electric advice

[cyclone]

Hi fellas I am just getting into the impoundment fishing for barra and have found it to be very addictive. Main reasons for this, it's not easy to just go out and catch fish and makes you think, fuel usage is minimal and my young fella loves casting lures around.

Now to my problem I have recently done one trip to Faust and two trips to Tinaroo on all ocassions my approach was to motor to a likley looking area kill the motor break out the paddle sit on the pointy end and paddle in either moving along the edge of weed beds and grass flats or tying off to a tree when one is available and hammering the one spot.

While we have seen fish every trip and missed some very large fish at faust and tinaroo and son caught one 70cm fish at tinaroo I can't help but think the lack of an electric is holding us back as I feel we are fishing the right areas but can't cover enough area due to my lack of stamina on the paddle and the fact I am begining to look like Popeye.

My boat is 5.4 mtr long weight approx 700kg loaded it steers well from the front as it has a fine entry and the mount for a bow mount electric would be approx 700mm from waterline. From the research I have done I figure I would need a 80lb motor but not sure of shaft length I also like the sound of auto pilot for maintaining a position and moving along weed edges etc.

I realize this subject has been done plenty of times before but I would appreciate any feedback from people with similar sized boats or pointers to previous post that answer my questions.

regards Popeye.

[cammo79]

just for the dams a 54lb minn kota will be fine, the prop only needs to be under the surface. i have minn kota on my 4.2 proline and i have 3-400mm of my shaft leftover for adjustment and my oat sits about 500mm out of the water.

the 80lber would be great if you want to use in river as well but dont forget the 80lber needs 24v which is 2 heavy batteries when the 54lber only needs 12v.

hope this helps, if your in the Mackay area you can come have a look at mine and its setup. im at eimeo.

cam

[NAGG]

Good move on the leccy Popeye ...... it will change your world

80lb would be the right choice for a boat of that size ( do not fall into the trap of going a small 12 volt leccy .......... I have a 24 Vlt 74lb on my 480 hornet ..... & there have been times / conditions) that I needed more on a dam - you do not want a motor that you need to run flat stap ... as you'll flatten the battery in less than 2 hours) ....... & as for shaft length ... go the maximum available as you can adjust it up & down to suit conditions ///// a short shaft in choppy conditions is useless.

Chris

[Steve B]

Popeye, mate your setup is about the same in distance from the water line as my 5m boat. I have the 80lb with the longest shaft and its juuuuust enough length. I fill my livewell to add weight to the front. The extra power is a bonus too. I think that the motor you will have to go, with 2 batteries. (mount them at the front if space permits)...as Chris said, you wont look back when you get a bowmount.

cheers Steve

[shane 234]

Yer mate the electrics are sweeeet. dunno what everyone else thinks but minn kota and motorguide seem to be the fashion especially on the tounament scene. however i use a jarvis marine watersnake they are actually cheaper than the kotas and run just as well.
another thing make sure you get a decent battery, i.e fully sealed deep cycle marine battery. you can buy cheap batteries that may only last you a year. if you get a decent deep cycle look after it properly it will last you up to three years.

[BrettoM]

G'day Popeye,
Had a 54lb bow mount auto pilot / co pilot minn kota put on my new 3.95 tinny. Tossed up re the auto pilot as was around $800 extra but definitely worth the money and avoids needing to constantly fine tune direction. Given the size of your boat I think you would definitely need to go the 70lb+ thrust. Great decision and you certainly will not regret.

[cyclone]

Thank's for replies they have all helped. I have done heaps of research since last post and I think I am leaning toward the wireless motorguide 75 lb. Although I would like to stick to a 12 volt system for simplicity charging issues and battery replacement in the future. I have seen some post from people who have 55lb motors on glass boats the same size as mine and they swear they do the job well. I

Is there anyone here who has direct experience with the 54lb motorguide on a large boat and could anyone tell me if the hand control comes with the motor price quoted locally 54lb $1630 75lb $1700.

In saying all this I havn't totally ruled out the watersnake as I have read that most owners of them are very happy and a lot are ex MK owners. The local tackle shop that sells them told me warranty work is done locally by auto electrician and they have had a good run out of the motors. I the new models with the hand control was here the decision may be a no brainer.

Does anyone know if the watersnake has any power conserving feature like the MK and MG and is the new model wireless.

Thanks once again who would ever think buying an electric could be soooo! hard.
Andrew.