what lecky motor?

[nathank]

hi all... i am looking into getting an electric motor for my tinny and just thought i would ask peoples opinion on here based on your experiences.. Ive got a 3.8m stessl with a 20 on the back and want it set up to cast lures and do a bit of trolling.... mainly for jacks. I have sorted someone to weld the mounting plate when i decide to buy the motor... so, what sort should i look at and what size etc? also what type of battery should i look into as a replacement for the little one i have at the moment powering my sounder and lights.. Any help would be hugely appreciated.
cheers in advance.
Nathan.

[Blackened]

G'day

I'd be looking at a 54lb system, watersnake are pretty good value for money.

As for the battery, will be dependent on how long you will want it to last per session, i'll suggest something upwards of 100a/h, gel cell and make sure it's a good quality one.

Dave

[Noelm]

Minn Kota SEEM to be the pick of them (I don't own one, so just going off rumours) water Snake get a few good wraps and Motor guide seem to be Ok for the money, but some have given trouble, my son has one and it has been OK for over a year now! as far as batteries, the biggest one you can find if you have the space and the cash, also consider a decent charger to keep it in tip top shape.

[scuttlebutt]

I had a 34lb snake but it died when I dropped it on the ramp.

I replaced it with a 54lb watersnake on my 315 stacer. Heaps of grunt for my little boat. I use a 50 amp deep cycle and often do two trips between charges.

Usually I'm on the water for about 4 hours per trip and use the snake to position near snags, not trolling. Have used it at least twice a week for the last year and the battery is still good.

[chris69]

Minn cota sp55lb ap 120 to130 amps battery and a good one turbo batteries are good,somethig sealed matinance free and wash it down real well after every trip and arma-all the shaft and everything ealse after 2 or 3 trips,be gentle on the foot peddle and give that a wash to and you should have it for many years,because you only have a 3.8mt boat you will get good life from you battery and you will not have to use as much power and get a good charger to charge the battery with 12amp minimum ,15amp better for larger deep cycles.

[nathank]

cheers for the info so far guys, its always good to get peoples opinions as usually its hard to get a shop owners advice because you always have to look at from what angle the sales pitch is coming from...

[Tailortaker]

It comes down to what $$$ you want to spend and if you want auto pilot or i pilot. I had a 44lb bow mount watersnake on my 3.9m quintrex with 25hp on back, front and rear casting decks and it pushed it along very well. The battery size also comes down to $$$ and also what sort of time usage you are looking at.
If your budget alows go the full hog on a Minn kota 55lb with i pilot, minn kota charger and a 120a/h battery and than you wont want to upgrade again, if not bottom line 44lb watersnake which as i said is still a very capable motor.
Cheers TT

[nathank]

quick question... with a battery i can see that most of the 100am deep cycle sealed are around the 400$ mark.. does that sound about right? and maybe 200 for the charger?

[TheSaint]

Mate i'll give some real prices for your setup & what i think you should get..

I just paid $300 each for 2 x fullriver agm 105amp batteries & $2195 for minn kota riptide 80lb i pilot.

I think you should look to get 105 to 120amp agm battery $300 -$320 & get 55lb minn kota riptide 12v $1050 http://www.############.com.au/product_details.php?g_ProductID=1296

as for the charger get CTek multi xs 15000 12v 15amp $200..

[rayken1938]

Last week Go fishing at Nerang had minnkota riptide 55lb i pilot for $1350 and the 70lb 24 volt ones for $1250. You would find the 55lb has plenty of grunt for your use.
I think that there is a new model around the corner hence the big discounts.
Cheers
Ray

[netmaker]

i had bad luck with the watersnake. cost $500. had corrosion issues in the head. fixed that - $150 replacement part. then had corrosion in the windings at the bottom end. gave it away and bought a minn kota. never looked back. and i-pilot is unbeatable. minn kota have a motor selection tool on their site which will help you select shaft length and power. worth a look.
cheers
davo

[netmaker]

hahaha. watching i fish and just after i hit "submit" watersnake feature comes on tv. reckon maybe i was sold a freshy instead of a salty. still i reckon just the i pilot feature alone is worth the diff.

