Tell Me About Trolling Motors

[Bobcat]

I have a Bolger designed Bobcat, which I sail in Lake Washington, Seattle. I would like to have some form of power so that I can explore more of the area. Specifically I would like to run down into Lake Union, about 8 miles or so, on occassion. I have rowed the boat that far, but it took several hours.

Would a trolling motor suit my needs? I know nothing about them, really. I grew up with gasoline outboards and want to avoid using a gas motor if possible. I want to be able to stow the motor without having gas and oil leak out.

What should I look for in a motor? How long can I expect a battery charge to last

Thanks

[Todd Bradshaw]

Eight miles with a trolling motor makes for a very long afternoon. It may be able to go farther than you feel like rowing, but it's not likely to be much faster. I'd be looking at a nice gas outboard if you're planning to go that far.

[paladin]

sorry...no trolls here.....we send all trolls to the bilge........:D
But....as Todd sez.....they are designed to go slow and not disturb fish. If you just don't want to row and are happy with the speed, a 36 or larger pound thrust motor should move your boat.....eventually.....and just as a rough guess....figure if the motor lets you do 3-4 mph (wheeeee)...the motor specs say it draws(as an example)40 amps.....and you want to travel 8 miles.....then you need a battery of about 2 1/2 amp hours capacity (or larger) than your estimated requirements......I hope this is taken with a grain of salt......I haven't looked up the displacement of your boat or done any serious calculations...Just sitting here having some fresh ground kona coffee and some fresh baclava......:D

[Thorne]

The main issue would be weight -- enough batteries to drive a boat like yours for 10 miles might weigh 120-160 lbs. And since you probably trailer your boat, that means heaving the nasty heavy things in and out of the truck and boat each time.

That said, something in the 40-60 lb thrust range should work, although the larger newer motors are more efficient. Not sure what hull speed is on your Bobcat, but it probably won't go quite that fast for any extended periods of time or distance.

Check out Cabelas for lots of info and products related to trolling motors, mounts, controllers, charging systems, battery cases, etc -
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?type=product&cmCat=Related_IPL_018809&id=0036409018348a

This is where the small air-cooled Honda outboard excels -- total weight at 1/2 to 1/3 of an electric setup, and for that distance only a small jug of extra gas *might* be needed.

Heres a Bobcat on trailer -
http://www.bezanis.com/images/tc82.jpg

[almeyer]

I'll agree with the others - I hung a 40-lb thrust trolling motor briefly on my Penobscot 14 - slightly longer than the Bobcat, but a lot less beam. Gave up on it pretty quickly - I could row as fast as the motor would push me. It did however, work well on my 14' plastic sloop. But then I only motored about 50 yards each way to and from the dock. That boat was beamy and heavy; rowing any appreciable distance was not an option.
BTW, enjoy your Bobcat. I had a chance to sail in one a year ago, and it's a really nice boat. Someone described it as "12 feet on the outside and 18 feet on the inside."
Al

[Bobcat]

Thanks everyone for the replies and pulling me just a little bit out of my pit of ignorance about trolling motors. I am convinced that a trolling motor is not what I want or need. It's not going to a quiet, lightweight motor that will allow me to cover distance when I want to do so. I would be better served with a gasoline outboard that is designed to do what I need to do.

Al, I like the description of 12 feet outside and 18 feet in. That sums it up. I can take my daughters and another kid and we're not all in each other's way.

[djswan]

Welll, So much for my trolling moter dreams. I was thinking about one too and ready to have topic on it. Quiet gas motors?

Hmmmm, this makes me think trolling motors are used for trolling and not for traveling

[Bobcat]

Welll, So much for my trolling moter dreams. I was thinking about one too and ready to have topic on it. Quiet gas motors?

Hmmmm, this makes me think trolling motors are used for trolling and not for traveling


Don't you hate it when something designed for one purpose is totally unsuited for another purpose that you think it *ought* to be able to do.....:D

[djswan]

I spent a almost a day of freetime looking to see if it was feasible:D :D I was bummed. I'm still dreaming of the stealth fishing boat.:)

Derek

[james burt]

an older gentleman at bass pro told me the formula to convert
thust. said it takes 5 lbs. of thrust to push 200 lbs. of boat. that is
no wind and no current working against it.

[Thorne]

Hmmmm, this makes me think trolling motors are used for trolling and not for traveling

I LIKE it - a nice, terse statement of fact that is hard to argue with! And the "trolling not travelling" bit is alliterative, too.

And this is from yet another person with a Minn Kota in the garage, purchased for use as an 'electric outboard', not as a trolling motor...

[djswan]

Thank you Thorne. You have have educated me before on boats and now my vocabulary has increased by two words I had to look up in the dictionary.:)

Derek

[michigangeorge]

Bobcat, you might want to look at www.torqeedo.com. They make electric outboards.

[geeman]

Naw, Wife and I use a Minnkota 30 pound on our boat.It IS slow but we get there eventually.As far as power goes,last summer we'd cruise all afternoon on one trolling battery ,and it still would have plenty of juice when we put the boat on the trailer.Just in case I carry 2 trolling batteries and a "spare' Regular marine battery but have yet to need them in one afternoon.
You Do have to rethink your traveling time expectations tho.If your in the least bit of hurry on your day on the water, a trolling motor isnt for you.Wife and I are in no hurry,we like a very quiet day on the water and are in no rush to get anywhere.So for us it works fine.
During the winter I converted the foot pedal on my motor to a side mounted unit that slips into 2 slots I rigged where the old control unit USED to be on my boat.So I can control my motor from the "drivers seat just like everybody else does.
The control unit now has a rocker switch I installed in the unit that lights up when I turn the power on showing me I have power, and then I just run the speed up and down at will and dont have to leave my relaxing spot with my feet up on the dash.

[Scott Sawtelle]

In an old issue of Water Craft there is an article about a day sailer with a Min-Kota 55t trolling motor for auxiliary. The pitch of the prop is set to maximize the efficiency at the slow boat speed used while trolling. The owner, at a Min-kota reps advise experimented with model aircraft propellors. They can be obtained with different pitches. He claimed to get a 30% increase in power with the new prop at the faster pace he wanted to motor at.