55 lbs trolling motor

I

iyaman

New member
I have a 16 cruiser. Because of the way I fish, i really need an electric trolling motor with spot lock. Due to the limited bow space, i think the longest shaft i can mount would be a 54 inches. I will soon put a humminbird FF and it will only link to ipilot link with minn kota trolling motors. However, minn kota doesn't offer 54 inches shaft on their 80lbs 24 volts i pilot link. I pilot link on 54 inches shaft only comes in 12 volts 55lbs if thrust.

I'll be only fishing on calm weather. Will the 55lbs thrust be enough on my boat? Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

James
 
James,

Our other boat is a Smoker Craft 162 Pro Tracer. It weights about 175 lbs. more than a C-Dory 16 (1025 lbs. vs. 850 lbs.) and has a 10 deg. deadrise at the transom.

We are using a Minn Kota Endura C2 trolling motor (55 lb. thrust) at the transom that we are satisfied with for fishing.

Next week we plan on taking it out in the bay. We will test it at full throttle and see how fast it will pushes the boat at slack tide. A 55 lb. thrust motor should push yours a little bit faster with the number we find out next week. We will let you know.
 
I have the 80 Lb thrust 24 volt motor on my 18' Caracal Cat--heavier than the C Dory16, and it will pull the boat at about 3 knots. I would think the 55 would be fine--I used one on a 15' aluminum skiff--my only concern is windage of the cabin of the 16, Most days the 55 should be fine.
 
DayBreak said:
James,

My other boat is a Smoker Craft 162 Pro Tracer. It weights about 175 lbs. more than a C-Dory 16 and has a 10 deg. deadrise at the transom.

Thank you Gary. Please let me know.
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thataway":36tz31hi said:
I have the 80 Lb thrust 24 volt motor on my 18' Caracal Cat--heavier than the C Dory16, and it will pull the boat at about 3 knots. I would think the 55 would be fine--I used one on a 15' aluminum skiff--my only concern is windage of the cabin of the 16, Most days the 55 should be fine.
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Appreciate the input Bob. Thank you.
 
iyaman":25qw5b7f said:
I have a 16 cruiser. Because of the way I fish, i really need an electric trolling motor with spot lock. Due to the limited bow space, i think the longest shaft i can mount would be a 54 inches. I will soon put a humminbird FF and it will only link to ipilot link with minn kota trolling motors. However, minn kota doesn't offer 54 inches shaft on their 80lbs 24 volts i pilot link. I pilot link on 54 inches shaft only comes in 12 volts 55lbs if thrust.

I'll be only fishing on calm weather. Will the 55lbs thrust be enough on my boat? Thanks in advance for all the input

James
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James; I have an 80 lb 54 inch Minnkota Terrova with IPilot Link. I'm not sure why you say they aren't available. I see one in the Minnkota store, used, at a good price. Mine definitely has Spot-Lock. It just barely fits on the bow at an angle on my CD22. You can see in the images below. It'll push the boat about 3.5 mph at max, and when I also use the 80 lb mounted on the antiventillation plate of the motor at max with it, about 4.5 mph. Not hull speed, but perfect for trolling, and holding in place against current, wind, or tide.

If you plan to use as an alternative to a kicker, I'd suggest the 80 lb. It should push your CD16 at least 3.5 mph. I have a 55, and it just didn't work well for the CD22.

This is a truly fantastic motor so far.

IMG_3149.sized.jpg
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Rob, pm sent. Thank you.

I just look at minnkota website. 24volts 54 inches comes only with ipilot gps but not ipilot link gps.
 
iyaman":3cgal0ax said:
Rob, pm sent. Thank you.

I just look at minnkota website. 24volts 54 inches comes only with ipilot gps but not ipilot link gps.
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I stand corrected. I typed in "Minn kova 80 lb 54 inch Terrova" to search. I guess I confused the ipilot bluetooth with the ipilot link.

Yes, I do have an 80 lb 54 inch shaft (nominal) Terrova Riptide (saltwater) with the square ipilot link remote. The physical shaft is actually 56.5 in to handle the lifting mechanism, which is nice, but adds to the overall length and blocks dropping the motor the full length of the shaft. This does NOT help it to fit on the CD22, but it does just barely with no overhang.

