Trolling Motor for Party Deck 21

[PartyDeck21]

Hey all, new to here and new to boating in general. Family just got a 1999 Tracker Party Deck 21 with 115 HP outboard 2-stroke motor. My father and I wanted something we could use fishing with dual purpose of being able to have plenty of room for family etc and I stumbled across the Party Deck which seems to fit the bill.

I'm needing to outfit it for fishing now as in specifically a trolling motor. I'm hoping someone on here has experience with this boat and knows what shaft length and HP I'll need. I have an old V-Hull Jon Boat that I have a 55# 12v trolling motor on and it seems to struggle when loaded down with people and current, so that makes me skeptical on what I need for a boat 5x as big.

Boat already set up for 24v which I believe in trolling motors maxes out around 80# thrust. Over that you're looking at 36v system. Is 80 enough? will I need to go with a 36v 100+ thrust trolling motor? and how about shaft length? I thought I would need a long shaft but when I measured the other day it was like 52" from bow to ground so I'm hoping 45" length would work?

Thanks ahead of time!
Bo

(Also I'm sorry if this is wrong section to post this topic. I figured the party deck is about the same as a pontoon! )

 

[ahicks]

I have a 22' Lowe deck boat, and am now working on/restoring a 19' Grumman. These are both alum. boats and very similar to your Tracker (nearly identical). Neither have trolling motors (yet) so I just wanted to add 2 points. First, these boats sit pretty low in front. Like many bass boats. The deck isn't very high out of the water, maybe lower than some of the newer 'toons with big tubes. Point being, I doubt you're going to require anything too special regarding shaft length.

Second, I was going to say any 24v. should be fine, but then you mentioned current. That puts a whole different spin on things. You may not find a trolling motor that will be effective working against some currents......

 

[Silvertip]

You don't measure shaft length the way you did. You measure from the deck to the water surface. You do NOT need a 50 inch shaft. You can use it of course but it can be shorter. I've used a 50# Power Drive on a 19 foot pontoon on a river and the current was never an issue but wind was. Try your 12 volt first. It may work for you. If not, sell it and go for something bigger.

 

[PartyDeck21]

yes I know you measure from bow to water line, but since I wasn't in the water at the time I was just curious how far it was from the bow to the ground while the boat was on the trailer, so that was how I knew that I wasn't going to need one as long as I thought I was. However, I was just merely wondering what everyone else has or used and how effective it was.

 

[ahicks]

I'm thinking there aren't a lot of boats like this around. You may find you'd get much more feed back that you can use in a bass fishing forum? I'm thinking these are very similar to an extra wide bass boat when it comes to trolling motor power.

 

[wrvond]

I have a 19 foot Avalon pontoon that came from the factory with a MotorGuide VariMax 12v. It has a 48 inch shaft (from controller to motor) and 55 pounds thrust. It's not going to win any races, but it's great for navigating the shallows with the outboard up out of harm's way.

 

[Mo381]

I have a 1997 Party Deck 21 with a Minnekota Terrova 80# 60" shaft. I can measure it tonight but I think a 45" shaft might also work. It is a 24v and will move the boat at 3+ mph gps

 

[Starcraft5834]

Ive got a 20 ft Starcraft.. toon with a 115 4 stroke....i had a small 8 foot bass buggy years ago, I first bought a trolling motor to push it... worked fine for about 10 minutes,, then loses punch.... got rid of that and bought a 2.5 merc outboard 4 stroke... I sold the buggy and kept the motor,,, I put the 2.5 on my toon for local lakes with HP restrictions... works very well....pushes me at WOT bout 4mph. my 2 c. DONT BUY an electric trolling motor... get a little gas 4 stroke.... OR, you will be declaring an emergency when the electric craps out and firing up the big motor to get in send me a message will email u pic of my set up......