Electric trolling motor

[salamander]

I have used the Military grade dry cell batteries, and they didn't take a beating like the Optima's have!

These Military Grade Dry Cells you speak of - were they Absorbed Glass Mat technology like the Optima or the Odyssey Batteries?

I assume you plug in to top your battery's charge up after heavy winching or trolling motor sessions?

[salamander]

Bearclaw

38 lbs. should move you along well; I'm pretty sure that all the Minn Kota motors with more than 35 lbs. thrust have the 36" shaft. Minn Kota recommend getting the prop at least a foot underwater.

When it comes to outboards, all that Argo specify is long shaft. It would be nice to have a little more to go on rather than trial and error.

I recommend that when you are parked on dry ground, with the prop down, you should ideally still have 6"-12" of shaft above the motor mount left to lower the prop depending on how high the back end is floating.

Good price on that motor by the way.

[GREASEMONKEY]

These Military Grade Dry Cells you speak of - were they Absorbed Glass Mat technology like the Optima or the Odyssey Batteries?

I was talking of the odyssey battery, they suck!
I had a bad run in with them on a few fire trucks at work!

I assume you plug in to top your battery's charge up after heavy winching or trolling motor sessions?

I keep it on a 1.5A battery maintainer.
Vector 2 Amp Float Mode - Smart Battery Maintainer - VEC080 : Hechinger
When I'm out & about during hunting season I just let it run for a while at high idle to recharge the battery! They Bigfoot's 20A charging system is plenty adequate for that.

[salamander]

Wow!

Thanks for posting them details Greasemonkey. I was warming up to the idea of the Odyssey's and the sales pitch they give, but I will take your experience as a lesson not worth learning myself.

[bearclaw46]

Battery maintainer, what's that??

Hey guys, enjoying all this battery talk. What's a battery maintainer?? Where do you get these maintainers at and what do they do?? Also, do you guys run a battery in the back of your Argo just for the trolling motor?? OR are you running your trolling motor from your Argo battery??? I haven't even unboxed my Minn Kota yet, so don't know how the wiring hooks up. Probably won't unveil it until I venture forth with the Argo again in late June or July. If you run it from your Argo motor, is the wiring a complex issue or does it just plug into a 12 volt cig lighter outlet?? or just hook up 2 wires to the Argo battery??

Thanks for the info Salamander and Greasemonkey. It's always wise to listen to other folks instead of learning thru the school of hard knocks and price ventures.

Dennis

[trebmaster]

I use a seperate battery for my trolling motor

[bearclaw46]

Trebmaster

I would think this would be what most folks do esp for us Frontier owners in that it helps balance the Argo a bit better in the water with all the front end weight. I like the idea of using the Argo battery though. It could be charging when you need it.

Dennis

[artist1018]

I extended the wires on my trolling motor with a set of heavy duty jumper cables & connect directly to my Conquest battery. I run "silent" when fishing & have had zero problems with my battery re-starting my Argo after an hour to hour & 1/2 of fishing. (I don't run the trolling motor non-stop for that whole time).

[tracmaster]

Here are some pics of my setup..8 gauge wire available at Lowes.. one 40 amp breaker available at cabelas..Twist conector from Marinco..available at cabelas.. and one optima yellow top under the seat.

tracmaster - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Tracmaster

[bearclaw46]

Transom mount

I'm about ready to buy my transom mount from Argo. Greasemonkey suggested putting a 2x4 between the inner and outer body of the transom mount. He said it was pretty flimsy. Sounds reasonable to me. Anyone else do this?? What's the max weight these things will hold out of the box??

[RKlingborg]

Havent looked back at what year greasemonkey's Argo is but the new mount I got mount to the side of the tow hitch and around the body. So mines realy sturdy.

[salamander]

Outboard side mount - ROCK SOLID

I went with the side mount so I could still use the tow hitch on the water. In addition to two bolts through the tow hitch and into the chassis, four 3/8 inch hex bolts fasten the upper end of the side mount through the lip where the upper and lower body meet. Far as weight capacity goes; feels as solid as the tow hitch itself. I had to modify the mount with some extra plywood to get everything fitting just right with the pontoon and hitch rack, almost there. Planning on getting photos up of the evolving setup soon.

[EWS]

Electric Trolling Motor

I tried a 30 lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor on my Argo Avenger and found that it woud push the argo about the same speed as the tires when used on the highest setting. I decided that I needed a motor with a longer shaft and a bit more thrust so I bought a Minn Kota (Endura model) 46 lb thrust with a 36 in shaft compared to the 30 in shaft on the 30 lb model. It would move the argo half as fast again as the 30 lb model. I am not sure about battery drain because I only used it for about 2 hours. I am going to invest in a good deep cycle battery because I am planning on using the motor alot.
If any of you guys are thinking about buying an electric trolling motor, you can't go wrong with this model.

Ride Safe

[tracmaster]

Still say anything under 40lbs is Ok...but you better check amp draw if you go bigger...anything over 40 sucks big juice....My favorite setup has been the same for 10 years and i never had a problem...Yellow top deep cycle battery w/cuircut breaker..rear mounted plug and a 30 lb trolling motor...I fish all day and have never had probems starting my motor..and the plus is it charges everytime the motor is running....Forget the big motor and spare batteries...SLOW DOWN!! it's dangerous to speed on water!

Tracmaster

[EWS]

Optima battery

Tracmaster;

You are correct on the 30 lb thrust model. It will propel the argo fast enough but I found that I needed more depth and the only model available at the time of purchase in the 36 in. shaft length was the 46 lb thrust model. Most of the time I set it on the # 3 setting. I know that it will draws more amps that's why I am going with the Optima battery.I measured the battery compartment on my argo today and it seems to be a really tight fit. The specs on the Optima D34 is 10 in.length, 6.8 in wide,7.8 in height. Is this the battery that you have in your Avenger? Is it a tight fit?

Ride Safely

EWS