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Trolling Motor & Dauntless 160
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 5:45 AM
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Dave Wheeler wrote:
The 55 pound thrust is the better choice for a 16' boat. If you are using the trolling motor under any of the following conditions you will see some advantages to having a 24 volt system. 1. positioning the boat in a strong current or a tidal rip, 2. tournament fishing (8 hours a day), 3. fishing several days in a row with no access to recharge the batteries, 4. fishing in a high wind or a nasty chop, or 5. as a back-up for pulling tots in a tube. .
In any of the above conditions more thrust is better.
If your use will be as a positioning motor in more serene water conditions, the 55 pound thrust is more than adequate.
Also focus on a digital motor as the battery life is much longer, and should get a longer warranty.
I would also do everything possible to limit the weight in the boat. It will just perform better.
Hi Dave, thanks for the explanation. So I agree with you on the 55#, here's the thing, normally we fish in the fairly serene lakes of central Florida. If it starts to get windy, the fishing gets bad and we leave... so its not critical to have more thrust, but then I am concerned about the one time we are out there and the bite is on and we don't want to leave. Or maybe we fish the intercoastal which will have more current and tidal rip. Finally, the cost difference between the 12 and the 24 is minimal... 200 bucks or so... a little less if I went with a motor guide as I dont have to replace the shaft.
Using the three battery approach described above, I'd only be adding one more battery and it would be under the console and not the aft seat as I originally pictured, So the boat performs pretty well today, so realistically I am not sure how much worse it could be with another battery under the console.
So, I've been doing alot of floundering between the 55# and the 70# and these discussions are exactly why I came to this forum and asked the question. I really appreciate all of the opinions.
While 70# is probably a little overkill for my 16 footer, and I think Minn Kota and BW agree, I'm finding more people that do the 70# for the situations you mentioned, and the cost difference is fairly negligible. I'm just thinking with the cost difference, and now that I have a way to only add one battery, totaling 3 batteries and I am already running two, that maybe the 70# is the way to go. Knowing that I am only adding one battery and the cost, do you still think 55# is the right decision?
Edited by vettenorlando on 01/08/09 - 5:57 AM |
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| moose |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 6:29 AM
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I don't know how much that Dauntless weighs, but I have a 55 lb on my 16' that weighs right at 1,300 lbs w/engine. It moves me around ok in good conditions, but more would be better. Mine is a 12v. In a wind or current mine is not enough.
Mike
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 6:40 AM
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moose wrote:
I don't know how much that Dauntless weighs, but I have a 55 lb on my 16' that weighs right at 1,300 lbs w/engine. It moves me around ok in good conditions, but more would be better. Mine is a 12v. In a wind or current mine is not enough.
Mike
1500 LBS empty no engine.
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| Dave Wheeler |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 5:46 AM
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vette, you have asked for my opinion on a decision that is yours to make. You have received several viewpoints (opinions) on which trolling motor might work best on your Dauntless.
I stand by my previous recomendations for your boat, however, others have different recommendations. Go and look at each product, ask the salesperson for reference material that backs them up for any recommendation they give you.
Take the body of knowledge that you accumulate and make a simple balance sheet of plus and minus items. See if this paints a picture such that you become comfortable making an informed decision so you will be content with your choice after it is put into use. Good luck.
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 6:00 AM
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Yep totally agree and that is exactly what i am doing... I wish there was a cut and dry answer. I guess what I don't understand is that you indicated the 55# is your opinion, but then right after you gave a bunch of reasons to go with the 70#, so is your reasoning for the 55# solely based on the extra battery that I would be carrying? That's why I was saying, it would only be one battery vs the original two that I was thinking if I went with a 70#.
Thanks again.
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| grandmufti |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 7:40 AM
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http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=103468&highlight=donkey
Get the Terrova autopilot.The above link will explain and show one in action on Lake Erie in 2-4 foot waves.Best money I ever put into my boat.Handsfree trolling it is.Can be run alone or in conjunction with kicker or main motor.Tracks straight as an arrow and has eyes like a snake.
grandmufti attached the following image:
[43.14Kb]
Edited by grandmufti on 01/09/09 - 7:41 AM |
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 9:16 AM
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Very nice, thanks for the link to the thread.
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| Dave Wheeler |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 11:32 AM
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Please note that I listed 5 possible scenarios. These are potential reasons for you to justify installing a larger trolling motor than you really need.
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/21/09 - 2:22 PM
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Hey Folks, so I made a decision and now I need more help. I decided to go with the Minn Kota SP, but when installing it we are having a problem. I am using the composite quick release bracket and when we go to mount the bracket on the bow, I either have to mount it right next to where there nav light is but paralell to the side of the boat, meaning forward to after direction and not angled down the bow. That means when stowed the trolling motor is IN my boat... If I try to mount it at and angle, I can barely get that fourth bolt near the edge into the boat and a part of the corner of the base of the bracket (the piece that bolts to the bow) actually hangs off a little. I am not happy at all with that hanging off, but if I don't do it, it seems that the trolling motor won't clear the rub rail on the boat.
Has anyone run into this problem? What did you do? I want it to look perfect and am apprehensive to do it at all if its not going to look right.
