Well it certainly helped my outlook. I have looked at the Walker Bay (Great,
now something else to lust after.) and it clearly has less water resistance than
our Livingston, though as the L is technically a 'multi-hull' it may not be as
great as one would think.
I found your motor, I think. Forty FOUR pounds of thrust, and weighs 34 pounds
to ship (The 'Waterfowl' model... right?). That's manageable. The Series 24
battery runs between 72 and 105 amp hours and 41-50 pounds in weight. It sounds
as though your use is similar to ours.
This is more like what I had hoped for, including the prices of things. We do
have ample power on the trawler. Though we don't have an independent generator,
we do have a large 'cruise generator'. We use an inverter overnight and when we
up-anchor and get out of the bay and up to some sort of speed we cut that in and
recharge. Adding a little 24 to that would be nothing.
Is your 24 of the larger amp-hour persuasion? I'm ready to roll on this.
Thanks - Chuck
Rick Morel wrote:
Chuck, I'll add in my 2-cents.
Over the past 3 years I've used a Walker Bay 8 with a 40-lb (or is it
45-lb?) thrust Minnkota and type 24 battery. No complaints at all. I
added a trolling motor connector to the motor and battery, and to my
house bank so the trolling battery can be charged. Once it is, it's
plugged into a small 10-watt solar panel for "maintenance" charge.
This on a sailboat with solar and wind charging, and occasional engine
run or at a marina. I would think on a trawler charging would be no
problem.
The trolling motor is very light, the battery not so light. However,
the type 24 is not bad at all. Less trouble to transfer actually, than
a 3.3 HP outboard I had. It's large enough to give 2 hours at "wide
open", which I seldom use, and supposedly about 5 or 6 hours one notch
below. All I can say for sure is using the durn thing a lot during
4,000 miles of cruising, I've never run out of juice. Most of the time
the closest to shore I could get was about a quarter mile. Did a lot
of exploring, sometimes 4 or 5 or 6 miles according to the GPS.
During that time we bought an inflatable and the 3.3 HP outboard. The
Walker Bay turned out to be the best almost all the time. The only
thing the inflatable was best for was getting in and out while diving.
The outboard was used on the Walker Bay some, but as above, it really
was more trouble. It did give about twice the speed. Bottom line I
guess is I sold the inflatable and outboard and kept the Walker Bay
and trolling motor :-)
Hope this helps!
Rick
On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:57:45 GMT, Chuck Bollinger
wrote:
We have a trawler and an 8' Livingston which we use as a tender. Generally we
go back and forth to shore but occasionally will explore a small cove we may be
anchored in.
I've been using a 4HP Johnson (2 stroke) but it is failing, as am I. I leave it
at home but rowing a Livingston is no slice of Heaven. So I want power again,
but more reliable and hassle-free for the limited use.
Does anyone have experience using an electric trolling motor this way? What
kind of motor and/or battery rig did/do you use and how heavy are the parts?
I'll appreciate hearing from experienced users. Thanks
S/V Final Step
http://www.morelr.com/coronado/