Trolling motor

[D4 Army]

Need a new trolling motor for my 14 foot aluminum boat. I was planning on a 36 pound thrust which is plenty but for a little more I can get the 46 or 50 pound thrust. Those 2 are the same price after a mail in rebate. How will the higher thrust compare with the battery life. Will they drain a lot faster or will it work out about the same when running them at the lower speeds? I'm assuming with thrust that high they don't need to run on #5 very often.

[Sandmannd]

They will drain a little more if you use it on high speed. If you keep your speed down I don't think you will notice much of a differance. I would go with the bigger if you can. You could use the power on windy days or stronger current. Nice to have the power if you need and to have the option to not use it.

[hhguide]

it also depends on how windy it is. If the wind is really blowing it can hold you in a spot alot better if you have the bigger thrust vs a smaller Thrust It may drain your battery alittle more but it will keep you on the spot to catch more fish too.

[Musky_Madness]

Go big as you can...you can always lower the power and can never ask for more when you need it.

[davesfriend]

Definatley better to have and not need than to need and not have. Just remember to charge up before going. A good deep battery and you should be just fine..

[bassNspear]

i would say the same thing that everyone else has said, go as big as your pocket book/boat will allow you. The thing tha ti tell people all the time, is theres always going to be a situation where you wish you had a bit more power.

[eyebjim]

I would just add get as long a shaft as possible to. You can pull it up if needed. If it's too short you can't streach it. It may be fine in calm water but in rough stuff the short shaft will pull out of the water often and it makes it difficult to control the boat.

[Cicada]

I remember when I got a new trolling motor last year, I was told to look for a motor that had energy mizer or something like that. It was explained to me that most trolling motors will draw from your battery equally at any speed. With the mizer feature you will draw less amps at a lower speed than at a higher speed. One thing I knew I wanted was a variable speed, not a 5-forward,3-reverse speed. That way I could tweak the speed just a little bit and not jump from one speed to another. Oh, and the shaft length might be more important if you're mounting it on the bow rather than the stern.