Need advice for trolling motor

[kyron4]

Well, spring is around the corner and I think I'm going to ditch the oars on my jon boat and get an electric motor. My boat is a 10' "heavy duty" aluminum jon boat, weighs around 80-90 pounds. I'm leaning towards a Motor Guide 30lb thrust transom mounted motor. Will this be a good choice given the size and weight of my boat with two adults ? About how fast will it push compared to rowing ? Any advice as to batteries ( what size I need ?) or charges I should know about ?
-Thank you

[Barnacle Bill]

Those are some hard questions to answer. A 10" jon boat with 2 people aboard is going to be pushing a lot of water. Its just the nature of the beast.
Personally I do not like Motor Guide due to too many bad experiences with them. If it were me, I would get the biggest 12V Minnkota I could afford. You never know when that extra push will be needed, especially if a strong wind comes up. As for batteries, there again bigger is better because the higher amps they are rated, the longer they will last. But you have to consider weight too. Hopefully someone with a similar rig can jump in here and help you better.

[frank lawhead]

IBNFSHN IS RIGHT---NOT THAT MUCH DIFF. IN COST AND ALSO I,D GET A VARAIBLE SPEED ---BATT. WILL LAST A WHOLE LOT LONGER

[Eager Beaver]

One sugguestion I would make is to mount the trolling motor on the front or bow of your boat if at all possible. You would have to rotate the head of the trolling motor but isn't that hard to do. The boat control is much better pulling than pushing the boat. You would need some kind of keel off the transom to keep the boat tracking in line tho. Just a suggestion. This is how I set up my first boat.