can a trolling motor be too strong?

[Cray]

I am going to echo what Clint said and add, I have a 55 Terrova on my boat 17 ft Wareagle stick steer may weigh a little more but not much than your boat and it works fine for me. I fish with 2 different friends who have similar side console boats. One has a PdV2 24 volt 70 thrust. On this one I have found at slowest speed when spider rigging on a calm day it is hard to get down to .2 or .3 where I like to fish. Pulling cranks it does a good job for up to about 6 hr's if not to breeze. On the other one he has a 112 Terrova. It does really good at slow speed, has more than enough power and can long line or pull cranks all day with plenty of power left over at the end of the day. Rough on bow of boat though since there is no room to install a reinforcing plate under the mount. Added weight of extra battery and bigger charger affects boat performance and how it sits in the water. Same on second boat with added weight right at rear of boat. I disagree with these folks who always say bigger is better because that is not always true. You may get a Bargin on that motor but did you really when you factor in added expense of second and third battery, new charger to handle them, wiring to carry the load, loss of storage, loss of boat performance. If 55 works fine now, save a few more penny's and get a 55 Terrova with Ipilot and be happy. Think you might find the cost you would incur for batteries, charger,wiring and such would make up the difference.

[skunked again]

I have a 17' g3 , it came with a 40# 5 speed. When it got breezy, I was on speed 5, battery wouldn't last. Put a 75# 5 speed on it. Can't stop it now. I've about gone overboard couple of times. Didn't realize motor was turned 90°, and on 5. Even on 4, if turned 90°, I've come close to going over.
A friend just put a maxxum, 80# I think, on his 17' Lowe. Loves it.
I highly recommend the digital version of whatever brand you get. I'm trying to figure out a way to make mine digital, or variable. I got ahold of motorguide, they said to slow it down, put on a two blade prop. That helped. They also told me their is no way to make it digital, problem with me is, I don't take no well.

[boomer11]

Looks like I've decided on the 80#. I currently have an Optima 31 dual purpose used for everything. I have an interstate 24 dual purpose as a back up. Both are 12v.Would it be OK to hook these up in series even though they are different sizes and brands? Thanks.

[Podcast]

Looks like I've decided on the 80#. I currently have an Optima 31 dual purpose used for everything. I have an interstate 24 dual purpose as a back up. Both are 12v.Would it be OK to hook these up in series even though they are different sizes and brands? Thanks.

It's fine. When hooking up different sized batteries they tend to "regulate" each other for voltage and amperage. Think of them as one battery. I would not recommend a starting battery and deep cycle battery together simply due to the deep cycle carrying the brunt of the weight causing both batteries to drain quickly.

[NIMROD]

Most things I've read say not to mis match batteries . I replace both at once on my 24 volt troller and use the best used deep cycle to start big motor and run everything (depth finders , pumps , lights , ect ) That way I have lots of reserve power to stay on the water all day .
.

[OrangeAgent]

The talk in this thread about infinite speed control has me wondering: Is there a circuit board in the control head that controls voltage and the foot pedal just sends signals to the controller, or is it like a rheostat in the pedal? Wondering if I could change my endura 50 transom into a variable speed, I cant go slow enough to long line without dragging something behind the boat.

[NIMROD]

The talk in this thread about infinite speed control has me wondering: Is there a circuit board in the control head that controls voltage and the foot pedal just sends signals to the controller, or is it like a rheostat in the pedal? Wondering if I could change my endura 50 transom into a variable speed, I cant go slow enough to long line without dragging something behind the boat.

Don't for sure but might be able to add circuit board for Maximizer on minn kotas

[etexbasser]

I have the exact same problem with my new boat, the trolling motor is a five speed and on the lowest setting it is still to much power. There is no such thing as an easy turn or sneaking up on something. I will be upgrading to a digital soon.

[slabbandit]

These can still be found new or like new on E-Bay occasionally. They were called the Maximizer. These have not been built for over 20+ years and were Minn-Kota's first version of a variable speed drive for any make of 12 volt trolling motor. We've used them with a 28 thrust Minn-Kota 565, a 55 thrust 12 volt Minn-Kota, and a 42 thrust Motorguide I believe. Hard to find but well worth it. Just wire it in between the power supply and the trolling motor. Mount where it is easy to reach and your done. Set your trolling motor on it's maximum speed and do all speed controlling with the Maximizer. 100% would be your trolling motor's fastest setting. I've found that with my aluminum boat 20% is just right on a fairly calm day to spiderrig without ever turning the motor on and off thus conserving lots of battery power. 8 to 10 mph winds I may have to kick it up to 35 to 40%.
The neat thing about a variable drive is how slow you can make the blade turn.

[OrangeAgent]

I will have to look for one of those at a good price. Don't really need a different trolling motor but it would sure be nice to be able to creep a little more. 14ft narrow body john with 50lbs is hard to slow down.

Can you leave the maximizer turned on all the way and still control the motor with the handle?