# Trolling motor curiousity



## cmiller (Jun 3, 2008)

How do you figure out what trolling motor to choose from? 

I see there are different Thrusts and shaft lengths and voltages.


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## nixmkt (Mar 4, 2008)

Some nice info. here: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Outd...=SBC;MMcat104794380;cat105924780;cat106014780


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

M-K has a questionaire on their website that'll suggest correct size for you.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

it really has alot to do with personal prefrence. but a 24v or 36v will give you alot more power and will last alot longer. but a 12v is just much simpler to use, you just need one battery. and ofcourse the 24v is 2 batteries and the 36v is 3 batteries. but most people can get by with a 12v. but even when i used a 12v i took an extra battery just in case i ran the 1st one down.

the power rating just tells you how much power the motor has. the more power the faster you can go. but usely the more power the faster it will run your battery down. alot of people like to get a 24v and just run it on slow speed unless they want to move some distance. it uses less of your battery on low speed. and gives you more time to fish an area better.

on the shaft length, you want to make sure its long enough to put the whole motor in the water. you wouldnt want a 42" shaft if its 50" from your bow to the water. so you would need to measure from the top of your bow to the top of the water then get a shaft alittle longer than that.

there might be a standard you go by but i dont know of any. i just always made sure it was long enough to put my motor under water a few inches. maby some of the guys that uses them alot can give you alittle better info.
sherman


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

Choose the one with the most thrust including batteries that you can afford. For a simple jon boat up to 14' with hardly anything in it and just you fishing, a 30 lbs thrust may be sufficient but when you start adding flooring with studs and plywood and hang an outboard on the back, you will quickly find that the 30 lbs thrust is not enough. Do not just figure the weight of the boat and accessories, also figure the weight of your gears and yourself. You will really feel the pain when you are trying to fight the wind or current if you pick too small a trolling motor.

I have a 14' jon with flooring, carpet, two batteries, and a small outboard and it is almost a chore going across the lake even with my 55 lbs thrust and 30 pound thrust going on at the same time when my brother and I both are in the boat with our gears. It always just seem like we cannot get from one end of the lake to the other when fishing electric only lakes.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

If you know the brand you want, I believe both MG or MK both have info on their web site to help you make the choice. If you can afford it, I would consider a variable speed vs a fixed speed; you will get better battery life. Also for a smaller boat be careful with those fixed speed 24v motors unless you have a heavy boat even the lowest speeds can be too much.


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## cmiller (Jun 3, 2008)

I was thinking most thrust and batteries I can get.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I totally agree with going a 24v with variable speed. A variable speed model is more expensive, but like Crappiedude said, with the fixed speed models you're stuck with their settings. You can really dial in your speed with a variable speed model. If you can afford the difference in price, you'll be much happier if you go with a variable speed. A 24V model is also more expensive. Plus you have the added cost of needing two batteries to power it, But they do last longer, and you can get models with higher thrust ratings than you can in a 12V model. Of course price goes up, as power goes up.... but like one of the previous posters said....... there will be times when you wish you had a higher thrust motor. If you can afford the extra cost, it's always nice to have that extra power. 

There is one thing about a 24V system that you'll want to consider. And that's when it comes to charging the batteries. On a 24V system the batteries are connected in series, that's how you get 24 volts. Being connected in series means you have a positive post of one of the batteries, connected to the negative post of the other battery. A battery charger that is designed to charge a 24V system has internal switching built in to compensate for that. If you don't have a battery charger that is made for a 24V system, you're going to have to disconnect the batteries and charge them individually. We used to do that before we got an on board charger for the boat, and it was a pain in the butt. So that's definitely something you will want to take into consideration before you make your decision. If you don't have a charger for a 24V system you'll need to get one, or suffer the pain and huge inconvience of charging each battery separately.

As far as shaft length goes..... The trolling motor we have on the boat now, has a 45 inch shaft on it, and I personally wish it had a shaft about 5 inches longer. If you do most of your fishing a cast from shore, and in shallower water, I'd go with the shorter shaft. But if you're like me, once summer comes, I do a lot of fishing off shore in deeper water, and a longer shaft would be better when fighting waves and boat wakes. With the longer shaft you can sink the motor all the way down so it won't break the surface of the water when the bow rises on a wave. Of course if you aren't talking about getting a bow mounted trolling motor, then the shaft length wouldn't matter as much. If you are talking about getting a bow mounted trolling motor then its pretty much like another of the posters said..... You'll want to measure from the top of the bow down to water line on your boat. Don't forget to add the height of the bracket that holds the motor to your over all dimension. Just in case........The shaft length is measured from the top of the actual motor housing, to the bottom of the head. As far as how far the motor housing should be under water. I see 1.3 foot difference on the front depth finder from when I have the motor head resting on the top of the mounting bracket versus from where it is when I have it as high as I can run it without the prop breaking the surface.

Sorry about the long post. I just love talking fishing and fishing gear. lol


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