Electric trolling motor - Sea Sprinter

[SoCalAngler]

Hello ladies and gents!

Considering a transom mounted trolling motor on my SS.
Purpose:  Troll at 2mph max at my local lakes in SoCal (Skinner, Diamond Valley, Perris, Silverwood)

Since I have a (2) 12V battery set up - Group 24DC (main and Aux), I want to keep it simple and go with a 12V trolling motor.   

I also considered a Honda 2hp 4 stroke and it pushed with 2 aboard at 2mph easily.  But it was too loud!

The electric TM is silent and stealth for striper trolling!


12volt
Transom mount
55 thrust
42" shaft


Will this be enough of a TM, with 2 aboard, for a 12V 55# thrust to work?
I'd like to get 4-5 hours of use at 2mph.

After doing some calcs....I believe I could only get about 2 hours of use using 75 amp hours and 20 amp TM as the numbers.

Perhaps I should also consider the Suzuki 2.5 long shaft, as it may be much quieter than the Honda as it is water cooled.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Svinny88]

Rear electric trolling motors are tough, especially for speeds between .3-1.5 mph, with any wind or current. Front mounted is the way to go for electric motors if using for trolling. If you are looking for speeds from 1.5 -2.9, which are the common speeds for artificial lure trolling, a 5 hp kicker would be about perfect. Biggest reason is you want at least a 2cyl engine for less vibration/quieter operation

[SoCalAngler]

I've considered a larger outboard kicker, but I'm trying to keep the weight down at the stern.  With the added 14 gal. bait tank (when salt fishing), two batts, and now a kicker.....it's getting heavy back there.

The 2.5 hp (31#) would be strictly for trolling stillwater...freshwater lakes, delta, etc.  No kicker when fishing salt.

BTW....the 5hp is also a single cyl.  Need to get to an 8hp for a twin cyl.  At that point, the weight of the outboard is around 90#-100#

I do not want to mount a TM at bow of my boat (lack of room) and deal with the batteries up front.

[AndyC]

I used to troll all the time with my transom 55lb Traxxis motor on my Sea Explorer. I could only troll about 2mph top speed, but on lakes I never want to go much faster than that so it works fine. Battery usage is definitely a huge limiting factor, after 2 hours of trolling I pretty much drained my battery.  If I'm in saltwater I take a 5hp kicker.

I still love the electric setup for the days I'm just on the lake with friends and not focusing 100% on fishing because it's SILENT!

[SoCalAngler]

Andy, nice to know the 55 thrust worked well for you.  Yes, the 2 hour limit is the limiting factor.

I like the lightweight of the 2.5hp (30#).  Troll 2mph for about 4 hours on 1ga of gas!

The Honda 5hp is twice the price and twice the weight.  If I were doing more saltwater, I would consider it.  As it is, 90% of my use is freshwater lakes.

If I can find a clean used 5hp long shaft, I may go for it.

[SoCalAngler]

I used to troll all the time with my transom 55lb Traxxis motor on my Sea Explorer. I could only troll about 2mph top speed, but on lakes I never want to go much faster than that so it works fine. Battery usage is definitely a huge limiting factor, after 2 hours of trolling I pretty much drained my battery.  If I'm in saltwater I take a 5hp kicker.

I still love the electric setup for the days I'm just on the lake with friends and not focusing 100% on fishing because it's SILENT!

Andy, how was the noise and vibration of the 5hp?  What brand and model?  four stroke or two?

I've read to stick to an 8hp for the twin cyl (less vibration), but the weight (about 90#)IMO is just too much for my SS.

BTW....5hp four stroke weighs about 60#

[Danno]

SoCalAngler, is this tolling motor something that you would take off the transom when going to the salt? I know the twin cylinder 4 stroke may be a bit heavy but the lakes you mention aren't known for have dangerous conditions except when you wouldn't want to be out on them anyway. If you're willing to take it off when you hit the ocean, I wouldn't worry about the extra weight.

[AndyC]

My kicker is a 5hp mercury, 2 stroke.  I'm never bothered by the vibration, but it's definitely loud enough when running it and fighting a tide or current. I liked the trade off, it's easy to take off and on. Also I love that it has an internal tank and I don't have to take an external tank if I don't want to. I usually don't transport it on the boat because my sea explorer had a pretty weak kicker bracket so it's nice that it's easy to carry around, and doesn't leak oil! I actually had an older Honda 4 stroke kicker for a little while and I sold it because I thought it was too heavy and it didn't seem to offer that much better performance than the Mercury 2 stroke.  I've upgraded to the 19' Ranger now, so I'll be interested to see if the 5hp 2 stroke is still good enough for me.

[SoCalAngler]

SoCalAngler, is this tolling motor something that you would take off the transom when going to the salt? I know the twin cylinder 4 stroke may be a bit heavy but the lakes you mention aren't known for have dangerous conditions except when you wouldn't want to be out on them anyway. If you're willing to take it off when you hit the ocean, I wouldn't worry about the extra weight.

As mentioned, most of my use has been freshwater lakes (close to home).  When retirement arrives (hopefully sooner than later!), I may visit salt more often.

With that said, I'm wondering if a 5hp would be a happy medium in terms of weight and ability to troll in lakes and be useful in salt as a back up emergency kicker?

I'm torn as to which option is best for my intended uses.  After much consideration, the electric TN does not appear feasible.

[SoCalAngler]

Thanks for the feedback Andy.

I/m torn on which motor is best for my intended uses. 

I like the weight if the 2.5hp 4 stroke, but it wouldn't do much in the salt. 

[Svinny88]

What about a 5 hp Lehr propane outboard?  Looks like they are fairly quiet, around 83db. I've seen them for sale used for under 1000$   

[Koopa253]

The Suzuki 6hp is a pretty nice engine (fairly quiet) that doesn't totally break the bank, if buying new. I'm not to sure how the 2.5hp would perform in salt. My guess is the 2.5hp would be best for trolling but wouldn't be the best if you actually needed a backup engine to get home. Any 4 stroke outboard is not going to be quiet on a lake. If you truly want stealth you might have to get an electric for the lake and have something different for the salt.