electric boat motors questions

[leadpillproductions]

Whats a small good motor for small car topper, how long can you get out of a battery hr wise trip wise

[BRvalley]

any minnkota or motorguide electric with variable speed should suit you well, assuming a 10' car topper?...I'd recommend a 55lb, the lighter thrust models will struggle with a couple large guys into some wind

battery life is largely dependent on the battery you choose, and how well you charge and maintain it...you want at least a marine deep cell battery, but IMO AGM's are worth the extra money, less maintenance and longer life...look at the amp draw on whatever motor you buy, and then work out what size battery you need to last the hours you want

try to never fully run down your battery, and recharge it as soon as possible when you're off the water

I had a 55lb motor and the cheapest walmart battery rated for 80 amps and could get 5-6 hours of run time...a drift sock and anchor can help to stay on the good spots and cutback on a lot of run time

around this time last year I bought nautilus batteries and an onboard charger at crappy tire in dawson for 40% off, decent sale and warranty(keep your original receipt safe)

[leadpillproductions]

The on board charger how did that work

[wrenchhead]

I put a solar panel on top of my battery box to keep a trickle on it all day seems to make a bit of difference.

[mikeboehm]

just do what I do. I use it 2 horsepower Honda outboard. last me 6 to 7 hours of trolling on one liter of fuel and the thing weighs 27 pounds full tank of fuel and ready to run electric motor and battery weight more than that

[hare_assassin]

just do what I do. I use it 2 horsepower Honda outboard. last me 6 to 7 hours of trolling on one liter of fuel and the thing weighs 27 pounds full tank of fuel and ready to run electric motor and battery weight more than that

I considered this briefly before buying electric. Once it occurred to me that some lakes are electric only, the choice was pretty simple.

[rides bike to work]

I like that 2hp gas motor idea as well. I bring two batteries on a weekend trip and that will last me if I fish right in front of the campsite with no wind but if I want to run any distance or if there is wind the batteries don't last worth site.i pack the generator just to charge batteries so the weight of two batteries a generator and the motor and I still might end up rowing. The two horse has is the way to go. I do row when trolling flies though to conserve battery as well catches more fish.

[BRvalley]

The on board charger how did that work

onboard charger wasn't for my old car topper battery, for my 24v bow mount trolling motor, so I'm not pulling 2 heavy batteries out every day to charge, I just plug into an extension cord when I get home

it's labeled as a 'smart charger' so you input the type of battery you have and it charges accordingly, different charge rates, 15 amps to charge and then it switches over to a trickle charge to maintain, can hook up to 3 batteries

but if you only need it for one battery, not worth it, just buy a cheaper one...I was just mentioning that crappy tire always has their nautilus line on sale around this time of year

[Chody]

I have the 55lb thrust minn kota with the "5x longer " battery life thrust control. with the big marine battery i bought with it i get about 5 hours on MAX and 9-12 on 30% (trolling speed). was expensive but IMO it was worth it. i can get 2 days of fishing on a charge when camping

[blaine]

I have a 12ft tinny with a 30 lb minnkota,deep cell battery, I have no problem at all of getting 10 hrs running time trolling with 2 guy's (1 Large) cooler and all the other stuff. I find the 30 lb is just perfect for trolling on the lowest speed with out having to slow it down.

[BULLNUTTS]

I have owned and fished electric motors for over 30 years now .Been there done that,trying various brands and models.The minnkota 40 lb thrust with the mamimizer is by far the best performer of any.The maximizer unit draws power using a high speed pulse draw-so its not putting the steady draw on the battery.It also has the light up display of your current batt supply.Manny times after fishin all day still half charge or more.Use best highest power deep cycle marine batt you can find and keep it charged with a fulltime batt maintainer such as the nautilus charger.Fishin with buds that opped for cheaper motors and also more expencive and powerfull motors were out of juice every time before us- even towed couple guys back to dock and still fished rest day out!Honestly,BUY THE MINNKOTA WITH THE MAXIMIZER-proven winner year after year of hassle free dependable without excuses performance.The" Quiet power catches fish " is also unbeatable-with the added ability of going over and over the hottest spots without "putting the fish down" something that just couple passes a gas motor will do.Plus the enjoyment of hearing the fish jump and birds ect just adds to the quality of time spent. Tight lines an good huntin BULLNUTTS

[Fisher-Dude]

^^^ Exactly. I bought a 45 lb MinnKota Traxxis. I take 2 deep cycles and they last all weekend trolling with some travelling.

Enduras use the same maximum draw no matter the speed, as they simply burn off the unneeded juice to reduce speed via a coil (I think it's a coil). The Traxxis uses a true rheostat to draw only the power it needs for the speed it's going. Much better battery life with the Traxxis.

[BRvalley]

the new endura's do have variable speed with maximizer and are the cheapest model with that feature....I think basically any model from minnota and motorguide with the variable speed also has the digital maximizer (motorguide has their own name for it)....was ordering some other stuff from BPS last week and I think they have a small rebate on them

with any battery you can buy a separate charge gauge too, cheap

on a fully rigged boat I think it's the best to have a gas o/b for running around and an electric for fishing, but if I could only pick one for a car topper, I'd still pick a small gas o/b

[gmcgilli66]

I have owned and fished electric motors for over 30 years now .Been there done that,trying various brands and models.The minnkota 40 lb thrust with the mamimizer is by far the best performer of any.The maximizer unit draws power using a high speed pulse draw-so its not putting the steady draw on the battery.It also has the light up display of your current batt supply.Manny times after fishin all day still half charge or more.Use best highest power deep cycle marine batt you can find and keep it charged with a fulltime batt maintainer such as the nautilus charger.Fishin with buds that opped for cheaper motors and also more expencive and powerfull motors were out of juice every time before us- even towed couple guys back to dock and still fished rest day out!Honestly,BUY THE MINNKOTA WITH THE MAXIMIZER-proven winner year after year of hassle free dependable without excuses performance.The" Quiet power catches fish " is also unbeatable-with the added ability of going over and over the hottest spots without "putting the fish down" something that just couple passes a gas motor will do.Plus the enjoyment of hearing the fish jump and birds ect just adds to the quality of time spent. Tight lines an good huntin BULLNUTTS

X2, a Smart Charger, Minn Kota with the Maximizer and a high quality battery is the way to go!