to control with the wind. If I am using the transom mount it is to backtroll very slowly or slow a drift. I dont think that just because you only have a 25 it would make any difference. Not to worry!

Matt

[Paul Rohweller]

Hey Zelek, did my email get back to ya? If not I'll resend it.. Paul

[zelek]

Yep, I got your email Paul. Thanks for the input (and the same to you folks on this thread).

I'll fill you in on my new purchase after I see how it works tomorrow.

[Guest]

I have a Lunker with a a 40 lb thruster and it trolls fine except when the wind is blowing hard. There are times when the extra pounds of thrust would come in handy.

Hey Matt,
Does the back end of your Lunker blow around when you use your bow mount? I've been thinking of adding a bow mount but the lack of weight in the back of my boat makes me wonder if it's a good idea. I only have a 25hp motor on her.

Chucky C

[clam up]

My wife just bought me a 24V 65PD Bowmount (54" shaft) for my birthday (quite a woman I must say!) It also has a built in transducer so I can bring my electronics up front with me. This pup is mounted on my '93 lunker. When it came to size, the advice I heard was to get the best unit you can afford - you won't regret it. Well, I couldn't agree more. It works great. You can really position yourself well in decent river current or wind.

[zelek]

Well, I decided to go with the 12 volt, 55 lbs thrust Maxxum.

After 5 hours of almost constant use on Pelican Saturday (quite breezy at times) it performed admirably. I never needed to go past 50% power and it didn't drain the battery down too far either. I checked the (group 29) deep cycle Interstate when I got home and it was only down 20%.

I saved the storage under the casting platform for gear (which would have been the likely spot for both batteries in a 24 volt system) and avoided having to run wires to the back.

I figure if the wind is so strong that I need more power, I'll just use the outboard.

All in all, I'm quite pleased so far. Maybe if/when I upgrade to a larger boat I'll consider the 24 volt set-up with more thrust, but for now this seems to work.