Trollin motor - Transom or Bow mount ?

I've just recently purchased a used 16.5' tri-hull fiberglass boat with a 55hp Johnson. I'm wanting to mount an electric trolling motor. I was thinking of the Minnkota Endura 46# thrust which a transom mount. Is a bow mount a better idea? keeping in mind that they seem to be quite a bit more expensive.

What are the pro's and con's of both?

[merk1]

I have the minn kota power drive v2 bow mount(70lb thrust) on my 18ft boat and love it. Batteries will last at least 12hrs in the wind. Takes a bit to get use to with the steering up front. One option that I would recomend is the auto pilot, works off a compass, set in the direction you want to go, press the button and no more worries.

[PlayDoh]

A 46# Endura isn't what you want. You'd want at least a 50# and I'd get a MK "Maxxum" which has variable speed, as opposed to the endura 5 set speeds. I was advised the same thing and didn't think it would be as important as it is, yet I now know.

I just got a MK Max 50# for my 14' fiberglass, and I can troll at 10%-25% with no wind, and a single 115 amp/hour battery will last me 3+ days. My motors slightly over powered, but I get much better efficiency as a result. Mine a transom mount, and in hind-sight I wish I would have saved up even more for a bow mount.

A bow mount steers much better, and they usually have auto-pilot which would be night and day from what mine steers like. Since you have to put the transom mount off to one side, and manage both motors so they dont impact another, your always crooked. Add some cross wind, and you'll have to adjust a transom mount every nano-second to stay straight, and even then its impossible some times.

Its like steering a drunken mule, and unless your already used to a tiller, it takes some time to adjust. Just imagine if you put your 55 hp motor off center, how it would steer. One solution is to back-troll, which isn't too bad if the waves are decent, yet you'll use more power to push your flat transom though the water, rather then the Bow, but again, its not too bad. A hundred times easier to steer. The way I look at it, is that most pro's have both a bow and a transom tolling motor, so I got one end covered. lol

If your like me though, $500-$800 wasn't something I could spend at the time. I got my MK at Costco, for $350 if I recall right. It was by far the best place to get that MK at, so if your "in my boat" check them out. The batteries are a good deal also.

If I had to buy one all over again, I'd have probably waited till I had enough to get a Bow mount with Auto-Pilot, and with a 16.6' boat I'd guess a 70# would be good. Check out MK's website, they have a Motor-selection-guide thingy.

Tight Lines

[LacLaBicheNS]

Go with the bow mount. It's a lot easier to control the direction of your boat with a bow mount. Especially in the wind.

Why not find a boat with a bow mount and try it? I'm sure you know how a motor works when on the transom.

[seahawkfisher]

i have the same size / hull style boat as you (but with an 85hp) and i use a powerdrive V2 55. works great; with the digital controls, you can control the boat from anywhere in the boat (much more handy than the analog systems where you have to be basically right next to the thing to control it). I find it has plenty of power for the size of the boat, but some would argue that a 12volt system isn't practical. i have found that i can get more trolling time in with the v2 than i get with my 30lb endura on my 12' with the help of the maximizer function of the V2.

a good battery is the key.

i tried using a transom mount electric for a while and found myself concentrating on running the motor more than the fishing.

well worth the 600 and change for the motor and quick release plate

hope this helps
cheers

[Waxy]

Without a doubt, bowmount. It's far more practical and easy to use for the majority of fishing you'll be doing, and if you pony up for the AutoPilot and CoPilot, it's about as good as it gets when it comes to boat control.

For tougher conditions or higher speed trolling, your main motor is more than capable of picking up the slack.

Waxy

Well, I'm sure glad that I didn't waste the money on a transom mount. With winter just around the corner, I can take the time to shop around and mount a bow mount motor. Thanks for the advise guys.