For 12v motors, the pounds of thrust will be pretty close to the amperage draw at full tilt, loaded. So a 55lb motor is going to be close to 55 amps.
The motor will need to be loaded (in the water) to get an accurate reading.
Also make sure that you have a DC clamp meter. AC clamp meters are common and inexpensive, but will not work on DC. DC meters are much more expensive. About all you do is set it to DC current of the correct range, and clamp it around one of the motor wires.
Chance thanked you for this post
I got out to check the motor this morning. Since I don't live on a lake, I submerged the motor in a tub. That worked great except the Grandmonsters got soaked. I really don't think they minded too much. I got readings on the meter that went up for each speed change. I believe that in 5th speed it was giving a reading of around 30 amps. At least I know that the speed does increase even though this reading might be low (maybe the meter, maybe the operator?). I did take the screws out of the front of the motor and there wasn't any water.
I won't be going out until Monday or Tuesday and I'm hoping that all of these checks and small repairs will make a difference.
Thanks again everyone.
Chance
Fair Winds and Following Seas
Bill H. PTC USN Ret
Chesapeake, Va
I was finally able to get the boat out today. I told #1 Grandson we would head over to Cagles Mill Lake. I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the X3. We used the gas motor to get close to our favorite area and then used the trolling motor for the next 200 yards. Right off the bat, we were going 1.8mph. I haven't been able to do that this year. We did do quite a bit of trolling (over an hour) and I never dropped below 1.7mph (in 5th). So this was a great improvement over 2 weeks ago.
Thanks everyone for their suggestions and help.
Chance