Electric trolling motor help required

Jeff Woodhouse

Jeff Woodhouse

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I have an Evinrude trolling motor, no specification on it that I can see.

Does anyone know about these or what motor (lbs/ft) size you require for a 4 metre aluminium boat?

I want it to pull against a decent river current.
 
geoffmaynard

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Just try it Jeff. Your little boat is so light though that I should think an egg-whisk would power it.
 
Sean Meeghan

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Hi Jeff

Have a look at the serial number plate on the motor and the model number should give you a clue. Electric motors are rated in pounds thrust so look for a figure such as 24, 36 or such like. Failing that if you Google the model number of the engine you should get some useful info.

As Geoff says with a boat like yours and only one angler in it you should be fine with almost any size of electric outboard.

---------- Post added at 09:30 ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 ----------

By the way, I don't think Evinrude actually manufactured electric motors so your motor is probably a rebadged Minn Kota or Shakespeare motor
 
geoffmaynard

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On a flat calm day the smallest of motors will do it. When it's blowing a gale into your face, you need a very powerful one.
A light motor is an easy thing to cart about but the heavy ones are as much of a pain as a petrol outboard.
 
Jeff Woodhouse

Jeff Woodhouse

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Sean Meeghan said:
Have a look at the serial number plate on the motor and the model number should give you a clue.
Click to expand...
There isn't one at all Sean. Nothing!

However (this is blue-sky thinking outside of the box), what I did was to take the motor, a testing tub and mount, around the front and connected it to my car battery.

Boy you should have seen the b*gger fly. Damned near emptied the tub on fourth gear.

Solution is - knackered battery... need a new one.
 
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I have the smaller of the two electric motors, which I use on my 18ft boat in Ireland, not to get from A to B but to control the drift. I clamp it to the side of my boat and just use it to move one way of the other to keep on line of drift, or to avoid hazzard. My boat is very heavy for a fibre glass boat, and the little motor moves it with no problem, so your little ally boat will present little difficulty.
 
Jeff Woodhouse

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Got a new battery today, £52.88, with handle, but slightly heavier (by about half a kilo) than the old one. 50% more power though, that's the main thing.

Tried the motor out tonight and it goes like stink. Can't have it on top speed in the testing tub as it chucks all the water out now and when I tried, it split the tub! Have to get a new tub now. :(

So, whatever power the motor is, it will be plenty for pushing me around the weir and on other parts of the Thames.
 
Peter Jacobs

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Jeff Woody said:
Tried the motor out tonight and it goes like stink. Can't have it on top speed in the testing tub as it chucks all the water out now and when I tried, it split the tub! Have to get a new tub now.
Click to expand...

Jeff,

Isn't that always the way though, you start one little project and it leads you onto several more, and usually at greater expense than you ever though possible when you started.

Would those electric motors work better with a Power Pack rather than a battery? Or would they just work for a little longer?
 
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David Marrs

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Heyyup Jeff,

A mate and I fished from my 12 Jon boat all through last winter (Oct - Mar) on the Fens using a Rhino 55lb thruster and a 125Ah battery. One of the spots we regularly visit involves a 2 mile + journey down a river just to get there, before we start fishing and trolling etc.

We power down on top speed and then fish up and down a stretch of around a mile or so, before heading back. We were out on average 6 or so hours each trip in the boat and the battery never let us down. On the last trip, a switch in the Rhino went 50 yards (luckily) from where we'd parked the car and we lost power but after 3 years trouble free use, I could hardly blame the Engine for that. All in all mate, the Elecky engine and battery set up for a boat the size of yours on inland rivers etc, should be plenty good enough.

Rgds,
Dave
 
Jeff Woodhouse

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That's one powerful and big battery Dave, who gets to carry it? :(

The battery I had was only a 31Ah and that would powr the engine for at least 1½ hours, enough for me. This new one is a 45 AH so should be plenty. I also have the Mariner 4hp petrol outboard for the longer trips.

Bait casting and trolling (sadly banned in the Thames as it's a navigational river) is great in a boat (hard to troll without one, mind). Even if you catch nothing you still enjoy it as you say, but at least you can explore all those nicks and crannies that you can't reach from the bank.

And with an echo sounder you can find out the topography of the river bed....
 
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