Trolling Motors

I am in the market for a bow mount trolling motor with a foot pedal. A couple things to limit what I can get. I have a very short bow for attaching the motor to (less than two feet), and about a $700 budget. I have heard some pretty bad reviews about the minnkota terrova with a cracking issues. I have also heard bad things about the foot pedal of the minnkota power drive v2. I would greatly appreciate some input.

I love my Terrova, not sure what the cracking issues are that you are referring to though. I agree, go as big as you can within reason. If I were you, I would get a 24 volt motor. Not sure if you will get a 24 volt Terrova for $700 though.

Just upgraded my old trolling motor to a Minnkota powerdrive 70# with universal sonar and a Humminbird Sonar/GPS. Did that last fall and haven't had a chance to use it. Thats on a 19' ranger. Thinking I should have gone with an 80# now. Do lots of river fishing.

My boat is just shy of 18ft as well. I have an 80lb Terrova on mine. There are days I wish I had more than that. Go as big as possible and what your space and budget allow. Also, don't shy away from getting a motor with a long shaft. That Terrova of mine is 60 inches, and it's the same deal as the size...there are days when I wish it was bigger than 60.

Building off everything. How many pounds of thrust would be needed for my rig? just under 18 feet. thanks everyone.

14' aluminum boat, a 55# thrust should be more than adequate, and you won't have the additional weight of a 2nd battery... one thing recommended if wiring 2 12v batteries in parallel is to be sure both batteries are matched and in same condition... I think that may have more to do with charging, but recall reading that edit: here's an example, but you can find out more by searching http://www.zbattery.com/Connecting-Batteries-in-Series-or-Parallel from the article : "Try to match capacities as much as possible. When connecting batteries in a pack you should try to match the capacities as much as possible to avoid discharging one battery quicker than another. A pack operates at a combined voltage so your one cell that discharges quicker will likely discharge deeper than it may be able to recover from"

Yes. I run a 24 volt TM. I have 4 batteries. 2 + 2 in series then both in parallel. It's a maze of wires with the onboard chargers added in but it provides long lasting power.

poptop is right hooking 2-12 volt batteries in series will give you 24 volt

to run a 12 volt troller on two batteries you would wire them parallel. not series.

A plain jane Terrova doesn't have the spotlock stuff on it. For that you need to have an iPilot or iLink. I've seen people assume that all Terrovas have this so they buy them without iPilot and they think they've gotten a great deal. My brother runs his 12v off of two batteries with no issues at all. The only thing to consider is if the second battery will upset the weight distribution/balance of your boat. Stuffing two batteries just for a 12v trolling motor into a smaller boat can really throw you off.

Has anyone ever tried running a 12 volt trolling motor hooked to two batteries that are hooked in a series? I have a 12 volt trolling motor now and don't want to spend the extra money for a 24 volt. Just looking to get longer use for pulling harnesses bottom bouncers in the river without having to use the big motor.

Spuds: Get a Terrova. Great footpedal. None of the cable drive hassle. And with the Terrova, you can get the spot lock feature that acts like an anchor using GPS. It even "remembers" programmed spots. You drop your boat within a hundred yards of a "saved" location, tell it to return to the spot and it will drive itself there. It also has the feature that automatically adjusts (when on constant) to account for wind and current. The remote is great, too. Often times I don't even use my footpedal when out fishing, especially for walleyes. Uncle: Get too much power versus too little. 80# should be good for a 14 footer, maybe even a little much. But your two batteries will last longer.

Hey all, I'm going to do more fishing this year on electric motor only lakes and I was wondering how big of a trolling motor is overkill for a 14' aluminum boat?

The locking collar that you adjust to set the depth of the motor can crack from over tightening or if the tightening knob gets caught in the power cord and you turn it too far. People will crack them by over tightening if they lose one of the washers that sits on the knob. Like I said earlier in this thread....it's a relatively minor issue. Epoxy it up or get a replacement for it and those are cheap. I picked up a new one just in case but the original that I epoxied works just fine.

What's this cracking issue you guys are speaking of? Where does it have a tendency to crack?

i havent seen any cracking on my terrova