wasabi_VA

they are 6 gauge wire. the connections are all clean.

I expect the motor to drop the voltage while it is running, just not that low. I think it is a sign the battery may have weakened. It is still under warranty (Walmart - but lets not have a brand depbate ) and I know I can return it with no argument, I just don't want to do it if it is a normal condition.

My deep cycle battery is less than a year old and I ALWAYS put it on the charger as soon as i get back from a fishing trip. I use it to run a 12V 55 lb thrust bow mount trolling motor. The battery is at the rear of the boat and I have a 20' run of #8 wire to it. Today, just a couple minutes after leaving the dock, I noticed on my depth finder the voltage was 11.9. I was currently using full power to get to my fishing location. The depth finder uses the same battery but is wired off a fuse panel fed by a different wire - I think I have about 8 feet of #10 feeding my electronics. Way overkill but I sometimes run a spotlight. So the voltage being displayed is the voltage available at the depth finder, not necessarily the result of the voltage drop across that 40' run of cable up to the front of the boat. I guess I'm wondering if perhaps this suggests my battery is weak. It seems to charge fine. When I stopped the trolling motor the voltage went back up to something like 12.5, it just goes down to 11.9 or even 11.5 while the motor is actually running (after running it for awhile). I'm thinking that is getting kind of low and not giving me the power I should expect at the motor. :-/

I bought one of these Vector brand automatic/smart battery chargers last year and have been very pleased with their performance. I recommend them. I have the 2/10/30 (with 80 amp starting) model. http://www.jcwhitney.com/VECTOR-SMART-12-VOLT-BATTERY-CHARGER-SYSTEMS/GP_2006100_N_111+10201+600000922_10101.jcw Cover the plates with distilled water you can buy anywhere (like a Walgreens or CVS) and give it a charge and see what happens. Good luck.

I also have a kayak - the Ride 135 and can hop up real easy and stand in it. It has it's place (like some streams I fish) But for fishing a pond all day like I want (with multiple telescoping crappie poles spread out and such) this bass baby can't be beat. I've been out a few times and it is working out great. I can even leave the battery, trolling motor and rods in the boat as I load and unload it in the back of my truck. I'm getting used to the foot controlled trolling motor too and that is working out well.

Not true. Most modern deep cycle batteries want a high rate of recharge for most of the charging cycle. Then they want a lower rate for the finishing/topping off charge. Newer chargers provide this charge profile.

Nitro, My charger has a special feature that 'desulfates' the battery if it is getting weaker. First check the water levels, then see if you can find a buddy with a charger that has this pulsing feature. It takes 24 hours to do the procedure. I'm brainfarting exactly what it is called though.

Nothing much over 20 lbs. of thrust. Put in 8 gauge and be done with it.

Wayne, I looked at the other motorguide prop that would fit my motor - it takes a 3.5" - and mine is a 3 blade and the other is a 2 blade. The motorguide info says the 2 blade is for higher performance. So I can't tell if the 3 blade is faster or slower... what do you think?

is there a device I can install to reduce the voltage to 6 volts so I can continue to use my trolling motor battery? Basically I am wanting to do what the manufacturer has already done with the 5 speed rheostat they have installed to give me 6 speeds. This rheostat provides different voltage levels to the motor depending on the setting I choose. All I need to do is get a similar rheostat and wire it into my trolling motor lead. Then, if I ever want the full voltage I set my new rheostat to full (or a setting of 5) and let the full voltage pass. I wish I could find a 2 or 3 setting rheostat like this. I can wire it up into a cheap radio shack control box.

I'm using a regular 12V (40 lb. thrust) trolling motor on a small boat. The lowest setting moves the boat too fast. I don't want to drag a bucket or anything. I'm fishing small ponds so don't need to run very far or need to run the motor very much. Can I use a 6V motor to send half the voltage to the motor, thus slowing it down?

One options is to put a blanket underneath it and avoid the roof rack altogether. Or sit a couple pool noodles underneath it as a poor man's roof rack. Dang I'm a freakin' geniuos! ;D

If you can use a trailer and ramp to access the lake, I would go with a small jonboat. The widest you can find. I chose a prowler style plastic boat because I knew I had to hand load it from the truck to the bank and could get a wide (4') boat but only 8; long to help keep the weight down. I think my plastic boat is more stable for a short boat. It was all I wanted since I have a bigger boat for larger waters. I am seeing lots of jons and prowlers on craigslist either way.

