texaslawdog

thank you G52, I will check out this site today!

I still have reservations about this motor and it may be unfounded but I need to know for sure its performance for a full day of hard use and if weather turns bad quickly I need to be able to get back to the dock quickly and safely.

I looked at this setup also but, rated at only 31Ah I worry it won't last very long while in use. What has been your experience with this battery and how long does it last until it drains out? I'm planning on using my setup to take the place of a propulsion gas outboard so I need an even stronger battery system? Thanks for the info!

WOW, all great points to consider and possibly some serious concerns. Does an aluminum boat help alleviate some concern and a fire extinguisher as well? Do we not use some products because of the failure of a few? If so, we don't have many products left. I realize a potential fire is much more dangerous than some other perceived failings, but still? What about the lithium batteries housed in steel containers. Wouldn't that be a great deterrent? But then maybe we're defeating a huge advantage(more weight)?

Hey Tom, thanks for your input, I would definitely contact the manufacturer before ordering this type of battery.

thank you for the referral. these batteries are more expensive than the ones I have looked at. Maybe being able to put them in series drives up the cost? Well, at least there are some available. Thanks again!

Here I'm all set to purchase 2 lithium batteries for a 24 volt motor and I see a warning that you can't run these batteries in series? True or not? If so, glad I saw this warning in time. Meanwhile, are there lithium batteries that you can run in series? In addition, now I see lithium ion batteries as well as lithium iron batteries? Where did these come from. Can you use one of each on a motor? Also, are there 24 volt lithium batteries and where can I find them? I looked at a Torqueedo motor but I'm wondering how much power the battery has. I'm looking at getting 100ah batteries. What are the TQ batteries rated at? Thanks!

I have rented boats before and have never felt I was in danger, but I guess I made sure the day was not expecting any threatening weather. And, I can mitigate a bad weather day as i'm retired and can pretty much pick and choose on a moment's notice. But there are those times when you've made plans with friends who work and you can't cancel. And, I'm not getting a gas ob, so I should be concerned for that?

wow, that's all pretty scary, maybe I should just reconsider my plans.

living around the bay, I plan on fishing lakes(don't know what is a small, med or large lake definition). also, would like to fish tidal rivers like Middle River.

ok, thinking about comment jon boats not safe on a windy day, that is worrisome as how can one change the weather 3 days from now when you next planned to go out? So, either don't buy a jon boat and buy a what? instead. What about a modified jon which is what I'm considering?

T9n and WRB, thanks for the comebacks, appreciate it. I think the more experience I get with these things the better I will understand and be able to get going with this. I'm excited to get this thing started, just have a few concerns that hopefully with more time and help like from this site as well. Thanks!!!

I am shopping for my first boat(aluminum utility or jon 14'-16') for fishing lakes and tidal rivers, so bear with me and my lack of wisdom. One of the most important things I can't understand is that everyone seems to not care about low transom height to accommodate short engine shaft length. To me, these boats aren't that high out of the water to begin with. Example, lets say a jon boat has a side height of 21"(which isn't that high to me), yet has a transom of 15"? That seems dangerous to me. The back of the boat may only be 10" above the water level! That's disastrous in my opinion. I want the back of the boat to be as high as the sides of the boat because that seems the most safe situation to me. One solution that I have noticed is that the manufacturers build false transoms outside the back of the boat in order for the real back to be as high as the sides. Good for them! Doesn't help me. I've thought about if I decide to get a boat with a lowered transom I would try to construct a fill-in to get the height back up to the height of the sides(I'm not putting a heavy gas motor on the boat but an electric transom motor which is light and has a long, adjustable shaft). Seems to me you encounter a little choppy water and whoops, water spills in the back of the boat!, ending up sinking the boat!!! OK, please tell me I'm overreacting and things will be just fine. I plan on using the boat on lakes(what size lakes are ok to use this size and type boat, I'm thinking at least up to medium size lakes ), and is this boat ok to use on tidal rivers? Thanks for bearing with me, I will get there, eventually!

yes, I have seen this motor advertised as well as a few others. They cost a whole lot more than other transom mounted electric motors. So, why do they cost so much more? Is it because they run on 24 volts instead of 12 volts? If so, then they must be worth the cost increase if 24 volts helps the boat's maneuverability that much compared to the 12 volt rig. If so, that might be worth considering, but then again that entails much more weight with one gigantic 24 volt battery or two 12 volt batteries. So, the only way to defeat this added weight problem is to get lithium batteries but then again, they do cost so much more. So, there are tough choices to make and I'm not quite there yet!

But hey, if you're happy, right???

WOW, I don't think I would ever be able to remember all those details that you have for that lake. I plan on going to several lakes within say 3 hours of my home. Since I'm retired I now plan on a weekly trip to these lakes using the rig I'm going to get and all the help on here has been very valuable. Thanks, Greg.

Hello DG, some great info there and no I'm in no rush to get from Point A to Point B, not a speed freak, far from it, to me, on the water slower is better! And how do you remember your loop when fishing? just by memory? Thanks, Greg

Hi Rbf75, appreciate your input, I'm slowly getting the info I will need to complete my rig. Hi b762, your rig is a lot like what I'm planning, 14-16 ft boat(230-280 pounds). I'm slowly learning the info I need to make my decisions. Reason I don't like gas motors is that they are very heavy and there are so many things that can go wrong with them. I have had an electric motored UTV for 6 years and have never had to do or maintain anything with the motor, zero worries. Yes, I purchased new batteries for $1,100 after 5 years. But I never worried about having to go get gas(or it's expense), just plug in when thru for the day and ready to go all day the next day. I feel saving all that weight on a boat is extremely important for many factors and an electric motor and lithium batteries saves a ton of weight compared to a gas outboard and gas.

Hi Dan, thank you for your info, it helps. I don't know a lot on what an electric motor will do. I want it to be able to power my boat around a lake. I'm not interested in going 72mph on a lake. All I need is to be able to get around the lake to several fishing spots during an outing without having to take all day to do it. Can these electric motors allow me to do that?

Thinking about motoring a 14-16 ft aluminum Mod Jon I will be getting(weight of boat from 230lb to 275 lbs.) I want to use an electric transom motor for propulsion and trolling and I don't want to get an outboard gas motor. What lb of thrust would I need? And would one of those electric motors that resemble a gas outboard be even better? Seems these types cost a whole lot more than the more conventional looking electric motors. I'm going to fish mainly medium size lakes and a few tidal rivers.

Hey Bb, thanks for the info, I'm taking in all the posts here and have been given some great info!!!

I hear ya and I agree it would not be as good if you had to do it all by yourself, but I have 2 or 3 guys that will probably go with me on most trips. Even so, I don't think it would be extremely uncomfortable to do it by yourself, we'll see! Thanks for the input!

Will do Tom, 15+ huh? WOW!!! makes my 4.5 look like a minnow. And thanks!!! hey kjfm, really appreciate your help. I have to say, with everybody's help, I'm really getting into this and definitely putting a pretty good plan together here!!! Because I hate trailers!!!

Where did you get the tailgate support bar?

Oh I see, you mean instead of using the plastic ties. Good move!