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Choosing a Trolling Motor

Are you asking yourself what trolling motor should I buy?  Here are some straight forward simple tips to help you in Choosing a Trolling Motor.

Thrust:
The most important decision you will have to make is how much thrust you'll need. Thrust is measured in pounds and indicates how powerful a motor is. The larger and heavier your boat, the more thrust you'll need to get satisfactory results on the water. Purchasing a trolling motor with too little thrust will be a disappointment and can be frustrating. You need to look at three factors, boat weight, length, normal conditions you will be fishing in.
Boat weight is the most important consideration to take into account when choosing a trolling motor. A good rule of thumb is that you want a minimum of 2 lbs of thrust for every 100lbs. When calculating boat weight, be sure you calculate the heaviest potential weight which would be a boat loaded with gear, fuel and the maximum number of passengers.
After weight you'll need to consider boat length. While weight is the best indicator of thrust needed, the chart below will give you a good starting point for the thrust range you should be considering with your boat size.
The chart below will help you in choosing a trolling motor.

 

 Motor Thrust

Boat Size

 28 LB

13'

 30 LB 

14'

 34 LB

15'

 44 LB

16'

 44 LB

17'

 54 LB

18'

 54 LB

19'

 70 LB

20'

 80 LB

21'

 105 LB

22'

Shaft Length:
Choosing the correct shaft length is very important. You want to be sure the motor's shaft is long enough to keep the propeller submerged in the worst water conditions.
The below chart will help you in choosing a trolling motor with the correct shaft length. You'll need to measure the distance from either the bow or transom, depending on your choice of trolling motor, to the waterline. For bow mounted motors, you should add shaft length if you'll be operating a lot in rough or very choppy waters that may raise the bow up further out of the water.

 

 Bow to Water

Shaft Length

 14” to 20”

42”

 20” to 26” 

48”

 26” to 30”

54”

 30” to 34”

60”
 
 
 

 Transom to Water

Shaft Length

 Up to 10”

30”

 10” to 14”

36”

 14” to 20”

42”

 20” to 22”

48”

 22” to 24” 

54”
  
 

Choosing a Trolling Motor by Mount Types,  Bow Mount or Transom Mount
Each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Bow Mounts
Bow mount trolling motors are the most popular with medium to larger boats. One of the advantages is that the bow mount trolling motors provide much better control when compared to a transom mount trolling motor. This is because a bow mount motor pulls the boat through the water and a transom mount trolling motor pushes it and makes boat control much more beter. If maneuverability and precision are important, than a bow mount motor is your best option. To mount a bow mount trolling motor, you will need a flat deck, and room to mount and store it on the front of the boat.

Transom Mounts
Transom mount trolling motors are more popular with smaller boats and are easier to mount. Transom mount trolling motors easily mount to the boat's stern with a simple clamp. Transom mount motors are also much easier to operate from the back of the boat and much easier to remove from the boat.  For smaller boats such as canoes and smaller lake boats transom mount motors are the best choice. Transmon mount motors also are less expensive and more affordable than the bow mount motors.

Control Type
There are three possible methods for controlling your trolling motor – by hand, foot control, or wireless remote. Each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Hand Control
Controlled by manually moving the motor and controlling the speed by an extension handle. 
Advantages, Lowest price, easy to use.
Disadvantages, Have to be within arms length of motor, requires one hand to use.

Foot Pedal
Controlled with a foot control. Trolling motor foot controls are available in both manual cable and wired electric models. Manual cable foot controls move a cable in the control housing to operate the motor while wired electric controls send electronic signals from the control to the motor.
Advantages, Hands free operation leaving both hands free to fish and can control from anywhere on the boat if the cable is long enough.
Disadvantages, Control cord can cause a hazard and get tangled around your feet and usually cost more then hand controls.

Wireless Remote
Controlled with a wireless remote control.
Advantages,  Completely wireless operation from anywhere on the boat and no wires to trip over.
Disadvantages,  Usually the most expensive and possibility of losing the remote overboard leaving you with no trolling motor for the day and the expense of replacing it.

Motor Voltage:
Now that you have decided on control type, mounting and know what thrust and shaft length trolling motor you need it’s time to think about voltage. In general, the larger the motor you need, the higher voltage you'll need to power it. The higher voltage motors not only provide more power for higher thrust motors.   They also run longer on each battery charge. As most individual batteries will be 12 volt, you'll need to remember that for every 12 volts you need one battery. 

Some other optional features you might want to consider in Choosing a Trolling Motor.
Keep in mind that each of these additional features usually adds some expense as well.

 Battery Indicator    
 Many motors come with a built in battery charge indicator, which tells you how much charge is left in your battery or battery’s.  This is can be helpful in keeping track of available power, as well as knowing when it's time to head back in.

AutoPilot
Many motors have  the AutoPilot feature.  AutoPilot uses a compass to establish a bearing, and automatically keeps you heading in a straight line while allowing for wind, waves, and current. This can be a very helpful feature when you want to follow a shoreline, drop off, point or just keep a straight course over open water.
If you think this is a feature you'd like at some point in the future if not right now, make sure that the trolling motor you choose is AutoPilot compatible so you can add it in the future keeping in mind that not all are. That way, even if you decide not to include this feature in the initial purchase, you can always upgrade to AutoPilot in the future.

Sonar Transducer
Some motors come with a built in transducer on the motor making it easy to add a depth or fishfinder.

We hope that these pointers help you in Choosing a Trolling Motor.
Now that you know what trolling motor you want please click here see our selection of trolling motors.
We carry MinnKota, Motor Guide and WaterSnake trolling motors.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us at 360-757-8171.

 
 
 
Valley Sports & More
775 Northview Dr.
Burlington, WA  98233
USA
Phone: 360-757-8171


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