[chris69]

Nathank you should get a good 120amp for $350+ and have a look at bias boating you will get a 12amp charger for $99 ive been useing this one for 3 years now you need one with a fan in it,if you look at the minn kota site you might find the minimum amps for the 55lb.......... ps stay away from the solor shops they will sting you for a battery.

[myusernam]

you can get a century marine pro 720 100AH from bcf or supercheap on sale for $170 (normally price is $195) 2 year warranty is good! IF it fails they replace no questions asked and get this..the warranty starts again!!!!!!!!!!!! (mine failed because it fell on it's side and the acid fell out and I treated it like shxt and it was the older non deep cycle version - free upgrade and another 2 years warranty. sweet)
agm will cost half as much again.
get a charger 10% of battery rating (i.e. 10 amps for 100 ah)
smart chargers (cteck or cheaper jaycar 7 stage) are good.
dont go too big on charger (more than 20%) or you will reduce life of the battery.
Smart chargers (multi stage) will greatly increase the life of the battery

[mylestom]

Over the years, 40lb Minn Kota Tiller x 2, 55lb Riptide Autopilot 7 years salt and fresh (Solid use), service by BLA still going strong and now Terrova 55lb as IPilot and easier to launch for the deckie. A fair few mates had the Watersnakes and the majority have now switched to the MinnKota. Sorry no experience with the Motor guide. Couple of mates have them as well.

It depends firstly on fishing use, then the budget, the Trojan Deep Cycle batteries aren't cheap but really great for this type of use.

Trev

[NAGG]

quick question... with a battery i can see that most of the 100am deep cycle sealed are around the 400$ mark.. does that sound about right? and maybe 200 for the charger?

Hi Nathan

A 55lb minn kota draws around 50amp / h when run on full throttle - you'll probably only need to run it on half for your boat - even so a 100amp AGM or Gel battery should be the minimum - These will set you back around $400 ........ When it comes to chargers , you need a smart charger (specially for Gels) - I like the C Teks but they cost a bit (depending on output) .... a 25amp will be $400-$500 - but that is a big charger ... the 10 or 15 amp would probably be half that. Minn kota do both a onboard charger and removable one (10amp). The onboard is convenient but best suited to a bigger boat - the removable one is about $150 (bias) ..... they are 3 stage chargers.

As for the motor ...... If your budget allows - Go the Minn Kota with I Pilot. It is the best by far with the most features but it costs $1700-$2000 ......... aside from being a great motor , the service you get from BLA is exceptional - & trust me , you need it with leccy motors because they are problematic -there are not too many people I know that have not had at least 1 problem that required attention / service / repair.

As you see - a good leccy set up is not cheap ...... but it is really worth it if you want to get into lure casting / placcy fishing - btw it's also a good safety back up if your motorbreaks down .... I've used mine a couple of times to get me out of the poo when I've flattened the main battery

Chris

[Mossy247]

Agree with Nagg mate it comes to customer support also. I run the 55lb on my 4.3 meter recently had an issue with the foot pedal and corrosion under the seals for the terminals of the pedal. Took it over to BLA, quick swap for a newy and back on the water. Every person I know who has had issues with the minn kota's BLA are excellent to deal with.
cheers - MoSsy

[nathank]

Hey cheers guys, some really great info.. it always surprises me just how helpful people on this site are :) To give you an idea of the use this thing will get.... I am almost the keenest fisherman i know lol.. so it will be getting flogged!! so from what i can gather the battery will be extremely important and i wont be sparingly buying a minimum type to get me by.. so from what i can gather i really should be looking at something around 150amp and a 55lb should be fine given my tinny is just 3.8 (flat bottom as well) I fish by myself quite a bit also so am kinda tossing up the ipilot thing as i think this would be really helpful for when i do fish alone.. The $ are not so much a drama as i have a jetski that is getting neglected that will shortly be liquidated so i can really turn this tinny into a topnotch fishing platform.. casting decks and so on are already sorted. Once again thanks guys for all your input.
Nath.