Question:
I have a Skeeter ZX225 which is a 20ft boat from ebay.
I purchased this bass boat used and it had an older 67lb Motorguide on it.
This motor will not move the boat in windy conditions.
I want to stay with Motorguide so I don't have to drill new holes for
the mount. From talking to a salesperson, they tell me the 82lb pro
series should be good enough to move my boat around. The question is,
will I be happy with this, Or should I go 36 volts to the 109lb version?
Answer:
- I have a 109 digital tour edition on my 20' Basscat and
I think its the right motor for the boat.
I run an 82 on my little 16' aluminum boat.
-I have a Skeeter 225 with a Yamaha 225 on it, and the Tour Guide 82
pound thrust. Never needed a stronger motor, but I don't fish rivers.
If I fished flowing water I would go to the 109 but if I can keep the
motor in the water it will hold the boat.
-The 109 is plenty of power for most conditions. It is NOT plenty of power
for all conditions. ALWAYS be ready to jump on the big motor to get out of
a bad situation. If its that bad don't even take the time to secure any
gear or store the TM. Just get on the big motor and move the boat.
There are good brush covered banks that I like to flip where my 109 on its
highest setting will not hold against the current much less pull against it.
I have to start upstream and backslide it using the TM to slow my drift.
There are some rockwalls I like to fish for small mouth where the 109 just
sort guides the boat at best.
I always encourage people to go bigger on their TM but then I fish a river
system where half the time we are pulling our biggest bags out of the brush
along the main river channel. I also run group 31 batteries only. I need
them.
I really think an 82 is barely adequate on a 20' boat.
All that being said, I wonder about your 67 pound motor. The reason I
wonder is because my first bass boat was a used 18' Skeeter Starfire and it
came with a dual voltage 50lb Evinrude on it. I could not pull the current
with it at all. Not even a controlled backslide most places. It was
adequate in almost all other conditions. It would hold against light wind.
Certainly against winds that were only blowing upto 10mph. Progress would
be slow on high but it would hold against a 10MPH wind. I am guessing that
either your batteries are weak, your motor is weaker than claimed (on the
sticker), or the wind is stronger than you are estimating.
As to adding another battery. I know how a lot of the local guys setup
their boats. About half are only running three batteries total for their
36V systems. They use their cranking battery as the ground battery for
their trolling motor. They also run three group 31 deep cycle marine
batteries. That is how my boat is setup, and I can run all day long. There
are a couple things I do that seem to improve things. About every three
months I switch which battery is my cranking battery. About every fourth or
fifth trip out I break out three little trickle chargers instead of using my
onboard charger. I check my batteries and keep them topped off atleast as
often as I use the trickle chargers, and I disconnect one of the jumpers
between betteries before charging
