Thursday, January 19, 2012

50 lb Thrust Motor on a Intex Excursion?

I am going to buy an Intex Excursion inflatable boat. On average I'll have about 400 lbs on the boat although at times I may have up to 700 lbs onboard. What size motor would be sufficient to travel at a decent, non-crawling speed? It's solelyI was thinking of getting a 50 lb thrust Minn-Kota. There's 30lb and 40lb also for sale, the 30lb is significantly less money. Thanks!50 lb Thrust Motor on a Intex Excursion?
just as a reference, 100 lbs of thrust is about equal to what 1 hp can produce.

trolling motors, even on very light vessels with little drag resistance and a fresh strong battery will never push you at much more then 3 or 4 mphs.



having used nothing but trolling motors before myself, on a lake, even the 30 would be be able to push you about 1 mile in 10-20 minutes, depending on wind. 50 would definetly be more effective when the wind is against you, but wouldnt greatly change your speed and travel time otherwise.



however, on creeks and rivers, i would want more rather then less. you got current to fight, and especially if going on a weakened by the trip down current trip back upstream, you will NEED power to overcome the current and still move up river.



a 2.5 mercury outboard brand new runs about $750. that would have teh rough equivilant power of FIVE 50 lb thrust trolling motors at full throttle.

it would burn small amounts of gas and need more maintence then the trolling motor, but it wont eat deep cycle batteries, and can last 30+ years if properly maintained.

some models of inflatable rafts can be used with SMALL outboards just as easily as they can be used with trolling motors. and scanoes, which cant be popped, are canoes with a flat rear end meant for mounting a small motor of some sort.

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