Minn Kota Features And What To Look For
Minn Kota trolling motors are possibly the leading propulsion units on the market today but what makes them stand out from the competition?
Minn Kota has worked with anglers and boaters for a long time, getting ideas and finding out from the people who actually use their trolling motors what it is that they want from these outboards.
An overriding concern was that they produce a trolling motor for a variety of purposes, size of boat and usability. The last thing you want is a fiddly control mechanism when you are try to keep over the fish. The Minn Kota trolling motor therefore is an easy to use, robust design that will do what you need it to when you need it to.
There are many things to consider when purchasing an electric trolling motor and here are some of the main ones.
Size of your boat.
Obviously the bigger the boat the more power it will take to manoeuvre it so Minn Kota produce motors in a range of thrust levels from Endura Classic 28 with a mere 28lbs to the Riptide 101 with surprisingly enough 101lbs of thrust. All electric motors will get your boat up to around 5 mph but to do this quickly and efficiently requires the motor to be sized correctly.
How much thrust do you need?
To figure out what thrust you need for your boat you have to do a liitle calculation. A rough guide is 5lbs of thrust for every 200lb of load, so for example a 1500lb boat with a payload capacity of 1200lbs will need around 67/68lbs of thrust (1500 + 1200/5=67.5)
Freshwater or salt
The Minn Kota comes in 2 basic flavors, freshwater or salt. You can use a freshwater trolling motor in saltwater but it will invalidate your warranty and if not washed thoroughly with fresh water damage may occur. Play safe, don’t do it.
Shaft length
Before buying your motor gauge the length of shaft that is required to properly position the motor in the water. To do this is fairly straightforward and means you need the height of the fixing plate from the water plus 9 inches (depth of motor in the water), add a further 5 inches to allow for rough water and another 12 inches for hand steering whilst standing up.
Digital Maximizer.
This innovation will let your get up to 5 times more run time on a single charge. The electronic speed control does away with traditional speed coils which waste battery power and cause heating effects which are undesirable. By rapidly turning the power on and off the Maximizer prolongs the life of the battery, runs cooler and lets you carry on trolling when the others have turned for home.
Cool quiet power
Minn Kota’s oversized motor windings mean that these trolling motors run cooler for longer, letting you fish for longer. The patented design also reduces noise so you do not have the fish scaring noises that some othe rmotors produce.
Weedless wedge propellers
Some of the best fish like to hang out in the weediest places but with the Weedless Wedge that does not have to mean they are out of reach. A cleverly designed swept back and flaired prop that can push away the weed without draining the battery or overheating the trolling motor.