Yes, I did have a 55 lb 54 inch shaft Minn kota Powerdrive mounted initially on the bow of my CD22. It came from my father's crabbing boat, an 18 ft, heavier-than-CD22 with very low gunnels, some "V" in the hull, flat deck, center console and 8.5 ft width. Very stable. Nice for crabbing the Chesapeake Bay, cold and wet in the PNW. Though this motor is not a saltwater model, it was used almost exclusively, and quite a lot, in brackish water, always rinsed afterward. It has a little surface corrosion on the motor housing, but has held up well.

I found the 55 lb to be inadequate in holding a course or keeping the bow pointed when strong wind came from an angle from the stern. It could keep pointed into the wind better. Mostly, the 55 lb was fine. My caution about the 55 for this reason. Your boat is also smaller and 55 lb may be all you need, but it does have the "sail" like the CD22.

It should pull fine in good conditions. It is an amazing motor with spotlock, and "remembering" a course you previously did. For instance, when I had a slip here, I could enter inner Oro Bay, and click a previous route to navigate directly to my slip. It would guide right in. I did need to adjust the speed to keep steerage through the boats but not ram the dock. Cool. I think a bow-mounted motor is much better than a bow or stern thruster.

I also use the motor, with a generator and charger, as an alternative to the 9.9 hp Honda kicker that used to hang on the stern. I didn't like so much weight on the stern for something I never used. I troll with the electric motors also.
 
I use a crappy 30 year old MK motor on my 16 foot Crestliner skiff all the time and it does fine - until the wind comes up and wrecks everything. And it's not really the motor doesn't push the boat well enough - you can hold your course, but it takes power to do that. And then, well you're going too fast now to be productive and may as well just start up the main and motor on back because the fishing is done for anyway. I don't think mine is anyway near a 55 pound model and it really does move the boat perfectly for trolling for trout on nice days. I really like how quiet that electric trolling motors are in comparison to gas.
 
Thank you all gentlemen for the inputs. I ordered the Minn Kota 12 volts 55 lbs of thrust. It is however backordered and hope to receive it before end of the month. I'll let you guys know how it works.
 
James,

Congrats on the electric motor choice for your C-Dory 16.

I think you will find that the 55 lb. thrust motor will be good to fish on a 16.

Do you still want me to get you the speed of our boat using the 55 lb. thrust motor on our 162 Smoker Craft? It doesn't have the same windage factor as your boat but it does have a full flat windshield and weights only slightly more.
 
DayBreak":yn7etoqw said:
James,

Congrats on the electric motor choice for your C-Dory 16.

I think you will find that the 55 lb. thrust motor will be good to fish on a 16.

Do you still want me to get you the speed of our boat using the 55 lb. thrust motor on our 162 Smoker Craft? It doesn't have the same windage factor as your boat but it does have a full flat windshield and weights only slightly more.
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Thank you Gary. If you can please do. I'll also do some test after I install mine and post it here. Hopefully, it will help somebody in the future.

James
 
James,

Finally getting back to you with a number. Based on no wind and flat water, we could only get 2 mph using the Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust motor. Let us know the performance numbers when you get your new Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust motor on your C-Dory 16.

Thanks.
 
DayBreak":1mb00st3 said:
James,

Finally getting back to you with a number. Based on no wind and flat water, we could only get 2 mph using the Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust motor. Let us know the performance numbers when you get your new Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust motor on your C-Dory 16.

Thanks.
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This was about the same as my experience with the 55 lb on my CD22. It seemed inadequate, though I didn't measure speed. Given tides that can be 3 or 4 knots, and winds that wanted to spin the CD22 around, I found the 80 lb thrust Minnkota to be much better, particularly when tracking a course, usually to troll, or with Spotlock in a tide or wind. Hopefully, with the smaller, lighter CD16 you will be OK.

If you find the 55 lb to not work under the conditions you see in Puget Sound, you can add another motor to the antiventillation plate of your main, as I did. I have 160 lb total (80 bow and 80 stern). They move the CD22 about 4.5 mph lightly loaded at full throttle, which can handle most conditions.
 
Thank you Rob and Gary.

I'll re measure the bow of the boat again tomorrow. Maybe a 60 inches will fit in? Sounds like I really need a 80lbs. Since my order is still awaiting status, I can cancel and order the 80 instead.

James
 
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