The trolling motor battery is more hassle and WEIGHS MUCH MORE than a
little outboard. Then there's the 14 hour battery charging every
time you use it. What? You got no AC out in your anchorage to charge
the battery? Neither does the dingy dock...dammit.



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




Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 02:27:19 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

The trolling motor battery is more hassle and WEIGHS MUCH MORE than a
little outboard. Then there's the 14 hour battery charging every
time you use it. What? You got no AC out in your anchorage to charge
the battery? Neither does the dingy dock...dammit.

Guess I'll have to eat my sneaker on this post.......(c;

I bought a 75AH "trolling" deep cycle battery from Wally World for
$39, today, to go with the $12 MinnKota I found at a local thrift shop
that is in new condition and looks like it was never used. I still
have to pay SC's DNR $40 to register the little plastic dink, even
with only electric power....(sigh)

I found out the dink IS exempt from personal property tax because she
couldn't find it on the books down there when I was in the office....a
relief.



Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

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/

I totaly agree with that post. I have a 8 foot Bombard with a Minnkota
30 and a 32ah gel battery that I can pickup with one hand by the
handle. I put the motor on the transom and hang the battery from the 2
big butterfly screws. I also added a plug in the line that I can
connect to the boat to recharge. I siliconed a small digital voltmeter
to the battery so I can keep an eye on the voltage.
I am planning to add a small solar panel on a post at the back of the
dinghy so that I can get some charging when I leave it at the dinghy
dock for hours whilst visiting some place.
It doesn't go very fast but it gets there silently, smokelessly and
smelllessly (is that even a word?)

Jeannette Bristol 32 Con Te Partiro

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 12:01:35 GMT, (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/

Jeannette Bristol 32, San Francisco
http://www.eblw.com/contepartiro/contepartiro.html

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/

WalMart's Auto Department battery rack has a very nice 75AH size 24
battery marked "Trolling" for $39.95. Bought one today for my little
electric.....



On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 17:14:52 GMT, Chuck Bollinger
wrote:

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/



Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Chuck,

It is not necessary to have a big heavy battery if all you want to do is
run to shore and back. Lawn tractor size batteries will do what you
want at a reasonable weight. If that is too heavy go with two small 6
volt batteries. I leave mine in the dingy and hook to a charging line
connected to my house batteries that keeps the dingy topped off and
ready to go. I find this much better than fooling around with a finicky
4 hp motor.

Ron