Trolling motor upgrade

[cocopuff]

Hey all,

Slowly adding things to my 1651 mod v polarcraft. (Seats were the first replacement, for $45 bucks apiece from walmart.com I am very happy with my Wise Big Man boat seats) Next up is to replace the 32 lbs thrust bow mount hand control trolling motor that came with the boat. I've been weighing my options and since I really like minn kota which narrows it down to the 45 lbs edge or the 50 lbs powerdrive v2. I've been reading reviews on both of these and it seems like they both work good for different fishing situations. Currently I fish along the shore at Cheatam Lake in TN (just a wide spot in Cumberland River) but am rigging my boat up to fish for striper and catfish. Just had a few questions to help me decide which of these motors to get:

Is 45 or 50 lbs thrust enough? I will be fishing by myself or with one other person on 95% of my trips. The 32 lbs is alright on still days but last time I went out I couldn't fight the wind at all with it.

What size shaft should I get? My sides are 22" tall but I won't have a chance to put it in the water and measure it for a few weeks so can't use the online charts that go by the waterline measurement. Fully loaded I draw maybe 6" at the rear but unsure about the bow of the boat. The current trolling motor measures 34" shaft length and I have to put it as low as it will go to submerge the prop deep enough.

The reason I'm concerned about shaft length is there is a used edge with a 42 inch shaft on craigslist that seems like a good deal (asking $200 figure I can talk him down to $175) and this would let me get a fishfinder sooner. My other option is cabelas has the powerdrive 50lb thrust 54" shaft for $400 right now and I wouldn't have to pay tax on this since they don't have a store in TN.

Does anyone with either of these trolling motors want to comment on their reliability/likeability?

I know this is a lot to answer in one thread I just wanted to get some opinions so I can make a better decision,

 

[Captain Ahab]

{;ease add your location to your profile - makes answering these questions so much better

 

[TNtroller]

Since you fish a river most of the time, I suggest you get the 50# and the longest shaft possible to help fight the current and windy conditions when present. On windy days or if you have to deal with boat wakes from other traffic, the longer shaft will help keep the prop in the water as the boat rises & falls with swells, etc.

MK makes a good product, either one should do good for your boat.

 

[kofkorn]

With those two, it entirely depends on how you want to use it.

The Powerdrive has the electric steer, which is slower to respond but allows you to control it from farther away.

The Edge will be immediate steering, with a 5' cable.

The Powerdrive really gets much more valuable if you start adding on the Co-Pilot or I-Pilot functions where the unit can steer itself via an internal compass or GPS. For me, with the I-pilot and the handheld remote, I find myself just giving the remote quick adjustments here or there in between casts.

If you aren't going to go the electronic steering path and want foot-pedal control, I'd stick with the Edge. If you want to potentially upgrade in the future, I'd give serious consideration to the Powerdrive.

Good luck!

 

[onthewater102]

If you've got a 32" shaft and it's functional I'd go with a 42" if you want a bit longer...that's a full 10" extra, which will be more than enough except on the biggest of lakes in high wind & chop.

A friend of mine uses his several times a week and has found the Edge's seals on the motor to be sub-par and fail after about two years - and the repair parts are expensive relative to a new transom mount from Walmart that he just buys a new TM. In your case if your motor ever seized you'd just need to pull the motor off a transom shaft and mount it to the pedal control shaft. I have had both Maxxum, Traxxis and Terrova models and have not had problems with the seals in any of them under similar usage, but I haven't compared part #'s to know if they use different (presumably lower quality) seals on the Edge line or if my friend's experience is just bad luck.

 

[cocopuff]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to look the used edge on saturday and see what kind of shape it is in. I figure if I do want to upgrade to an ipilot it won't be til next year anyways and if the edge is still working then I can just sell it to recoup some of my expenses. However if the edge doesn't look to be in good shape I'll probably go with the powerdrive since with the sale it is only 40 bucks more than a new edge. There is a used terrova for $500 a little ways from me that has ipilot and the transducer which is tempting to go check out. Once I know how much I'll spend on this trolling motor I can figure out a budget for a fishfinder cabelas has a lowrance elite 5 hds for $250 that looks like it will fit the bill.