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| grandmufti |
Posted on 01/25/09 - 4:08 PM
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I ran into something similar.I mounted the trolling motor on a 3/4 Starboard subplate.This allowed me to have a wider range of mounting options as I could now choose where I wanted to drill holes.Perhaps this photo can help.
grandmufti attached the following image:
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Edited by grandmufti on 01/25/09 - 4:09 PM |
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| todd12 |
Posted on 01/25/09 - 4:53 PM
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vettenorlando,
I have a relative with a 200? 18' Daughtless Center console. They have a 24V 80lb thrust motorguide trolling motor mounted on the bow . It follows the edge of the hull. BW must have put wood up there in order to mount trolling motors. What makes me think this also is that you mentioned something about a trolling motor package. Maybe talk to your local BW dealer and see how they mount trolling motors on hulls like yours. With the weight of your hull I would go 24 Volt system. That is what I had on my 1987 montauk. That was plenty of thrust for that hull. Remeber everything is a trade off. I don't think many BW's were designed to accomadate trolling motors and extra batteries. Also I found this picture on the internet. Is this the style of boat you have ? Do you have railings ?
Todd
todd12 attached the following image:
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Edited by todd12 on 01/25/09 - 5:18 PM
Todd |
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/25/09 - 5:20 PM
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Thanks everyone, we actually mounted the block on the port bow.... After talking to Boston Whaler, Minn Kota and the local dealer, they all agreed that the block would hang off the edge by about an inch. I was told to just let that hold go unscrewed and then put the fourth screw in themiddle of the block to make up for the missing one that hangs off the edge. It looks a little strange but it works. BTW yes there reinforcement on the left bow, phenoholic board I think they called it. I was originally going to put the 70# SP Riptide on it, but there was some difficulty getting it in stock and we wound up getting the 80# ST, with the auto pilot. We are still installing it but I will take pictures if anyone is interested. I wound up putting the two 27 group 12 volt deep cycles under the center console in boxes, along with the three bank charger. Then I moved the cranking battery to the back of the boat on the center line of the boat right where the water/gas separator is at. We moved that over a few inches to make more room for the battery. Since I was losing my second cranking battery, we decided to still use the switch I had to allow me to crank off the deep cycle in the case of an emergency.
I have not taken the boat out yet but hope to do so next weekend. But with the weight near the center fo the boat, I don't expect a huge change in handling. If there is a big difference, I will consider putting a set of smart tabs on the boat... I have been wanting to do that anyhow.
Thanks for the great discussion.
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/25/09 - 5:22 PM
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todd12 wrote:
vettenorlando,
I have a relative with a 200? 18' Daughtless Center console. They have a 24V 80lb thrust motorguide trolling motor mounted on the bow . It follows the edge of the hull. BW must have put wood up there in order to mount trolling motors. What makes me think this also is that you mentioned something about a trolling motor package. Maybe talk to your local BW dealer and see how they mount trolling motors on hulls like yours. With the weight of your hull I would go 24 Volt system. That is what I had on my 1987 montauk. That was plenty of thrust for that hull. Remeber everything is a trade off. I don't think many BW's were designed to accomadate trolling motors and extra batteries. Also I found this picture on the internet. Is this the style of boat you have ? Do you have railings ?
Todd
Todd I just noticed your picture... The problem with mounting the motor that was is that the motor when stowed really comes into the boat alot, and I wanted to have it so I could still maneuver around the deck... I guess it just depends on your priority, but with the 16 foot it really took up a lot of space.
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| jenkinsph |
Posted on 01/25/09 - 8:46 PM
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I had the same concerns trying to decide what to use on my 150 Sport, finally went with an 82# thrust Motorguide pts 24v. I installed a battery condition panel on the dash and installed two large deep cycle batteries with one used to start the engine in addition to running the trolling motor. Never had an
issue with starting the main engine either, you can check on the battery status and most new electronics has the voltage displayed on the screen to keep track of it. This worked fine for three years.
Last spring with higher loads such as bait tank dual 7" screens bilge pump radios ect I added a
separate starting battery. I already had a 3 bank 30 amp charger so this will reduce the worrying about battery state of charge.
BTW, Yandina makes a 24v trollbridge unit that enables you to charge the 24v batteries with your single 12v outboard. I have heard positive comments on it and think you can keep your batteries at a
higher charge level if you use it. This maintains the starting battery first and then will switch over to charge the trolling batteries. These Yandina combiners are available for two or three battery systems.
Both Motorguide and Minnkota (sp) have both been around for ages, both are very good trolling motors and you should be better off with the higher output motor. I purchased the Motorguide pts because I liked having the ability to automatically follow the shore line without my constantly having to steer it. In most cases it works very well, in some rare cases it gets confused though and I have to take over and reset it. When fishing on the bow it is very handy to be able to read the depth on the trolling motor too. This keeps me from damaging the trolling motor as well as the boat.
Good luck with your setup. I would think the Minnkota will work great.
Steve
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| burtim |
Posted on 01/26/09 - 8:50 AM
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Guys, please include links to any pictures you can. I'm getting ready to mount a motor too.
Thanks
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| vettenorlando |
Posted on 01/26/09 - 11:47 AM
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What battery gauge panel did you install? Do you have a picture of it? My minn kota has one directly on the unit... but i've seen some of the chargers that show each battery individual status, but they were pretty expensive... I wouldn't mind having something on the console that gave me the status of all three... My console has one gauge for the cranking battery but that is it.
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