Inflatable Boat which power to use

[igorot]

This would be my first boat to try and might upgrade soon if everything would line up.

http://www.costco.ca/Typhoon-310S-by....10336224.html

Which power gas / battery = thrust / hp would be ideal. It would be mainly use for fishing on the lake and not hard core yet. Most of the time would be me, the wife and my 2 year old.

Btw I already have my boat license and do I need to register the boat even if I will not go beyond 10 HP on the motor.

Any response is greatly appreciated.

[Rob.H]

I have a frogger (plastic 2 man boat) and I use a 35lb thrust trolling motor. Works great for small bodies of water but wouldn't want to fight the wind on some of the bigger lakes. 35lb thrust seems to be a strong enough motor to do a solid troll.
Hope this helps.

[Sumara]

For an electric (battery) trolling motor i would recommend getting a Minn Kota. For the amount of thrust i would say get the best that's in your budget. I have a 55lb and it gets the job done and then some for me and a friend in my inflatable. It's nice to have the extra power in case of sudden weather changes or if you do decide to upgrade down the road you won't have to worry about upgrading the motor with it.

[schmedlap]

Originally Posted by Sumara

For an electric (battery) trolling motor i would recommend getting a Minn Kota. For the amount of thrust i would say get the best that's in your budget. I have a 55lb and it gets the job done and then some for me and a friend in my inflatable. It's nice to have the extra power in case of sudden weather changes or if you do decide to upgrade down the road you won't have to worry about upgrading the motor with it.

My first boat was a very similar size Zodiac - 35 years ago. Super versatile, could take it (without a trailer, just assemble and inflate) and launch it anywhere any vehicle could get us fairly close to. Very stable and safe. After about 28 years and a few patches it was still useable and I gave it to a friend. For some time all I had for a motor was an old 27 lb thrust Minn Kota - OK for small lakes, and river floats, but frustratingly underpowered in windy conditions - an inflatable is a pig in terms of the way they plow water and blow around. I would recommend a 55 lb Minn Kota Traxxis - enough power, great battery time retention, and great easy adjustability of depth and angle for transom use. And if you upgrade to a bigger boat later, that will retain funtionality as a kicker for trolling and/or moving around in very shallow/weedy water.
In its later years I had an old 8hp Mercury 2 stroke on it, and that moved it along pretty well. But, unless you want to get very wet in windy conditions, it is still not a "big water" boat.
You do not need to register the boat until and unless you go to 10 hp or higher motor. That is the reason for existence of the "9.9" hp motors.