Why not an electric trolling motor?

N

nowakezone

New Member
Jul 2, 2012
311
Naples, Florida
Boat Info
2004 340 Sundancer
Engines
8.1 Horizons
My use is ship-to-shore only. No putting around, no exploring. The usual distance is a few hundred yards in calm water. On a rare occasion there could be chop and the distance is a half mile. The dinghy is a roll-up 8'6", semi-rigid floor, no keel, non-planing, our passenger weight for two people is 340, I'm 220, the boat capacity is 1000#'s.

I like the Minn Kota Endura Max 55. I'm not concerned about a freshwater motor in the saltwater. A thorough rinse and it's fine. Many of the saltwater guys who use these do it that way without issue. A smaller motor might be fine, but in the event there's a stronger current or chop a 55 will do the job. It should easily push us at 5mph.

Here's why I like electric trolling motors: They're quiet. They start and run. They don't need gas. They're easily stored on the boat. An electric and battery box take up the same space as a gas engine...without the gas. And, if I find that for some lame reason I'm running low on juice, I'll get another battery.

Your thoughts please....
 
I did it for a season....it worked fine in calm water. The battery is a pain but so is a gas outboard.
 
Check out Torqeedo - it's an electric outboard (much more power than a trolling motor) that weighs about 30lbs... including the built-in battery.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Check out Torqeedo - it's an electric outboard (much more power than a trolling motor) that weighs about 30lbs... including the built-in battery.
Click to expand...
Thanks Quint.

Lazy' I watched a video either here or on THT and the Torqueedo sounds like a dentist's drill. Maybe worse. I really was excited about it until I heard it. And it's a bit pricey.

The bulk of use, which might be once a month if that, will be in protected areas of Pine Island Sound, or shallow water areas around the 10,000 Islands. The worst case is Key West Bight from Wisteria island in to shore. KWB can get choppy and has a pretty good current.

More thrust doesn't mean more speed per se, but in the event of choppy water or a stronger current, a 55 will work. Any more thrust and the 36" shaft length disappears and becomes a 42. Haswing of Australia makes a special 55 for boatstogo that has a shorter 26" shaft. It seems Haswing is the Minn Kota of Europe. But, they're not yet that popular here and should I need parts etc, Minn Kota would be easy.
 
I think the least expensive one (503) is around $1,500 or $1,600 (but they really are like an outboard, not at all like a trolling motor). So, certainly not cheap - but I can tell you that they are REALLY nice. Plus, you don't have to lug a 50lb+ battery AND the motor around with you. As far as noise, they're not as silent as a trolling motor, but in real life they're not annoying at all. More of a hum than anything else. Believe me, if it was annoying, my wife would tell me about it! Oh well, good luck with whatever you decide.
 
That's good to hear about the noise. Maybe the video I heard was done with a phone. Phones amplify everything. Admittedly noise isn't the only factor, as you said they're pricey.

Your point about the battery is a good one too. The Minn Kota battery box looks handy enough, but 50#'s is still heavy no matter how it's packaged.

So far I'm pretty jazzed that there aren't 20 posts all admonishing me about a trolling motor.
 
nowakezone said:
That's good to hear about the noise. Maybe the video I heard was done with a phone. Phones amplify everything. Admittedly noise isn't the only factor, as you said they're pricey.

Your point about the battery is a good one too. The Minn Kota battery box looks handy enough, but 50#'s is still heavy no matter how it's packaged.

So far I'm pretty jazzed that there aren't 20 posts all admonishing me about a trolling motor.
Click to expand...



Trolling Motor!!?! For shame!!!.... Actually no opninon, just curious about the responses because I've thought about similar for on the hook dog-to-shore deliveries. I just didnt want you to feel neglected on the admonishment front :)
 
Lol! Thanks Jim!

Your intended use is similar to ours. I've been told a 30# thrust would be fine, but for the occasional choppy conditions or stronger current I would rather have the torque of a 55. The 55 draws about 48 amps at full throttle. A decent marine deep cycle battery will provide an hour at full throttle before being depleted 50%..... if I understand the amp hour thing correctly. There are reasonably priced solar chargers - not maintainers - along with a regular charger which can be used with the generator I'm likely to be running for a while anyway.

Still reading and thinking....
 
I use a 3.5 hp Tohatsu. It weighs 28 lbs and I carry a spare quart bottle of fuel just in case I run out. Beats having wires in the boat and is easier to lift on and off than a battery or a larger outboard. I never intend to dunk it, but you never know. I don't know what would happen to a battery and all the connectors if splashed or dunked in salt water?
 
We are on our second season with a Torqeedo 1003 on a Mercury 270 airdeck. We've explored numerious little creeks and discovered a couple of new places to anchor the 320 in the process. When we are putting around exploring, we are usually running 2.5 knots and drawing ~200 watts. The Torqeedo has a built in GPS and displays current speend, power consumption, range remaining at current speed, and throttle setting. The noise is the video is not what it sound like in real life - as has been said it is not silent but it is not loud or annoying at all. We were concerned about the noise until we saw one demostrated at the Annapolis boat show.

