Minn Kota and Crestliner

[Mike]

I have a Crestliner 1800 Superhawk and am thinking about getting a bow mount Minn Kota motor for it. I don't have any experience with these motors so I am looking for some answers to some simple questions.

Are these motors pretty easy to install? I would like to install it myself if possible.

I am not sure how the battery works. I have a plug on my bow for this purpose, can you just plug these motors in?

Do I need a second battery or does it run off the main battery?

How fast will a powerdrive 55 troll my boat?

Thanks in advance for the info.

[perchjerker]

Yes, they are not hard to install.

Now on to your wiring. My C-liner is wired for both 12 and 24 v motors. Does your trolling motor socket have a 4 blade connector?

Answer this, instead of going through all the possiblilties first. Also, can you see a brand name on the socket? Im guessing its probably a Marinco.

[Mike]

The socket has a three prong connector and an adapter for 4 prongs. It has wires and two battery leads running to the front most compartment on the bow. I assume this means I have to get another battery. I am not sure what kind?

What length of shaft should I be looking for? I figures 54" or 60"?

Can these motors be used to troll for Lake Trout?

The plug does say Marinco on it.

Thanks for the help. I have owned boats for many years, but have always just had a kicker. Thought I would take a look at the bow mounts this time.

[perchjerker]

Im not sure what you mean by "adapter".

Does the socket look like this?

http://www.marinco2.com/showProduct.asp?p=2018BR

If there are only 2 leads to the socket, I would bet its wired for 12v, but its easy to switch it to 24v. But you would need 2 batteries.

Look around the Marinco site, it gives pretty good explanations of the different setups.

[Mike]

It looks more like this:
http://www.marinco2.com/showProduct.asp?p=12VBR

the adapter looks like this:
http://www.marinco2.com/showProduct.asp?p=12VBP.OEM

It plugs directly into the plug and has little round holes. The plug doesn't seem to be attached to anything like I mentioned above. Just a wire and the other end has two wires that look like they should hook to a battery. Is that normal? Would I just get a battery and put it in that first storage compartment? Not sure what kind?

Any ideas on the shaft length?

[Das Boot II]

I have a 2001 Superhawk with a Motorguide 48" shaft. Anything 48 to 54 will work fine. If my prop comes out of the water it's too rough to be out there anyway. I mounted it myself with the help of a 10 year old in approx 2 hours ( quick disconnect plate and a Gator Mount). The power plug in was prewired and it has served me well.

[Das Boot II]

Your boat has a foward battery locker for a trolling motor battery. There is nothing between your hull and the battery so invest in a battery tray (less than $10) and choose your battery with care. I got a gel battery at Cabelas to ensure that I never have battery acid reacting with my aluminum.
55 pounds of thrust with a 1700 SC = a brisk walking speed. You won't be leaving a wake but it should move the boat at about 4-5 mph.

[Mike]

Ok, now I am confused. I guess I thought these motors ran off the main boat battery. If I need a trolling battery what am I looking for? Can someone point me in the right direction. I saw a few on the cabela's web site for $300.00. Is that what I am looking at paying? I am assuming I will need a charger also?

[Mike]

Also, what kind of amp hour numbers am I looking for if I want to troll all day. sorry, I am a real amateur when it comes to thsi battery stuff.

[perchjerker]

You have 3 options. One, 1 12 volt deep cycle battery for a 12 v motor. Your basic setup. Two, 2 12 volt batteries hooked in parallel, for a 12 v motor. Gives you lots more run time. 3, 2 12 v batteries hooked in series, giving you 24 volts for a 24 v motor. More power and longer run time. There is also a 36 v setup, most guys dont need that unless they are really serious with thier bowmount.

Take a look at the Marinco site about series parallel wiring, its easier than trying to explain it. They are both simple hookups. As far as the battery, I think those batteries you are looking at for that price have chargers built in, I woudnt spend that kind of money. You can get decent deep cycle marine batteries where ever batteries as sold.

So it depends on how much you are going to use it. If you want to troll for hours with it, I would go the 24 v route. But if you dont want to go to that expense, you could start with a basic 1 battery 12 v setup, if you find you need more run time you can always add a second battery later.

I would also get an onboard charger, the kind will depend on how many batteries you decide to go with.

One thing you have going for you is if you put the batteries up front, you have a shorter wiring run. But it will add weight to the bow. We can get into wiring specifics and battery recommendations after you look over the various wiring schemes.

[Mike]

I think to start with I will just go with the one 12V battery and add a second if I need to.

Can you give me any recommendations on what kind of battery I should go with and what kind of charger?

Thanks for all your help.

[perchjerker]

There are many chargers to choose from. I have a guest 2 bank 10amp. They are as good as any. You could wire it to charge both your trolling battery as well as your cranking battery. Then, in the future if you decide to add another trolling battery, you could switch the charger wiring over to the new battery. Or, you could get rid of the 2 bank and go with a 3.

As far as batteries, do a search here. There has been many posts about it, Trojans are well liked. I have generic stowaways, they work fine for me. Just make sure its a deep cycle trolling battery.

Another thing. Get rid of the glass fuse if you have one. Get a circuit breaker, you can get them from Cabelas. Fabricate a bar from brass and bolt it to the positive terminal, and attach your circiut breaker to it . Also get terminal covers. That way a battery wont short if a tool or something is dropped on them. And get into the habit of always removing the negative lead first and attaching it last when working on them.

[JimmerAB]

I have a 2000 Superhawk 1700 that I mounted a 24V Minnkota 65PD/AP (60" shaft) on. I mounted a quick disconnect bracket, which I believe is a great idea. I can now take the TM off the boat for pleasure boating, traveling, security, or(in my case)for indoor storage during our long cold winters up here. It takes less than a minute to mount or remove the TM now. I had to mount a second battery in the port side bow storage compartment (in a battery box) and poke a hole through the aluminum wall between the two compartments for the additional wiring to make it a 24V system.

I also mounted a 3 bank onboard charger in the bow storage compartment, which I honestly believe was one of the best investments I have made to the rig. Kinda like air conditioning in your vehicle...once you have it you wonder how you ever lived without it!

If I can help out at all, drop me an e-mail. Good luck in your decision, whatever it might be.

Jim
walleyenut@yahoo.com