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80lb thrust Minn Kota Engine mounted electric motor test
This weekend I came across a used 80lb thrust Minn Kota Engine mounted electric motor. The price was right and I decided to give it a try and these are the results.
Install was easy (about 1.5 hours). I mounted it to a 75 HP Mercury classic two-stroke motor.
Batteries I used were two (2) West Marine combo deep Cycle/Starting batteries wired to achieve 24 volts. (mounted in my console). These batteries are three years old so I expect that new deep cycle batteries might do better.
Results:
Top speed 3.8 mph.
Batteries lasted for 2.5 hours at full speed. I still was able to run at 1.8 mph but called off the test at that point.
This motor did not affect my ability to get on plane and did not affect top speed of the boat using the main motor.
Convenience factor is excellent.
Just shut off the main motor and adjust the electric motor speed dial which is mounted with Velcro to the console. Start trolling.
With my gas kicker motors I had to shut off the main motor, walk to the back of the boat, lower the motor, hook up the steering bar, hook up the gas line, pump the bulb, adjust the choke and throttle, and pull start it. Then let it warm up, put it in gear and adjust my throttle. Finally I could start trolling.
For a comparison using the same boat (1973 Montauk) these are the other motors I have tried.
55lb Thrust transom mount Electric motor maximum 2.5-MPH.
3hp 2-stroke Johnson maximum 3.5mph.
6hp 4-stroke Mercury maximum 5.5mph.
7.5hp 4-stroke Honda maximum 5.5mph.
Kyle, I marked my water line and used a square to determine if I had enough clearance. I also read a review from a gentleman who used the 55lb thrust version of this motor on a Montauk. So I figured I could make it work. In my opinion these will not work on the 60HP mercury four stroke motors as their cavitation plate is too small. (I was looking at one the other day). I did get some brief cavitation when going through the wakes of larger boats.