Fortunately for me, and fortunately for Motorguide, Wayne came came and quickly resolved my delimma. Thanks again Wayne!

Wayne, I'll call. Thanks! I just called Motorguide for a little help, primarily just to make sure it was actually working right. Lets just say I learned why they are lagging way behind Minnkota in the trolling motor industry. Jeez, what an ignorant bunch. Never again, never again. I'll probably just return this motor to BPS out of principle and go get a minnkota. Man I'm ticked.

Hey guys, I went ahead and bought that Motorguide Bulldog bow mount trolling motor with the foot pedal. I'm confused by something happening though. When I mounted it on the bow I initially had the head pointing back into the boat, meaning the cables came straight back into the boat. That did not allow the prop and directional arrow to rotate equal amounts left or right when using the foot pedal. I quickly learned that moving the head such that the cable bundle pointed to the left provided the proper range of motion and the middle postion of the foot pedal pointed the prop in the right direction to move the boat forward. Full toe down rotated it to the right 180 degrees, full heel down rotated it to the left 180 degrees. Unfortunately, due to the small size of my boat, it will work out best for me if the head is rotated such that the cable bundle points to the right. This is because I have a very small boat and doing so positions the pedal right where I want it without the stiff cable pushing it out of the way. Buit when I rotate the head and direct the cable to the right I no longer have the right range of motion with the foot pedal. I think it forces the foot pedal to go toe down just to have the direction arrow point forward, and going heel down spins it to the left way too much. I hope this makes sense. My Motorguide manual doesn't describe how to deal with this situation. In fact it doesn't mention anything about proper orientation of the head and direction arrow. I checked over the unit and don't see any obvious ways to adjust it. Any ideas?

Anybody have any experience with this Bulldog trolling motor by Motorguide? It provides a foot controlled motor but has a transom mount mechanism designed to go in bow mounted applications. It would fit perfectly in the Bass Baby mini toon I posted in another thread. Just don't see much info about it anywhere other than what Cabelas and Bass Pro have. My only concerns are it is only 40 lbs. thrust and it is a 5 speed, not variable digital. But the functionality seems to be what I want.

I think it fits betweem the wheel wells of a full size truck, and would have to be tilted up on one wheel well in a smaller truck.

I bought one this past Friday and it showed up today. That was fast! And I love it already. It is everything I was thinking it would be and not a single thing has dissapointed me. Construction quality, size, functionaility - no surprises whatsoever. I haven't taken it out yet. I'm trying to decide what size trolling motor to get.

canoes suck, and thats the end of it

I'm getting one of those mini toons mentioned in previous threads. I want to put a tiller style (non-foot controlled) trolling motor on the bow. I'm assuming I'll just buy a transom mount and spin the head around and just checking in to see if that is a good idea. Another issue is most transom styles come with 5 speeds and not variable speeds. Sometimes I like to troll jigs and minnows for crappie so getting the right sped can be hard if the closest setting still pushes you too fast. Anybody know of a transom mount with variable speed? Finally is which thrust? I'm sure a small, inexpensive 30 lb. thrust will do fine on the small pond I fish but I also go to a larger reservoir where I'll want to get from point A to point B asap. That suggests a 55 lb. model. Hmmmm, decisions, decisions!

thanks for all the advice guys. I decided to purchase one of the Bass Baby mini toons as discussed in my other thread. Can't wait to get it.

I have a kayak. After using it all summer I found I preferred the canoe because I can take a bit more gear and not twist my back of shape reaching around to grab extra tackle/gear behind me. Now, after using the canoe more, I flipped it twice and lost some gear. In cold weather I wear more bulky clothes and that makes me feel even more clumsy in the canoe. With the water temps at 44 and falling, I can't risk going over. Plus I don't want to lose any more expensive gear. One of these little boats will be far more stable, give me room for all my crap and minnow bucket and cooler, etc. Now I will have all 4 (kayak, canoe, big 20' boat and tiny 'toon) to cover all my fishing scenarios!

price varies. I've seen it online from $584 to $799. Weight is 130.

here is a pic