What trolling motor does my boat need?

[Drymite]

I have a 1987 bayliner capri 1700 bow rider what power rating trolling motor do i need?

 

[Black58]

You can find that info by going to the MinnKota website

 

[airshot]

What are you gonna do with it....just move from one spot to another ? Use spot lock ? Troll with it ? Calm seas or chopped ?

 

[Scott Danforth]

My old 17 foot used a 45# trolling motor for decades

 

[Drymite]

What are you gonna do with it....just move from one spot to another ? Use spot lock ? Troll with it ? Calm seas or chopped ?

I have my outboard to get my from spot to spot. Im just going to use the trolling motor near shore fishing and going up rivers. So I believe i would only use the trolling motor in calm /nowake areas and to spot lock

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

I have my outboard to get my from spot to spot. Im just going to use the trolling motor near shore fishing and going up rivers. So I believe i would only use the trolling motor in calm /nowake areas and to spot lock

You mention going up rivers. I have a 17' aluminum bass boat so not as heavy as your hull and it has a 24v 75lb thrust Motor Guide trolling motor on it. When I am river fishing and there is strong current I'm glad I have 75 lbs of thrust. My experience has been that trolling motor power is a lot like a boat's main engine power. More is usually better. It is frustrating to not be able to hold in current or the wind because you don't have enough thrust. Take my word for it, I learned the hard way.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Agreed, I have a much lighter boat (16.5' Alumacraft Navigator) with a 12v 50lb thrust trolling motor. It does everything that I want and can go all day, but in strong winds or in a river it struggles. I think that ChooChooSnakeMan is right. You need a 24v system with something like 75lbs of thrust.

In a few years, you'll barely remember that you paid a little more for a stronger motor but you'll definitely remember if it can't hold your boat when needed.

 

[airshot]

My 16' alum side console weighs about 1000 lbs. The 55 lb MK electric does great, I troll with it mostly or use the spot lock. 55 lbs works great on my boat....but I would not want any less !!

 

[Silvertip]

55# minimum if you even "thnk" about river action. I had a 55# on a 20ft pontoon that frequent a river with a 4 - 6 mph current. Worked fine had to run near wide open if there was a headwind in addition to the upstream travel.