Electric motor for 6m fibreglass half cab boat...

[ozscott]

Hi all,

My little fellas are getting into walking the dog and other shallower water fishing. I am thinking about getting an electric trolling motor - at least foot operated, but remote on a laynard around the neck would be better again having seen that system used.

My Vagabond has a waterline hull length of 19 foot 9 or thereabouts and isnt light - more importantly it has a high cabin and clears on the side of the bimini so she catches the wind.

Am I dreaming, or is there an electric that would do the trick - if so what the best place to mount - off the bow or stern, and what make and power? Best place to buy?

Cheers and thanks

[Chimo]

Possibly dreaming, but why not get a little tinny that you can carry on the LR roof racks and also tow behind the boat. Use it for shallow stuff and as a tender so you have the best of both worlds. Pick up a little 2 HP air cooled or 2.3 HP 2s both of which are light but the air cooled 2 is pretty gutless.

Cheers
Chimo

[ozscott]

Chimo - that would suit for the Pin and would indeed fit the LR's rack, but I was thinking of doing a lot around Peel...dont want to go back to a small boat over there with the boys. I know the motor is likely to be about $800 or so and then the batteries on top, but still cheaper than a seperate tinny, motor, rego, insurance etc.

Cheers

[Chimo]

Oz

Doesnt have to cost the earth, cheap tinnys are out there as are small cheap motors ie $150, ish What regn, its a tender, no batteries, what insurance, at 2.3 HP it goes but hardly going to do much damage even if you hit a charter boat!

C
C

PS if your at Peel with the boys you should be in Vag from a safety point of view anyhoo.:P

[Mossy247]

Arrgg I wasn't supposed to hit dislike... Sorry

[ozscott]

Oz

Doesnt have to cost the earth, cheap tinnys are out there as are small cheap motors ie $150, ish What regn, its a tender, no batteries, what insurance, at 2.3 HP it goes but hardly going to do much damage even if you hit a charter boat!

C


PS if your at Peel with the boys you should be in Vag from a safety point of view anyhoo.:P

Mate - misread your first post - the operative words being "tow behind" the Vag. I suppose I could do that - good point. Cheers
C

[Chimo]

Oz

When you tow just set up a vee bridle that you tie off on say the rear stbd cleat and run a long eg 10mm line from the cleat thru a pulley block on the end of a eg 3 m paynter "d"ed to the winch eye on the tinny and then back to your port rear cleat. Also fit a float adjacent to the pulley block to keep it floating when you stop. You can then tow short when travelling slow or long so the tinny sits in the sweet spot in your wake when going faster. Works well on mine even at 20kn or so.

C
C

[ozscott]

Thanks Chimo. I emailed Jarvis Marine - they got back to me quickly. They reckon I should go with the salt water slider 54 pound thrust. Now I gave them all the details of the boat, and I would have thought 54 pounds was a bit light on (12 volt) for my boat, however I am only going to be nudging around islands with it mostly...has anyone got a big boat with an electric who could guide me? I see there are some web sites where the 80 pounder is only $40 or so more (24 volt and therefore 2 batteries).

Cheers

[NAGG]

Thanks Chimo. I emailed Jarvis Marine - they got back to me quickly. They reckon I should go with the salt water slider 54 pound thrust. Now I gave them all the details of the boat, and I would have thought 54 pounds was a bit light on (12 volt) for my boat, however I am only going to be nudging around islands with it mostly...has anyone got a big boat with an electric who could guide me? I see there are some web sites where the 80 pounder is only $40 or so more (24 volt and therefore 2 batteries).

Cheers

Talk about misinformation ........ 54lb yeh right!
Even an 80lb would be too small ( I ran a 74lb on a 480 hornet and it was about right) Realistically you'd be looking at a 36 volt system (105lb ???) and up for 3 batteries .......... Even this would not handle it in all but the calmest of days with no tide.
As has been mentioned a little tinny fitted with a leccy would be the go

Chris

[ozscott]

Right...so I was dreaming!

Cheers

[Dantren]

I think the crucial dimension is the shaft length
Minn kotas have a max shaft length of 60 inches
Can you measure the bow height from water line?
Dan

[ozscott]

http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/products/marine-outboard/4-stroke-portable/11-f25a

What about this on a transom bracket with a tiller extension. Not ideal because its not stearing from the front but I could stand at the transom flicking lures and holding on station to some extent. This might work well holding over spots in the bay as well as estuary. ...anyone done similiar? Very quiet and reliable. Could say it seems small but it would not be an auxiliary motor and you wouldnt want to go too fast due to minimum thrust of say a 10hp...

Cheers

[scottar]

As stated, an 80 pound would be the bare minimum. I had the 54 Minn Kota Ipilot on a 4.5m tinny. To hold station in any real sort of tidal flow it was working pretty hard - Flat out in the mouth of the Boyne during the Awoonga overflow. If you do decide you want to go ahead anyway, I would recommend the Minn Kota. The I-pilot even though pretty pricey is an absolutely magic bit of kit. Previously I had used the standard foot pedal models and found them a pain in any sort of conditions that required constant adjustment. I'd be half way through making an adjustment, someone would ask a question etc and next thing we're doing circles/tying knots. Maybe thats just me though. LOL

[Apollo]

My boat is 19'6" and runs an 80lb bow mount MK with Ipilot. It is fine and handles the boat well, but I have a lot less boat in and above the water than you. You can go much bigger than my MK, but as mentioned above, you need to check shaft length. Depends on the conditions you are intending to use it. In reality, by the time you add the cost of an electric and the batteries to run it, plus the charger, you would be cheaper to buy a tinnie already set up for that type of fishing.

As a guide, I have a 4m boat with a 54lb bow mount which is adquate for that size boat.

Steve

[rayken1938]

You are a little unrealistic with your budget. New 12 volt i pilots start off around the 2 k mark. I would suggest an 24v motor a 55lb thrust would allow you to creep around and also hold position in low tidal currents and light breezes.
Watersnake have just released a new 80lb 24v with position lock and better facilities than the minnkotas but it is dearer still;
With your budget you would be better off looking for a second hand minnkota and converting it to i pilot. If you decide to go down this path look for a round plug model. Using used components the conversion will only cost you $300 or if the motor is an older oval plug model it will cost an extra $50 for a new circuit board.
I just recently converted a used 70lb minnkota to I pilot for a total cost of $700 including motor.
Do not forget that a decent battery charger will also be needed.
Cheers
Ray

[tjotter]

re elec Shaft Length as per Dantren & Apollo:
If a bow mount electric & if measuring from Bow to Water for shaft length, I was told by BLA, for a minnkota54, to add 12 inches to get the prop well under water, BLA or another vendor can confirm. I know if top of my prop is at the water line it does not work properly.
Cheers.

[ozscott]

Thanks gents. I think I will keep drifting and anchoring.

Cheers


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[Pimp A Shrimp]

Might be old news but I've just seen a 112lbs Minn Kota advertised with 60in shaft. I's a 36volt so requires 3 x batts to operate. $3885.

I wonder what size boat / weight this could handle?