Buying First Trolling Motor - Help Needed

[samm835]

I am looking at buying a troling motor soon....never had one before so not really sure what size(thrust) I need. I have a 25ft pontoon and a three man inflatable this will be used on, although mainly used on the toon. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction of what thrust would be decent with my motor. I don't need all the bells and whistles....just something to creep me along when I need it. It will definitly be used so if someone can point me also in a good name brand (trust worthy) I would also appreciate it....granted like anything used it really depends on the prior owners ability for maintenance. Thanks in advance.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Buying First Trolling Motor - Help Needed

Motorguide and Minn Kota are both good brands. So are Ford and Chevy which means some folk will have a strong preference for one or the other, but both are comparable in my mind.

25 foot pontoon is going to require some serious thrust, even to move at trolling speeds. You are looking at a 24 volt motor as a minimum. Thinking 70 pounds at least. I use a 55 pound (12v) on my 18 ft Starcraft and get about 3 mph at full speed.

They have salt and non-salt versions. Make sure to get the salt version if you plan on using it in salt water.

How big is the inflatable? I kinda doubt the same motor will do both needs. But I could be wrong.

Do you want bow mount or stern mount?

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Buying First Trolling Motor - Help Needed

Unless your going fishing and need the quiet factor a small high thrust 4 stroke kicker will be a better bang for the buck and you can tie it onto your OB for steering.

Going electric for such a large boat is expensive and heavy with all the battery's/wiring to support it. I would suspect unless your in no current even the largest 100pd+ thrust electric is what you would need to handle a large boat like your pontoon.

I never see pontoons with electrics up here, they all have small high thrust kickers for trolling.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Buying First Trolling Motor - Help Needed

A 12 volt 55# troller will work just fine but you need to determine what type of trolling you intend to do. If you troll very slowly, hitting the "go" button momentarily just to maintain heading or to just creep along a weed bed or shoreline that is relatively protected, then the 55# will be fine. If you have to fight wind and waves, then you want more power. I don't know where you would mount a small gas kicker since the engine pan doesn't have room for one along side the big motor. You could mount one up front but it would need to be operated in reverse all the time -- not very efficient that way as the prop is designed for maximum thrust in the forward direction.