Got my first boat! A 15ft Lowe aluminum with a 25hp mercury. But I need a trolling motor and battery for it, what size of each should I get? I was thinking a 55lb thrust trolling motor would be plenty for this boat but was wondering if I should get stronger because I fish a lot of grass... And what size battery should I get?

55 sounds good....if you're going to use two.  I'd think that wind would be a much greater concern than grass.

 

 

And...congrats on the boat!

55 sounds good....if you're going to use two. I'd think that wind would be a much greater concern than grass.

And...congrats on the boat!

What do you mean by if your gonna use two? Two batteries?

Get the biggest motor you can afford. Do you have room for 2 batteries if you were to get a 24v motor? Walmart group 29 Everstart Maxx is the best bang for the buck.

55 would move it around just fine.  I had 12v 30# on my buddies 20' pontoon and it was ok.  I'd still recommend a 24v 70# variable speed TM.  You can't have enough power.

I'd try to squeeze 3 trolling batteries in that puppy and run a 101-112lb troller.

 

But on a grounded level of thinking a 80lb would be great (24V)

sorry, C&G; I was being sarcastic, suggesting that you will probably want more than 55#

Yeeesh a 100lb+ trolling motor..... Idk about all that, that's gotta be a small fortune... And I could fit 2-3 batteries in it I believe.

Ugggh I was hoping buying a trolling motor and batteries would be simple.... Welp, guess I gotta do some research.

Yeeesh a 100lb+ trolling motor..... Idk about all that, that's gotta be a small fortune... And I could fit 2-3 batteries in it I believe.

Shop around. I got a 112 lb thrust ipilot link after rebates for $1200

Shop around. I got a 112 lb thrust ipilot link after rebates for $1200

I was thinking more around 300$ for the trolling motor....

I was thinking more around 300$ for the trolling motor....

 

Dont forget a trolling motor is a tool you can change out to another boat when you upgrade

I was thinking more around 300$ for the trolling motor....

The motor I mentioned lists for over 2 grand. I couldn't pass it up.

Dont forget a trolling motor is a tool you can change out to another boat when you upgrade

Or sell. I've sold every trolling motor and graph to help pay for my toys as i upgrade.

I say the 55lb trust will be perfect. 

 

Also if you're thinking about a Minn Kota (which I use & like) Highly Recommend getting a model with the Digital Maximizer provides up to five times longer run time on a single charge and go with variable speeds - rather than 5 set ones

 

Good Luck with your purchase and Congrats on your First & New Boat.

 

A-Jay

When you look at batteries look at reserve capacity.  The larger the number the longer the run time.  Try to get 180 rc or more.

Get the biggest motor you can afford. Do you have room for 2 batteries if you were to get a 24v motor? Walmart group 29 Everstart Maxx is the best bang for the buck.

I didn't see group 29 ever start max batteries, saw about every number except 29 lol. What is the group anyways?

Got my first boat! A 15ft Lowe aluminum with a 25hp mercury. But I need a trolling motor and battery for it, what size of each should I get? I was thinking a 55lb thrust trolling motor would be plenty for this boat but was wondering if I should get stronger because I fish a lot of grass... And what size battery should I get?

 

Good luck with the new boat C&G,

looks ideal for Banks  

 

Roger

Shoot I'll probably just have to buy a 45lb thrust trolling motor and one dual purpose battery... I can't afford anything better....

Shoot I'll probably just have to buy a 45lb thrust trolling motor and one dual purpose battery... I can't afford anything better....

Congratulations on the new rig. Looks pretty solid. 

 

I ran a 46lb/12V MotorGuide on a similar boat, and that was plenty. I could run it all day with a group 27 battery on lower speeds. If it was really windy or I was fishing in heavier current, I would have to run it on high power which drains the battery very quickly (like 2-3 hours at most.)  

 

No experience with the dual purpose batteries, but the idea of using the trolling motor battery for starting the outboard is a little scary to me. At least you can pull start that thing, if need be. 

Most 12v systems top out at 55lbs thrust, I would get a 55lbs and never look back. +1 on the Minn Kota Digital Maximizer, Nice boat, congrats!

Also look into this battery box / power station from Minn Kota - I run 2 of these in my Old Town

 

It has the breaker you need built in as well as 2 accessories plug outlets and a small breaker for them as well

 

  Box info says it's designed for 24 & 27 size batteries but I found a couple of 29's that fit fine.

 

A-Jay

 

http://www.minnkotamotors.com/Products/BATTERY-POWER-CENTER/

I have a 12V,  40 pound minkota and it works fine on my 16' tin/ 50 HP Merc. I have a single 12V deep cycle battery that also runs the bow sonar unit. The sonar (Lowrance 7 HDS) has a battery gage and last Saturday I used the TM for 6 hours at low speeds and still had 85+% life left. Sure a bigger TM would be nice but I say this so that if you find a small 55# TM don't feel that it isn't enough because it is. If you decide on a 24V system will require an additional battery which will cost +/- $100.00 and take up additional space in the boat. Whatever you decide will work in your particular application, there isn't a bad choice really.

Oh, one other thing. If I may offer up a bit of advice. Right after I got my boat I purchased the Seloc repair guide for Mercury Outboards. Do yourself a big favor and get the official Mercury Service Manual for your actual motor. It cost twice as much as the Seloc but worth it, really. The Seloc manuals cover many models and are just too vague. The Merc Service Manual costs about $75.00 but are great to have. I wish I bought the Service Manual first.

 

Good luck with your boat. I'm glad that you got what appears to be a solid tin rather a questionable rig with too much stuff.

Congrats on the new boat. Get the trolling motor & the biggest battery you can afford.