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Trolling Motor for 25' Outrage
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| bcoastal |
Posted on 07/15/15 - 12:45 PM
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I have my sights on getting a trolling motor for the back of my 1986 25' Outrage. Does anyone have any advice for power and mounting options? Is it possible to push the boat with a 24 volt system?
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| wading mark |
Posted on 07/15/15 - 1:12 PM
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24V is very insufficient for a 25 Outrage. 36V rear-mounted is what you want. I used to have 2 36V trolling motors on the back of my boat but I wasn't using the second one that much. Look at my personal page for how mine is setup on the transom.
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| Finnegan |
Posted on 07/15/15 - 3:36 PM
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Whaler always recommend a 15HP kicker as a trolling motor for a 25 Outrage.
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| patxbill |
Posted on 07/15/15 - 8:50 PM
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36V is definitely the way to go. Wading Mark's mounting location is what you want. You have more mounting options for batteries, etc on your 25 than I do on my 22. I have a 36V MinnKota on my 22' outrage and when I lived in Texas, it worked great. Could chase birds in the bay and tarpon off the beachfront. Now I use it slow-trolling live bait for freshwater stripers.
Because space was so limited on my 22, I put the batteries and a 3 bank charger in the 94 QT igloo in front of the console. Ran 2 gauge wires in the rigging tunnel to a plug back on the gunnel. Drilled two holes in the cooler: one in the aft side with a plastic thru-hull fitting to run the 2 gauge wires under console floor into rigging tunnel, one on the starboard side for the charger plug-in with watertight cap. Now to recharge, I just plug an extension cord into the side of the cooler.
The setup takes away dry storage in the cooler, yes. but in my case I felt it was the cleanest option. With my 129 gallon tank, the extra weight of batteries up front helps the ride (I also moved the main batteries to the console). On the days I ran offshore to the rigs and needed cooler storage but not the electric motor, I simply disconnected the wires, pulled the cooler w/batteries and charger, and replaced it with another 94QT cooler.
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| patxbill |
Posted on 07/15/15 - 9:06 PM
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And as an aside to Finnegan, in this case the term "trolling motor" is a bit of a misnomer. On the Texas gulf coast, many Whalers are set up with electric motors more for boat control and positioning while drift-fishing in the bays and nearshore (especially for tarpon--notoriously spooky around gasoline combustion engines). Many also use them to approach the flats when preparing to anchor up and wade.
Your notation that Whaler recommends a 15hp kicker as a trolling motor is well taken, if the goal is actually trolling in the proper sense of the term.
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| wading mark |
Posted on 07/16/15 - 5:39 AM
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Finnegan wrote:
Whaler always recommend a 15HP kicker as a trolling motor for a 25 Outrage.
Afraid that would not work for our style of fishing. Our methods require electric trolling motors.
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| bcoastal |
Posted on 07/18/15 - 6:50 AM
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Thanks Mark. What material did you use for your bracket? I take it you have 5 batteries in the console?
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| wading mark |
Posted on 07/20/15 - 6:12 AM
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bcoastal wrote:
Thanks Mark. What material did you use for your bracket? I take it you have 5 batteries in the console?
That bracket is aluminum and starboard that Coastline Marine fabricated for me. It has the holes cut out for the trolling motor bolts to fit into. As far as batteries go, I have 5 in the console. When I had my 2nd trolling motor on the boat, the 2nd set of batteries was in the main front hatch.
As far as rear-mounted trolling motors go, we have always had great luck with the Motor Guide Great White 36v. My dad has a MinnKota rear-mounted 36v on his Dauntless and it has been durable but the Minnkota bracket is a PITA.
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| bcoastal |
Posted on 07/29/15 - 3:12 PM
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ok got a trolling motor used and am looking at the bracket. What is wrong with clamping it directly to the transom?
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| wading mark |
Posted on 07/30/15 - 5:54 AM
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bcoastal wrote:
ok got a trolling motor used and am looking at the bracket. What is wrong with clamping it directly to the transom?
Going directly to the transom is actually better. You would just need a piece of starboard on each side with some holes on the front side for the trolling motor bolts to go into. That's what I'm gonna do when my current bracket wears out.
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| patxbill |
Posted on 07/30/15 - 8:08 AM
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I mounted my electric motor directly to the transom of my 22 Outrage, with a 1/8" piece of star board covering the transom, top, inside, and outside. Without the star board, the motor mount would chew up the transom gel coat and fiberglass.
BE SURE TO MEASURE CLEARANCE before mounting the star board, and use the thinnest star board you can find. My 36V Minn Kota barely slides on with the clamps at their widest setting. Makes a secure mount, though.
As WadingMark mentions, it helps to use a forstner bit to drill holes for the clamps to grip into. Keeps the unit from sliding when torque is applied in turns.
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| bcoastal |
Posted on 12/13/15 - 4:34 PM
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SO Im back to this trolling motor thing... The used one I got had problems so decided to chunk it. Anyone have any guesses to what speed a 86lb thrust might achieve? Newport Vessels has an 86 lb for under $400. Only requires 2 batteries. Its hard to justify twice the cost for an extra 15 lbs of thrust.
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| Silentpardner |
Posted on 12/17/15 - 11:29 AM
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When you mount an electric trolling motor on the transom of a boat, you need more thrust to maneuver with it. Strong tidal movements along the coast have a BIG effect on handling, and require a lot of power from the batteries. You will need MAXIMUM reserve battery capacity and MAXIMUM thrust to maneuver successfully against an outgoing tide in the flats with a boat the size of yours.
I would definitely hold off on purchasing anything LESS than 100 lbs thrust for a 25' Outrage transom-mount application. I would also hold off on anything less than a full-power 36 volt battery system, (3 batteries). You might get in a good cut with the tide going out only to find out you don't have enough power left when you need to get back OUT of the cut when you ABSOLUTELY have to :)
(I am thinking Cedar Lakes Bayou here :) ) In my youth, I had to spend a night in there in order to get out once :) If that ever happens, you can still fish the incoming tide waiting on the water, and the Oysters were delicious washed down with Jack and water :)
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| bcoastal |
Posted on 12/17/15 - 12:56 PM
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Looks like I'm going to have to drop the big bucks on this one... The joys of having a bigger boat.
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| todd12 |
Posted on 12/17/15 - 3:48 PM
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i agree on the 36V trolling motor. A 24V 70lb thrust was good on my montauk which was used in and around the gulf of Mexico. I would consider a bow mount since your railings are removed on your hull. You could have an aluminum plate fabricated and through bolted to the lip on the bow . I have an 18 outrage that I plane on putting a bow mount trolling motor on. Good luck
Todd |
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| Silentpardner |
Posted on 12/17/15 - 6:52 PM
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Bow-mount is definitely the way to go if you can. The maneuverability you get is worlds apart from transom-mounted electric trolling motors, and speed is more easily achieved when the motor is pulling the boat as opposed to pushing the boat in my experience.
I used the plate that is built in on the center of the bow on my Outrage 18, (originally as a mount for the bow bit), to mount my 24v MinnKota, but the drawback was when the trolling motor was not in use, I had the apparatus laid back all the way to the cooler seat in front of the console. I had better handling then than I do now with the starboard-side mount I built into the boat during the refit, but the room inside the boat was worth the remodel.
I still prefer the handling with the new side-mount, with the bow oriented mounting, over the transom mounted motors I used before on this boat.
Edited by Silentpardner on 12/17/15 - 6:59 PM |
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