Friday, November 4, 2016

[Electric Boats] Speed of Trolling Motors

 

I have experience with three different trolling motors, C2 Endura 30, C2 Endrua 55 from Minn-Kota and the Outsunny 50 (a Chinese knock off of the Motor Guide 50).
 
Both Minn Kota motors had a stock prop pitch of 4" and a top RPM of 1500, so both yielded about the same top speed 3.5 – 3.8 mph on calm water, no wind. pushing a 17 foot canoe with batteries and solar panels.
 
Power consumption was about 28 Amps at 12.5v for the 30# and 40 amps at 12.5v for the 50#
 
By adding an after market prop from Kipawa to the Minn-Kota motors the speed stayed the same with the 30# (3.6-3.8mph) but I was able to get an extra 0.75 mph from the 55# (4.5 mph) and the power consumption dropped to about 36 Amps at 12.5v.
 
The Kipawa prop has a larger surface area for the prop with a five inch of pitch.
Kipawa didn't have a prop to fit the Outsunny model.
 
All of these items are for sale on Amazon.com so they can be researched there.   If you use these trolling motors for primary propulsion, keep an extra around.  They do tend to go "poof" with no warning.  If you add the Kipawa prop, keep your spare handy.  They do tend to unscrew themselves if run in reverse through mud, sticks and gravel.
 
Thanks,
 
Ken Cooke
Kentucky River USA
 
Sent: Friday, November 4, 2016 2:25 PM
Subject: RE: [Electric Boats] Re: New member
 
 

"They say the higher the thrust the faster the boat goes"   - That is a correct statement, but it is only part of the story.  If the motor can't go any faster, you can't go any faster even if the motor isn't producing its max power.  Trolling motors are designed to push a heavy load slowly.  If you put a trolling motor on a light boat, it still can't go much faster because the prop pitch is wrong.  Think of it like a heavy duty road grader.  They have motors that produce thousands of horsepower, but they can't go fast.  If you want to go fast, you need a different transmission which serves the same purpose as varying prop pitches on a boat – maximize the power delivery at a desired speed. 

Pat

From: electricboats@yahoogroups.com [mailto:electricboats@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2016 10:03 AM
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Re: New member

 

Hi Curtis, thank you for the response.

Check out Newport vessels boat speed/thrust table. They say the higher the thrust the faster the boat goes....unlike Minn-Kota and others who say speed is not tied in with thrust. I don't know how Newport Vessels achieves the varying boat speeds amongst their various thrust choices.....higher rpms? Different blade pitches? Am interested in your experiments...let me know how things go.

Bruce

Sent from my iPad


On Nov 3, 2016, at 6:42 AM, cpcanoesailor@yahoo.ca [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Welcome Bruce,

I'm interested in improving the hydrodynamic efficiency of trolling motors as well as electrical efficiency. I have plans to experiment with different props and to build a wing to enclose the motor shaft. Also, PWM control, and capsize-proofing the whole propulsion system. So please keep us up to date, and feel free to ask questions.

Curtis

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Posted by: "Ken Cooke" <ken.cooke@canewoods.com>
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