I been thinking of upgrading my electric motor and was curious to what thrust everyone is running
I have a 22 foot crestliner and the wind really pushes the front of it around currently I'm running 50lbs
I would really appreciate some input thank you
I have a 55 lb on my 17.5' Tracker and it seems to work fine. I bet a 65-70 lb would be good for you.
(05-25-2021, 10:39 AM)bone8 Wrote: [ -> ]I been thinking of upgrading my electric motor and was curious to what thrust everyone is running
I have a 22 foot crestliner and the wind really pushes the front of it around currently I'm running 50lbs
I would really appreciate some input thank you
I'm using a Minn Kota PowerDrive V2 (24 vdc/70 lb thrust) on a ThunderJet Explorer 185 (18.5' length) and it handles my boat just fine.
You can never have to much thrust on your front! The only limiting factor would be do you havw space for the batteries. I have a 18 ft Skeeter 1850DV which has NO space for a third battery, otherwise I would have a 105Lb thrust mtr. Also, don't skimp on shaft length. If you can find it, a 72, inch shaft or at least a 60 inch. With the wind that we deal with around here, you can always use the xtra power and shaft length! ( the longer shaft keeps the head of the mtr in the water when you are bobbing in the waves!)
At least 24 volt, minimum, longer battery life, 36 volt if you have the battery space, last even longer, I would go as big as your boat and pocket book can afford,
I have the same Minn Kota (70 lb, 24 volt) as Dubob on my Lund 1775 Adventure and its barely enough some days. In a 15 mph wind the motor runs 80% to 90% power to maintain .7 mph.
I agree on getting the longest shaft that will fit in your boat, in 2 ft of chop my motor sucks air and looses most forward momentum.
Despite the occasional shortcoming of my Minn Kota I really like it. I spent 12 hours trolling at Willard, spread over three days, and didn't run the batteries dead.
I have an 18' Smokercraft and I use a 24V 80# thrust with a 60" shaft. It is an older unit now, but I love how that thing can keep me safe and going in the roughest winds.
(05-25-2021, 06:48 PM)thatchergreg Wrote: [ -> ]I have the same Minn Kota (70 lb, 24 volt) as Dubob on my Lund 1775 Adventure and its barely enough some days. In a 15 mph wind the motor runs 80% to 90% power to maintain .7 mph.
I agree on getting the longest shaft that will fit in your boat, in 2 ft of chop my motor sucks air and looses most forward momentum.
Despite the occasional shortcoming of my Minn Kota I really like it. I spent 12 hours trolling at Willard, spread over three days, and didn't run the batteries dead.
The difference between you and I is that I will come off the water when the wind gets much over 10 mph. 
That ThunderJet just has too much surface area to control in the wind and all my time is focused on steering the boat. Trying to fish in it is a royal PITA. I do have the 60" shaft on my boat. Battery life for me usually runs anywhere from 6 to 7 hours. I use AC Delco AGM Group 24 as that is all the bigger my battery box will carry. I'd love to have lithium ion, but at almost a grand a pop, that's a little rich for my blood.
I have a 20' maxum fiberglass boat and currently have a Minn Kota fortrex 24V 80lb thrust with a 52" shaft but I may be switching to the ulterra soon. I didn't have room for a starting battery and 2 trolling batteries so they just did a battery box. At first it was in the way but after I got used to it, I don't find it bothers me.
I have an 18' ProCraft and I use a 24V 80# thrust with a 60" shaft.