Pontoon needs electric motor!!

kraky · #1 June 28th, 2003, 12:15 PM

I live on a lake that banned gas motors. (YUCK).

I want to gear up a small pontoon (18' or 20') with a electric motor. I see that minn kota makes a pretty fancy 2hp (48 volt)model but WOW it sells for about $2500. Is there anything out there that could pull a pontoon around at 2-3 miles per hour for about 2-3 hours so we can enjoy a 120 acre lake while partaking in a cool beverage?? I was hoping to find something for about $1000 (or less) complete with on board charging and some type of remote control operation.

Thanks for any ideas you can give me!! kraky

neumanns · #2 June 28th, 2003, 02:22 PM

Why not put a trolling motor on it with an on board charger. my 43 lb thrust will pull me 2mph on the high setting, should be cheaper than what your looking at. they make some pretty fancy models.

kraky · #3 June 28th, 2003, 02:28 PM

Thanks--that's what I was asking--I sure don't want to spend 1/2 the price of the boat on a darn motor. I also see some pretty nice motors with near 100 lbs of thrust in the $500-600 range and I could see spending that.

Is it possible something with 100 lbs of thrust could pull a pontoon around for 3-6 hours on a charge at say 2-4 mph??

Would a bow or transome mt be best--I'm guessing bow might be pretty easy to handle but would love the opinions of you "with more knowledge" than I!!!!

neumanns · #4 June 28th, 2003, 05:03 PM

mine is a bow mount and it works great however in place of motor a transom mount may be the ticket. how long your batteries last depends on the ampere draw of the motor. If you have enoufgh batterie or batteries it would last and with a single or dual bank on board charger board all you would have to do is run power to the dock. If you divide the motor draw into the battery rating that will tell you the hours of operation.