Pros: NO GAS, no oil, no maintenance, quiet, light, easy to use, range remaining displays, long battery life

Cons: expensive, slow recharge time, longer shaft than a short shaft outboard

Jury still out: plastic prop (ours is holding up well so far but I do have a spare)

-CJ
 
Why bother with a motor at all? I have a similar sized dink and row it all the time. By the time otheres have taken the time to set up their motors and get under way I've already rowed to shore. No problems with where to store motors or batteries either.
 
Have you looked into propane outboards by LEHR? They seem easy to store etc. I do not personally have experience with them but sounds like a good solution, a couple of those green bottles and away you go.
 
I recently asked the local West Marine manager about the Lehr propane outboards. She had a positive impression of them based on the good sales and customer feedback. If my outboard weren't new I'd consider one.

OTOH, I inquired to her about Torqueedo about 2 years ago. 100% of the (admittedly few) units sold had customer complaints, and customers had a lot of trouble with support from Torqueedo. She steered me away from them based on that and my intended usage. I was really bummed - I wanted that to work for me. Perhaps that situation has changed over the last couple years with better reliability and customer support.

Everyone's needs are different, but I think an electric trolling motor would be a pain. You asked "why not", so here are what I see as disadvantages: 1)the battery is heavy - just as heavy as an internal combustion motor; 2) potential issues with corrosion on the battery leads due to salt water; 3) difficulty/hassle of recharging - taking a heavy battery home or rigging solar charger; 4) uncertainty of the charge state and range at any particular point; 5) without a (heavy)spare battery, when you're out of juice that's it. 6) long charge times.

For my money I would look at a small outboard with an integral fuel supply (gas or propane). It'll be light, easy to put on, and easy to refueling with a small spare tank. The propane option is also attractive because: very little fuel supply issues (no carb, no E10), has lower greenhouse gas emissions vs. gasoline, and could be stored below decks with the propane canister removed.
 
When I bought my 1st dinghy for my 240DA it was 6.5' and was used as a ship-to-shore tender. I had older electrical motor, so all I did was getting new battery on sale at WM. I used the rig for couple of seasons. Then we upgraded the dink and the motor. All in all, it will work ok for us. As long as you have proper expectations I don't see an issue.
 
I wanted to chime in here on the Torqeedo. I've got the 1003 short, and it's awesome. There are 2 others in my marina as well who have them - no issues.

That video with the sound was not what any of the ones I've seen do. It's very quiet. We can sneak up on a boat quite easily.

I would HIGHLY recommend the 1003 or 503 for your dingy needs. Great stuff.
 
I have the Minn Kota riptide RT 55. I bought it as a factory return with a 1 year warranty and honestly it works great for me. Its no speed demon but it gets our 9'-6" inflatable dingy around effortlessly. The battery doesn't bother me at all. I have a little 5A charger that I throw on it whenever its not in use and it keeps the battery charged up and ready to go. Easy to stow, no gas/oil, no maintenance. For the money, yu can't go wrong.

Sent from my RM-860_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
 
I used an electric motor on my paddle boat for years, as I'm not peddling this thing around, and it worked fine. Get a sealed gel battery-very expensive- and heavy. But for the weight, they have better capacity. No chance of spilling acid either. I bought my 35lbs. thrust motor on craigslist for $80. Now I'm trying to figure out how to mount one in my kayak. :)
 
I was going to post a new topic, but thought someone on this string could give me some advice.

I bought a new inflatable dinghy and 55lb trolling motor. Picking both up on Monday. I never considered an electric motor, but the price was right. So my question: can some recommend an "all in one" battery solution for this motor? A package deal that comes with a battery, battery case, charger, etc? A link on eBay would be great. Thanks so much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I alternately use a minnkota 55# thrust, gamefisher 3HP 2 cycle with integral gas tank, and a 9.9HP evinrude 2 cycle with a 3 gal external gas tank.

The trolling motor is quite, maneuvers great, but slow. Great for being around cruisers and near people in the water - condition yellow at slow speeds. It has 5 speeds forward and 5 in reverse. Slow for ferry activities, but does work, especially as it can run in shallow water really well. Getting on and off a rocky shore is ok.

the air cooled gamefisher is noisy, and doesn't have a reverse. It's light and easy to handle. If you are around cruisers and swimmers, it's condition red. It will not plane the dinghy, but pushes it well. We joke that it has 3 forward speeds - loud, louder, and loudest. But because it doesn't have a shallow running position and no reverse, getting on and off a rocky beach requires the oars.

The water cooled 9.9 evinrude is a bother to mount and dismount. But other than condition red whenever the motor is running, it does everything well. It's very quite. It will plane the dinghy with two people on board. It has range and speed. It's maneuverable in all conditions because it has a reverse and a shallow running position.

all work, but I prefer the evinrude.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,173
Messages
1,427,893
Members
61,086
Latest member
MrWebster
Back
Top