Electric Motor

[Scope]

G'day - Looking for a bow mount electric for my tinny (4.3) Just wondering what everyone's opinion is on a brand/model that would be suitable... And probably a battery to match as I have no idea??

And secondly - is it possible to by an electric where the shaft is too short?? i.e - are they adjustable

Thirdly - Are there models that are not suitable for saltwater?

I know its alot but if I could get some opinions from people who know what they're talking about that'd be great....

Thanks - Jono

[Scope]

Also what is the go with the release brackets??

[AngryBundyBear]

mate where's the pics of your boat?

[Scope]

haha don't have any at the moment mate- I'll show you this week sometime..

[Zim man]

Scope wrote:

G'day - Looking for a bow mount electric for my tinny (4.3) Just wondering what everyone's opinion is on a brand/model that would be suitable... And probably a battery to match as I have no idea??

And secondly - is it possible to by an electric where the shaft is too short?? i.e - are they adjustable

Thirdly - Are there models that are not suitable for saltwater?

I know its alot but if I could get some opinions from people who know what they're talking about that's be great....

Thanks - Jono

Hi Jono

my rig has the 55lb minn kota . 2 volt. Minn kotas are the most expensive then motorguide follwed by jarvis walker. The jarvis walkers are made at the sme factory as the motorguides and i have been told that their aftersales service is really good as well. I would say grab a jarvis watersnake or look around for a good second hand minn kota.

Some models are only made for freshwater, if you look at the minn kota website and jarvis walker websites they state which is better for which type. You can adjust the shaft to suit your boat and you can get long shaft versions i think.

cheers

rob

[Scope]

Cheers Rob, thinking may have to go watersnake for the price... just gotta decide yet

[Davo_Dinkum]

i got a jarvis walker watersnake .rear mount .

it a 55 lb fresh water 1 ,its a long shaft .

had no troubles with it .

lost a prop and nut .

sent a email off to jarvis walker ,they answered quick with cost etc .

i use it in the salt about 10 times now and had it a year and a bit .

i just give it a good bath after salt use .

its not showing any signs of corrosion etc .

[crazywalrus]

I have a watersnake 55lb. I am pretty happy with it. It does not have a quick release bracket on it so it is permanently fitted unless you build it into the mounting bracket. The only issue i have found is that you need to disconnect the battery to charge it as the motor seems to make the circuit and it does not charge for long. Also you need to slide down the height lock setting nut down against the pivot bracket each time you move around using the petrol or transport the boat as the it regularly lets go and drops the motor into the water at high speed when you hit a wave. Mine is a little out of balance but i do not know that i may have caused that by hitting stumps.

I have not used the warranty support however when I was at Monduran between Xmas and new year a guy had his board fry on it. He rang the warranty support and they fly a new board to Bundaberg for them the next day so they could carry on with their trip. Can not argue about that service.

All that said and done if I had my time around again I probably would get a minn cotta as i think in the long run they will turn out to be more durable. We will see. Price is always this main consideration.

anyway good luck.

[dassa]

Hey Jono

Mate I got my self a 55lb minn kota with a 54inch shaft and the shaft can adjusted to suit what depth you need.There are salt water and fresh water models in the range in my opion they are the best value for money.There are pro's and con's with all marine electrics around salt water but I would recomend somthing with a good rep then you can't go past the minn kota.

If there is any problems under warranty all repairs are done here in brisbane where others have to be sent way for repairs.

cheers dassa

[craige1983]

Hey mate, just to throw my 2 bob in, I have a bow mount 54lb watersnake and a 40lb transom mount minn kota, I have found that when both motors are run continuosly at full speed the watersnake last no near the amount of time as the minn kota and with the minn kota I get just under 2 hours. Aswell with the bowmount watersnakes are pretty noisey when turning where the minn kota's are alot more quiet, so the question is do want be quiet and stealthy with a more efficient motor, or go towards the more budget motor (which still gets the job done for me) with a bit more noise and less efficient on battery power.

Ps. the minn kota props don't shatter unlike my water snake prop did last week

[crazywalrus]

agree with the noise as as you turn them.

[Scope]

Thanks heaps for all the replies. Its a bit to think about as its gonna be a slightly hefty investment. I don't suppose there are too many second hand minn-kotas for sale that aren't attached to boats. Will have to keep an eye out.

[dassa]

Just one more thing if you need a plate welded for the bowmont I have a phone number of a guy a ipswich that does a first class job

[crazywalrus]

Jono - one more thing - you asked if u can get a motor with a shaft to small. I can not remember the one I bought but it was only just long enough for my brothers boat. My boat is not as deep and it is great. In waves if not long enough the motor will come out of the water and will cavatate. just my two bobs worth.

[nadders]

have a 44lb watersnake sw-dr on my 4.45 rig. can't complain, with a 100ah AGM Deep cycle i get a full days fishing out of it no worries. don't know what you mean about the height adjustment or it dumping into the water at high speed crazywalrus ive never had an issue like that.

used in the salt very often, only issue i had was one spring in the foot controls broke which i fixed by adapting a spring inside a biro

i much prefer the watersnake foot control to the kota one

they make a bit of noise on the turn but i don't believe its a huge impact. things like leaving the sounder turned on spooks way more fish imo

[Scope]

Cheers again guys. The reason I was asking about the length is that the hull I have is fairly deep. Reckon the WS looks like the go. I noticed they have a few models too, any one of them better or worse?

[crazywalrus]

When i bought mine I did find some reference to them on the net letting go. Mine does it all the time but easy to fix by dropping the height adjustment when u put the motor up. As I said I am happy with it.

[Dusky]

I have a 4.5m Quintrex, I'm using a 54lb Watersnake, it's about 3 years old now , one of the first models and showing signs of corrosion, but in saying that the new Watersnake SWRT's look pretty good, they have extra sacraficial anodes to prevent corrosion and they also have a hand held remote with them for about $900, I find the 54lb good enough to get the boat around, top speed of about 4 > 5 knots at full charge on a 100 amp hour gel battery, which lasts me nearly all day, with fairly constant use.

The noise in the turning of them can be negated by using a good amount of marine grease on the shaft and collar, its the friction between the rubber seal and the plastic collar that does it.

The mounting plates are either hard plastic around $40 or metal which are around $100, they are desigened so you can remove the electric motor off your boat without undoing the actual mounts. Better for security when your on holidays etc,.

Hope this helps you a bit mate, Cheers.

[Scope]

Thanks again for all the input guys. Much appreciated