EOBOY
It's a 24 plenty of room for batteries. I wouldn't get any thing but a saltwater motor. Thanks I was afraid of that answer LOLIs the 80lb. a 12volt or 24 volt? Keep in mind you will be dealing with tide, and wind. Also salt water! If you were just puttering in lakes I would say the 55lb. would be fine, but with the other factors I am not so sure. I have a 50lb. on my 12' drift boat and it works great in the lakes, but I do not think it would handle a combo of wind and strong tides well. Congrats on the boat.
Well I think he's mad at me cause I bought it. Didn't want to kick the hiveYou might shoot Tanner (OnTheDrop) a message and ask him what his impression is of the one he recently purchased. I believe the one he purchased is a 80lb. 24 volt.
Why would I be mad you bought a drift boat Dana? Lol.
If you're going to crab, you'll need atleast the 80lb, and even with that, ( Tides, etc ) may not be enough.
If you really want to make it a little crab machine you'll want to get a Gas Motor!
Big Ben and I went to pick up our boat yesterday. I'm thinking of calling it "lil' bit ugly" just kidding. But maybe! Anyway I told Ben we need a motor! He said a motor can wait! Well I want to go crabbing and need a motor. I am planning on getting a Minn Kota and wonder if the 55 thrust is enough or should I spend the extra $300 fo the 80. The boat is a 16 foot Alumaweld. The Minn Kota site say's a 55 should work but I wonder if it is enough.
Any thoughts would be welcome.
Dana
Roger it's good for this year so we're smilingdon't forget to get your numbers and registration if you are going to run a motor...:thumb:
Roger it's good for this year so we're smiling
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Just bustin your chops I will be broke after getting the electric so we'll try this for now. Had a tug a war in my mind and wanted the electric first. Got the hermit crab for wed. and thur night Ben and I are going to float the Wilson wed. and crab the bay Nehalem thur.
First, the disclaimer -- I don't own a driftboat.
But my oldest fishing buddy does (17' Alumiweld), and I spend much time in it. He bought an 80# Riptide about 3 years ago (doesn't hurt to have a line on free, large AGM batteries). It does OK.
He recently bought a Merc 9.9 extra-long shaft.
My thoughts: The electric is cool. We've used it plenty for crabbing, but it's far from ideal. It's best use is on the rivers, and is generally used to backtroll plugs, or the occasional "drift boat drag race to the honey-holes." On many rivers (the Wilson being a prime example), you can only run electric motors, no gas. A big drawback is that once you're "out of gas," you're not pulling out a gas can and filling it back up. When crabbing, it can be quite a struggle to go against a strong outgoing tide. It's very quiet and smooth. Another huge advantage is the perfect reliability -- it starts with a twist of the handle, every single time.
The 9.9 outperforms it in every way. The extra-long shaft eliminates it from being used in shallower rivers (a standard long shaft would have been better, but it was a very good price from a friend). Having the prop lower in the water keeps the boat flatter on the water, which increases top speed (which is much higher than the electric). A spare gas can allows it to run all day(with the large AGM batteries, the electric will run full speed (although 75% is almost as much thrust, while using much less battery) for around 5 hours). The gas is a much lighter setup than the electric, by a good margin (batteries and motor run well over 200#).
By the time a person bought an electric, batteries, breakers (not a bad idea), and a dual charger, they're going to spend as much as they would on a nice used 4-stroke 9.9, which has a great deal more power than the electric.
But both options shine in different situations. If crabbing is the primary motivation for getting a motor, you'll be much happier with gas.
If you do go electric, I wouldn't build boxes. We use the plastic boxes, and they sit on opposite sides of the oarsman's seat (with PVC conduit running under the footrest for the wires), on a rubber mat. Group 27/29 batteries are heavy, and it's nice to be able to pick up the whole box to remove them -- I can't imagine trying to lift them out of a mounted box regularly... sounds like a backbreaker.
Bear in mind, in a driftboat, top speed is very limited. But a good gas motor gets you across the bay, maybe 7MPH if you're lucky.
Enjoy your new boat.