What Size Trolling Motor Will I Need?

Powering your inflatable boat or kayak with a quiet stealthy electric trolling motor is EZ ...and affordable!

Bigger is not better!

Cabin Fever has set in and questions are pouring in from snow-bound fishermen looking ahead to spring. The #1 question? What size trolling motor do I need for my new Sea Eagle Inflatable Boat? With motor-mounts now available for most of our kayaks and all of our fishing boats here are are some Tips I'd like to pass on. Tips learned over the last 15 years of motoring with Minn Kota power on the back of my Sea Eagle PaddleSki. Until recently the PaddleSki was the only kayak offering a motormount. Now all of our premium Sea Eagle kayaks offer motor-mounts so let's take a l look at Green Friendly economical power choices for Sea Eagle inflatable kayaks and inflatable fishing boats. How fast can I go? Electric trolling motors are chosen by thrust. Higher pounds of thrust WILL NOT move a boat faster. In fact two 55 pound thrust motors will not move you any faster than one 30 pound thrust motor. Higher thrust 12V trolling motors are designed for bigger heavier boats with larger payloads. The maximum speed of a trolling motor is 5 mph regardless of how many pounds of thrust. The 55# thrust MinnKota Endura with all the new electronic gadgetry is overkill. Save your money! Pick up a MinnKota 30# Endura at half the price of the larger thrust trolling motors. How Long can I go? The twist-grip speed control on a MinnKota has 5 speeds forward. On the top of the MinnKota Endura motor are markings, actually a reference graph that show how many hours your boat will run at speeds 1 thru 5. If you ran it continuously at the highest speed (5 MPH) the battery would last two hours, Speed 4 - 4 hours, speed 3 - 8 hours, speed 2-12 hours, and the lowest speed 1 -16 hours. I find that by prudent use I can enjoy a weekend on the water between charges.

Here's what you need to get you going and keep you going.

The items I've selected below have served me well for over ten years. Careful shoppers can locates these items for less, or you can save the hassle and leave it up to us.. Simply click Add to Cart and we'll get these time proven 12v accessories coming your way. Taxes and Shipping Included.

1. Battery

We don't sell trolling motor batteries because of weight and safety concerns but we tried all of the storage battery solutions trying to increase range while decreasing weight and we still prefer the old fashioned 12V Class 24 Wet Cell RV/Marine Battery. These batteries are available everywhere and run from $75 to $260 and are the least expensive available. I buy my batteries at Costco and I stay away from the pretty $260 Optima Blue-Top marine batteries because I'm going to put my battery out of sight in a Battery Box so unless this Blue Top Optima at $260 buys me less weight (it doesn't) and more range (it doesn't) we'll keep our costs below $100 and stick to a clunky 12v class 24 RV/Marine Deep Charge Battery. Try Costco, Walmart, or your favorite battery supply store and tell them you want a Class 24 marine Deep-Charge battery. Not a starting battery but a deep-charge battery. Starting Batteries look the same as Deep Charge Batteries but fully discharging and recharging a starting battery will ruin it in a very short time.

2. Battery Charger

I prefer a 10Amp Charger with automatic shutoff. Take a look at MinnKotta's Marine Automatic three-stage 10amp charger. Retail $99 w Free Shipping.

• Fully automatic 3-stage charging (bulk, absorption and maintenance)*
• LED display indicates power ON, charging, full charge and check connection
• Smart and durable system protects against short circuits and reverse polarity problems from improper connections
• LED indicator lights for an easy and convenient charge
• Three-year warranty

3. Battery Box

Battery boxes are a clean, easy and safe way to store and carry your battery to the boat. A no-frills battery box can be found for less than $20 or you might choose a Minn Kota Power Center. The Minn Kota Trolling Motor Power Center is ideal for small boats and transom applications on boats that do not have battery compartments. It features two manual-reset circuit breakers.

4. Trolling Motor

I've used and sold hundreds of this versatile Minn Kota Endura and highly recommend for inflatable boat use. The 30" shaft is the perfect length and yet is short enough to fin easily in your trunk

• 30 lbs. thrust
• 30" corrosion proof composite shaft
• 2 year warranty from Minn Kota
• Designed for freshwater use
• 5 forward speeds, 3 reverse speeds

Minn Kota electric motors are known to be the most reliable electric motors on the market. The Endura 30 brings you the reliability and performance you've come to expect from Minn Kota at a great value. While 30 lbs of thrust might not work for a heavy fiberglass boat, it is more than enough for our Motormount boats, Explorer, FastTrack & PaddleSki kayaks. Even our Transom Sport boats will perform well with this motor where currents are light! Just $149 Recommended for:

• Explorer Inflatable Kayaks
• FastTrack Inflatable Kayaks
• FoldCat Inflatable Pontoon Boats
• Frameless Pontoon Boats
• Motormount Boats
• Paddleski
• Sport Runabouts
• Yacht Tenders

This item is covered by 2 Year Minn Kota Factory Warranty, not the Sea Eagle two part guarantee. All sales for this item are final.

Welcome to Planet Green.... Tim and Crystal