What trolling motor to start with on sailing dinghy?

Hey all!
I have a 14" Sailing dinghy that I'd like to add an electric outboard to. I've been into ebikes for a long while, but I really know next to nothing about electric watercraft.
Taking a look at trolling motors, they can range anywhere from $100 up to $3000, so I'm looking for advice on finding the right setup to start with.
I don't know exactly what i'm after but I'd like an outboard with around 30lbs+ thrust that can easily be pulled out of the water while under sail. I'd also like something that can easily be hacked or upgraded. I like the idea of a brushless design, but that isn't really a requirement.
Above all, I'm looking for something with a lot of bang/buck ... something with really good value particularly if it's the type of setup I can tweak over the years.
Any words of advice out there?

Doing some digging and it seems like a lot of people seem to default to the Minn Kotas
One nice one, available at Canadian tire for $389 is the Minn Kota Endura Max Trolling Motor, 50-lb, 36-in.
And then there is a less expensive one for $169 which may be just enough is the Minn Kota Endura C2 Trolling Motor, 30-lb, 30-in.
Anyone have experience with these?

Sorry, but i have no experience with these motors.
There must be a fishing/boating forum site somewhere with more experienced users.
However, in my experience hoping something is “just enough”.... usually ends in dissapointment ! :wink:

However, in my experience hoping something is “just enough”.... usually ends in dissapointment ! :wink:

Click to expand...

Very, very true!
However, the reason I brought it up, and the reason I'm bringing it up in this forum is that there are some really smart people here. Smart people who may have been lured in by the cheap price to find out that the thing can handle way more power, and it's only crippled by some cheap component needing a creative upgrade.

somewhere on here there's a motor built from an ebike hubmotor driving a chain to the propshaft (so the chain / etc is all up "in" the boat, rather than in the water). that kind of thing could be upgraded in almost any way / amount you could think of. just depends on how much power you need out of it for how big the motor, controller, and battery have to be.

The best bang for your buck, by far, is a cheap 12v trolling motor. I have a Minn Kota C2 for my canoe and really like it. The nice thing about them is they're "dumb"... in that there are no sensitive electronics to be damaged if you over-volt it a bit. Just a few resistors for speed control.

You can tweak it to add in a PWM speed controller to greatly increase efficiency at speeds less than full throttle. There are other mods such as rc props, prop spinners, air-foil shaping the parts in the water, etc. But by far the easiest and most effective is the pwm.

The thing to remember about trolling motors is that your are working with the fluid dynamics of displacement, not planning. If you want to go fast, you dont want an electric trolling motor. Depending on the shape and wetted area of your boat, the drag increases exponentially at about 6km/h. So you can buy higher "lbs" trollers, but they are way more expensive for very little speed gain, and WAY more power input (more drag).

I take that back... you would still want an electric motor (not trolling) if speed was the factor, but cost and complexity go way up.

I have had good luck with Minn Kotas
I have picked them up used anywhere from $20 to $50

Most of what you will find are the 12V variety
The 24V, 36V, or 48V flavors are much more desirable.

The 12V flavor will run great off of any old Golf Cart controller, but be careful. You can melt the wires (literally the motor wires inside the tube) pretty quick.

The brushes. . . when they fail. . . they leave you stranded. So obviously, if you can get anything brushless, that would sure be nice. I have never had a brushless trolling motors, but I suspect it would have to be paired to a controller, and that would put you in a limited power input range...

One nice thing about a simple 12V DC motor with brushes is that anything will get it turning. 6V battery, 8V battery, 12V battery, 14.8V battery, ... all the way up to a 60V battery (with a Golf Cart DC Controller)

...
Right away you want to get familiar with the motor. Open it up, check the brushes, clean out the salt, keep the grease packed where there should be grease, etc.

. . .
eh. . .
Yea. . .
The higher voltage setups tend to be the more serious setups. If you see anything at 24V or greater, used, grab it. Once you get out there you are going to want THRUST. I would pay a hundred bucks for a nice 24V setup. Around here people try to get $80 to $120 for a 12V setup in about the thrust range you are talking about.

Miss Jeremy H.

... eh...
Stories....

We had 3 people on a sit-atop Kayak with 22.2V (6S 20Ah) on a 12V motor via an ESC. That thing was "ok" putting out 12V... like... technically it was motoring us forward... but not in any sort of hurry. Applying 22V? Oh yea. . . buddy. . . you really felt the boat moving. Right up until the motor wires melted together and shot smoke out of the tube

If you are going out into any kind of open ocean, salt water, or anywhere that picks up a wake. . . you need thrust. At least enough to get out ahead of waves.



I snapped this one a few months ago. That is where I body-board. .... that bay out there... that is where we want to motor about to catch fish... to eat

-methods

Munsterfield said:

Hey all!
I have a 14" Sailing dinghy that I'd like to add an electric outboard to. I've been into ebikes for a long while, but I really know next to nothing about electric watercraft.
Taking a look at trolling motors, they can range anywhere from $100 up to $3000, so I'm looking for advice on finding the right setup to start with.
I don't know exactly what i'm after but I'd like an outboard with around 30lbs+ thrust that can easily be pulled out of the water while under sail. I'd also like something that can easily be hacked or upgraded. I like the idea of a brushless design, but that isn't really a requirement.
Above all, I'm looking for something with a lot of bang/buck ... something with really good value particularly if it's the type of setup I can tweak over the years.
Any words of advice out there?

Click to expand...

I know your post is old, but the information can be interesting to others.

Small boats (19 ft and under) can use a trolling motor. Limitations are top speed and battery weight if using lead acid technology. This is the most cost effective way to go.

...

In 2007 I started using a Minn Kota Endura 50 to use on my newly acquired O'Day 19. Purchased two GC2 lead acid golf cart batteries from Sam's Club. Other than the weight of the batteries, the setup worked well for maneuvering and distance traveling at less than 4 mph due to the propeller's pitch.

I tried the same motor and battery setup on a Capri 22. It was okay until I tried to maneuver boat with side winds. I upgraded to a Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 and ultimately using the Torqeedo battery. This was more costly, but was a very reliable setup. It reached hull speed with less than full throttle in all conditions.

I also purchased a Torqeedo Travel 1003C after the lead acid batteries failed "again" until I got the Torqeedo battery. This motor moved my Capri 22 in all conditions reaching just less than hull speed. It propels my O'Day 19 very well. I like the integrated battery since we use the O'Day as our trailering sailboat.

I just purchased the VPM 300 from flipsky in China. It cost about $100 shipping so ~$500 USD total. Took about 6 weeks to arrive. I've only used it a couple times. It pushes my San Juan 24 24' sailboat about 4 knots at full throttle with a 48v ~1kwh ebike pack. Range isn't great, very rough estimate would be 4 miles per kwh at 4 kts.

I have 52v packs that I'd like to use with the motor but I haven't been able find info on whether the controller will handle the higher voltage. Any advice on how figure that out would be helpful.

https://flipsky.net/collections/efoil-products/products/48v-brushless-maintenance-free-motor-electric-propeller-outboard-motor-inflatable-boat-motor?variant=38104121901243