Trolling motor question

[lsufisherman]

I have read through alot of the trolling motor threads on this site and another, but i was hoping just to get a little more insight.

I have a 14ft Heritage Redfish and went through and mounted and wired a 30lb thrust endura on the stern. My question is, about how fast can yall get in your kayak with your trolling motor. I am not expecting blazing speed, but just wondering.

thanks :cool:

[noahvale]

In a non-planing boat, you can only go as fast as the maximum hull speed, which is based on the length of the boat.

Ever wonder why the huge work boats you see on the coast with dual turbo diesel engines only go 25-30 mph? That's why. If they could climb up on the water hump built up in front of the hull and plane, they could go much faster.

Here's a hull speed calculator: http://www.sailingusa.info/cal__hull_speed.htm

That's in knots, so you need to convert the result: http://knotstomph.com/

The waterline length of your yak is probably about 13.5 ft, so the max speed in mph is 5.66 mph.

If you put a big enough motor on the back to get it up on plane, no telling how fast it would go...

[derrelt]

I have a 30# on my Prowler Big Game. Per my gps it will run 5mph early in the day with a full charge on the battery. After 6 hours of fishing will still get 3.8 to 3.9 mph. I don't know any thing about max hull speed or that stuff, but I am very happy with the results I get.

[Surfmonkey]

What battery are you guys using for your trolling motor? Is any one better than the other?

[papawd]

check out ----ebatteriestogo.com -----they have some nice batteries there have plenty of power and lightweight which will work great in yaks

[derrelt]

I use a Delco 27 series deep cycle on mine. I know it is heavy, but the motor does not seam to mind. Weight is not a big concern on my OK Prowler Big Game. Has a weight capacity of 450# to 500#. It lets me fish all day and still have power at the end of the day to tow another yak back to the launch at around 3 mph.
A couple of the guys I fish with have been towed lots of times.

[lsufisherman]

At academy they have these small trolling motor batteries designed for kayaks and canoes. I bought one and am trying it out, but I havent tried it for a full day yet, so I dont know how well it works.

Here is a link to it http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=content&target=products/outdoors/marine/batteries&start=0&selectedSKU=0105-00150-1478

[Branch_Office]

I had been looking at those but was not sure how it would perform...please keep me informed. I had purchased one of the Minn Kota Endura 30# thrust from Academy to put on my yak. Thanks!

[Psycho Joe]

Shouldn't all of your calculations be dependent on how much arse is in the kayak as well??? Not to mention the gear!

[derrelt]

Reserve capacity is the number of minutes a battery can maintain a useful voltage under a 25 ampere discharge. This is the best indicator of how a battery will hold up using a trolling motor. Minn-kota specs on the 30# motor is 30A on max speed. My meter shows mine draws about 22A on high. My Delco has a RC of 160. It will run all day and shows 65 to 70% charge at the end of the day. Most of the time I use speed 1 or 2 to just move around in a pond or cut, but when I am going out, moving from one area to another, or heading in it is wide open.

Joe, my motor don't care how much arse in in the yak.:cool:

[lsufisherman]

My only issue was that i was trying to put the battery in the front hatch of my kayak, and the hole was not wide enough to put a normal deep cycle battery in it. Unless i bought an expensive one, which i cant afford. so the one from academy fit inside perfectly.

[derrelt]

You gotta do what you gotta do!