Is 55lbs Thrust too much for my boat?

[NC]

Looking at putting a Minkota Power Drive 55lbs thrust foot controlled on my 1650V Rebel. This is the most I can go without needing 24V and spending more money. I thought I would get the 48" shaft. Anyone have experience using this combo or something similiar?
Thanks for the help!
NC

[AWH]

I don't have any experience with that set up. But to answer the question in the title of your post - I don't think you can ever have TOO much thrust. I'm going with 65 pounds of thrust on my boat. I'm sure that will do the job just fine, but there may be times I wish I had a little more power. I went with as much as I felt I could afford.

One thing I would suggest is to strongly consider a 24 V system if you can afford the upgrade. That's the number one reason I felt I had to go with 65 pounds, even over the additional 10 pounds of thrust, was because it was a 24 V system versus 12 V on the 55 pound motor.

[punch1]

I have a cousin with the same boat but a Minn Kota PD50 on it and that motor has NO problems moving his boat around. No matter what you get, there is always something better but in this case I think you have a good match. That being said, if you troll against the spring current of a river for all day long, then you may want to look at the 24V. Otherwise, you're OK.

[jcd]

I purchased a Minn Kota AP55 on my Lund 1660 last year. Wish I had bought a 24V.

[Tom P]

No.

[Walleye1]

I have a 74lb on my 165 Mag. and it flies. The 24v is very nice. I fish some small lakes that have electric motor only. I think that the 55 will do you just fine.

[KP]

As previous posts said, you can never have too much thrust. But I'd also prefer to not have 3 batteries on my small boat. What you can have is too little shaft length. Nothing personal:) If you can get a longer shaft for that motor, you should.

[crawlerman]

I had the PD 55 lb thrust 12 volt on my 17 foot fishhawk. Go with the 24 volt if you can. If you spend alot of time trolling or in river current, go with the 24 volt. You can never have enough power. Look at it this way, the more power, less strain on your unit moving the boat. Overall, the unit should last longer.

Carl

[SnellTier]

This is GOOD advice you got on this issue. Go with 24V and the longest shaft you can get ... at least the 24. When it comes to cavitation, SIZE DOES MATTER.

I upgraded my 165magnum to 24v myself. The batteries last longer before being depleted, the boat moves into strong wind when I want it to, etc. I had a lot of doubts before I did it whether it would be worth the time, money, and trouble. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

You can bet that sooner or later you will be glad you went the max rather than less. It is JUST like you feel about a main motor.

[Box]

I have had 12v and 24v motors, and the 24v is winner hands down, for duration. Thrust is thrust, but 24v will just last longer. I would even say (hopefully correctly) that you could get two smaller batteries instead of one larger battery and the weight issues would not be that great. But you would get more power and longer duration. Somebody with better electrical knowledge could better answer that...

And if you have not decided yet, an onboard charger is the best thing since... well... an onboard charger ;) Plug it in and forget about it till next trip.

Good luck,
-Box

[NC]

Thanks for the advice. A couple more questions.
First of all, I can get this motor in a 54" shaft and I am assuming this is what most of you would recommend?
Second--I only have a 25HP 4-stroke merc on this boat (I know I made a mistake by underpowering so much-1st boat!) but would the weight of these 2 batteries plus a the trolling motor really hurt the performance?
My father has the Maxxum 50lb backtroller on the same boat and it moves his very well, even at the lowest setting. My motor would be variable speed which should help, also I will never have this boat on the river. I'll certainly take the advice of you guys since I am confident in it, but I guess I'm a little surprised I need to go to something more. Lastly, my brother has the 65lb version on his 1800 Pro-V and I think it moves it great so I guess that is where I got my "55lb thrust" idea from.
Thanks for the info.
NC

[SnellTier]

NC,
I take back my first post above. I thought the rebel was a bigger boat. I looked it up now, and while the Lund website did not give the boat weight, it is not as large as I thought it was.

The 55 lb thrust will be fine for you. Get the 54 inch shaft ... if you do fish choppy water, you will be glad you did. It will mean your prop will spend less time out of the water. A 12-volt battery used hard will last about a full day outing with that boat. Should you ever need more reserve you can hook up in parallel a second battery. Folks on here have described how in other postings.

Save the extra money to over a 24-volt motor to buy a 60horse motor for your boat. Sell the 25 to a fishing camp or to someone who needs a motor for a smaller boat.

I apologize for my earlier post. The 55 will be fine.

[KP]

If you can get a 54" shaft, get it. You can always cut off an inch or two...OUCH!!! That 55 lbs. of thrust will work fine on your boat in most circumstances. Yes, the extra 50-60 lbs for an additional battery or 100+ lbs for two is going to effect the performance you get out of an under powered boat.

Though I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, I use only one type 31, dual purpose battery on my Lund Rebel. First to minimize weight and second, there's such limited storage. I troll all day with my Minnkota Maxxum 44, run my sonar, livewell, and stereo, and there's still enough juice to fire up my motor. It helps if you have a good battery guage and it helps even more if your electric start motor has the ability to be pull started like my 30 HP. Running out of juice doesn't really matter.

I wish I had your problems :)

[Atomic Eye]

With such a small motor, 25HP 4-stroke, please help me understand why there is an issue on an electric trolling motor? Based on prior posts, I'm under the impression I can use the 2002 115HP Suzuki 4-stk on the 1675 Lund ProSport for slow trolling? Am I confused on something? Thanks.

Happy Valentine's Day _ Thursday, 2/14!!!!

Atomic Eye (New Mexico) -- "Gone Fission!"

[Ino]

I put a new 55 Minnkota on a Lund 1650 Explorer last Nov. Works great. Has 54" shaft. Right size. Don't regret choice at all!

Disagree with need for 24V unless you have the most demanding conditions. For average angler, 12V is better. Save weight of extra battery!! This makes boat easier to load and faster on water. Also easier to load on bad landings, etc. 55 is not too much--seems about right. In light boats like these, remember that the mass of the boat in the bow is relatively low. So in waves and rough conditions, the bow will bounce around like a cork anyway and controlling the bow will be challenging. 55 is enough, but get variable speed.

good luck.

[NC]

Atomic Eye,
You are correct in thinking the 25HP will troll fine. I'm looking for something to do a little bass fishing on the side with. Live in Iowa and Walleye Fishing is okay if I want to drive, but within 20 minutes of my home I have 2 or 3 good bass lakes. Not my first choice of fish, but at least I'm on the water!

One more question, my Rebel 1650V Tiller is rated for a 50HP and I was wondering if anyone runs between a 35-50HP motor on this rig? Would like to swap out my 2001 25HP Merc 4-stroke Big Foot, but not sure how much it would cost and if my wife would kill me or not?
Thanks for all the help.
NC

[Walleye1]

I would guess a 50hp 4 stroke with run about $5,000-$5,500 NEW.

[Mr. Sauger]

NC,
I have a Minnkota AP55 (55 lbs. thrust, 12v) pulling a 16', 80" beam Smokercraft. They are well matched, lacks nothing. Enough power to slip on a windy river all day. I troll with it (not all day) pullin cranks or 3 ways. I've never ran out of juice, but have come pretty close some days. In my opinion, you don't need anything more.
Mr. Sauger

[Mr. Sauger]

Thanks for the info. I really can't see any scenario where I would need more power, but I wasn't sure. Your boat has similiar dimensions to mine so I think the comparison is quite valid.
Thanks again for your help.
NC