101lb thrust on a 12ft jonny.....

Hello folks, new to the forums, have been reading threw several different posts....lots of info.

I have a 12ft alumacraft with a 15hp suzuki prop. I also have a 101lb minn kota electric left over from my drift boat days. Was wondering if the heavy 101 would be too much for what I have?

12ft alumacraft, 2 people, 2 mid size dogs, gear for fishing/hunting, 15hp outboard. Add the heavy 101, worth the extra weight?

Hope you fish calm waters...you must be getting close to the practical weight limit (not the posted limits). If it works, then great - I'm putting an 80# on my 14' for some extra uhmph fighting the current and/or weed chopping...

:twisted: Ha ha!!! I knew a guy with a total of THREE 101lbs trolling motors on his 16' tin. Eight batteries to power everything

Might be just a tad overkill for a 12ft boat. A 24 volt motor in the 65 - 80lb range will pull your boat along through anything you might encounter. I know the 101 has more than enough power to pull my Dad's Skeeter SX200 in heavy wind & waves. The main reasons for most anglers going to a 36 volt system is for power & longevity of batteries ( less amps are pulled so batteries last longer ). But with a light aluminum boat such power is not needed because it takes less thrust over to move boat C so far at X amount of speed vs. a larger heavier boat. In my opinion such power is not necessary for boats under 16ft. When I can afford to upgrade I'm going to try to find a good used 80lb thrust bow mount for my 14ft v hull.

Thanks for the replies folk, guess I'll sell my 101 in garage sale and find me a 40ish thrust motor.

The motor itself is fine - it's the weight to all the batteries you need that is an issue. You've probably got close to 200lbs between that motor and the related batteries if not more. That's a very valuable motor - probably over $1,000 new. If you can afford it I'd hold onto it unless you'll never own a full sized boat & just buy a used smaller TM.

My 1248 has a 55 on it and when turned up to 10 it scoots along pretty dang fast. Can't imagine needing anything over a 12 v on a 12' Jon. Not worth the extra weight.

I have a 55lb thrust Minn Kota on my 12ft Sea Nymph. It's got more than enough snot to push the boat, 3 people, associated tackle plus a 15hp outboard and gas tank on board. 3.5mph fully loaded, no problem. 55lb thrust is about the most thrust you'll find in a 12 volt trolling motor, which compliments an electric start outboard perfectly. My outboard and trolling are both powered by the same battery.

Not sure what these jokers are talking about. But if I had a 101 lying around and a 12ft boat. **** straight they would become mates. You can never have to much electric power...

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360116#p360116 said:

Bugpac » 19 Jul 2014, 17:41[/url]"]Not sure what these jokers are talking about. But if I had a 101 lying around and a 12ft boat. **** straight they would become mates. You can never have to much electric power...

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I agree completely that you can never have to much power but the extra weight from 3 deep cycle batteries is the issue not the motor & mount. For an electric only setup it would be completely feasable but with motor gear 2 people & 2 dogs it just seems like there would be to much weight in the boat to operate safely. I'm not saying that it cant be done safely because not all boats are created equal, without seeing the boat, how it rides, where its sits in the water, available space for the batteries, & the capacity plate it makes it difficult to say for sure if this is truly safe to do.

I agree you can never have too much power but you can have too much battery and the three deep cell batteries needed for the 101 lb would be too much for a 12'. Most of your 12' jons are cheap, narrow, riveted and short transom. They can only handle so much weight. Then trying to find the space for 3 batteries. Heck I have a 1248 and space is limited with only 1 deep cell up front and 1 tractor battery in back. Now you might pull it off with an all electric setup but the poster already stated he is going to be having an outboard.

Down size the batterys. Simple solution.

Put me in the same boat as the others with never having too much power (I have a '73 Vega Wagon with a 565 cubic inch big block chevy in it for Pete's sake) :mrgreen: It's about the added weight and space the batteries take up. There is a finite amount of space in a 12 foot boat over and above the added weight.

I had two 55lb thrust Minn Kotas on my Smoker Craft when I went to an electric only lake. Figured the added power couldn't hurt. The second 55lb thrust trolling motor was worth less than 1mph. Closer to .5mph actually. IMHO, the added weight and less floor space due to the required batteries isn't worth the trade off, especially in a 12 foot boat.

I use a 55lber on a 16' boat, typical outing 5-7 plus hours.
Only days I wish I had more power, is when I'm in the lily pads all day.
Don't go bigger for speed, it's not what TM's are made for...
My charger is in my basement, so carrying 3 batteries up and down the stairs would be a pain each outing, plus replacement cost.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360124#p360124 said:

Bugpac » 19 Jul 2014, 20:57[/url]"]Down size the batterys. Simple solution.

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Switch to Lithium while you're at it...$3,000 later...

Those things would be sweet. I know a guy that has a 60 volt ray. With 5 of them suckers..

I wish I had that kind of disposable income...they're so light. Swapping out my current two size 29 batteries for lithium would only cost $2600...but it would cut my battery weight from 142 lbs to 62 lbs...

God - using 3 of these things (lead) to power that 110# would be over 200lbs in batteries alone - 250 probably with the TM...it'd have to be one hell of a wide 12' boat to support that plus people & pooches...

Ok then, another question regarding the 101lb minn kota electric motor. If I where to only use 1 or 2 batteries instead of all 3, would that hurt the motor it self? Lower amperage or whatever its called?

Is it a 24V motor? If so you'll need the two batteries synced up for 24V then you should be good to go.
36V? now that an whole different tune I know absolutely nothing about..

101lb thrust is a 3 battery set up. Me question is if I was to only run 1 or 2 batteries instead of all three....would that hurt the motor any? Carrying less batteries for less weight, do not have money just yet to be a smaller trolling motor.