Trolling Motor on Pontoon

[blackberg]

I am posting this to hopefully help anyone looking for info on using a trolling motor on a pontoon.
I was looking for this when I was shopping and couldnt find any hard details any where. These performance specs should give an idea on what to expect.

So I have a 20ft Suntracker. Nothing fancy.

I ended up getting a 24v 80lb thrust Riptide from MinnKota. My model has the variable speeds on the handle. Its mounted right behind the bow door (middle front). I think mine is a 60" shaft but I have set at around 50".

Last time out, we had 7 people on board, with cooler, food, fishing stuff. Top Speed on the GPS was 3MPH. wind was shifting all day. Could definitely feel the motor move us even at speed 1 (out of ten). Set at the right angle, we could stay pretty much still even with the light wind and current, settings 2-4. We where normally using it settings 4-6 to move around slowly. Only hit 10 to see what the top speed was. Could cruise at 4-6 settings all day it seems.

I dont think they make the 80lb anymore, but a 74lb should have similar performance. And even 50ish range should be good for normal use if you are not trying to break any speed records.

We used on and off all day, in the water for 6-7 hours I think, and batteries seem to have a good charge left, but didnt measure the remaining voltage. The top speed test was done at the end of day.

Oh and the riptide is a saltwater model, nothing different performance wise from a freshwater model, it was a craigslist special.


-bb

[Bamaman]

You did right getting a 70+ lb. trolling motor.

A pontoon boat is like a sail on a windy day--takes a strong trolling motor to counteract the forces.

I take it you're not using the battery used to start your boat.

[blackberg]

late reply, but to be useful for people searching:

I run 3 batteries right now, 2 for the motor set up in 24V configuration and a third one for everything else.

Will run a perko switch with the 24v batteries set up in 12v perko'd with battery #3 for emergency starting once I redo the electrical

-bb

[dtruly]

I have installed a 75lb Motorguide on my 20' pontoon which I use on a local lake. It will handle our boat quite well even on very windy days - which we have a lot of in North Texas. This model has a remote control which is really helpful allowing me to be anywhere on the boat and still have complete control (it comes with a remote foot control, but I added a small handheld remote which is very handy when moving around on the boat). It's a 24 volt motor and after five hours of trolling the built-in battery indicator is still on the highest level.