190 MONTAUK Transom-mount Trolling Motor
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:45 am
Q1: based on your first-hand experience, will using a Minn Kota 55-lbs-thrust 12-Volt electric trolling motor mounted on the transom of a 190 MONTAUK give sufficient control of the boat?
BACK STORY: I have a 2008 Montauk 190 whose chief use in the summer is trot-lining for crabs. I live along the Chesapeake Bay. Trot-lining is a two-man job: one crew pilots, the other screw scoops crabs from the trotline. A key to the operation is holding a straight course when deploying the trotline and then holding a course beside the line when scooping. I can't do it alone - I've tried and it's a comedy of errors. And even with two people, a 10-knot wind can make holding course challenging. The Montauk with its wide deck is a bit of a kite.
I can't always find a crabbing partner, though bribing my kids works about half the time. I'd like to crab solo. I'm considering a trolling motor mounted in the starboard side of the transom. Folks on a crabbing forum I frequent have urged me to buy a 14-foot Jon boat instead. I'm still exploring the trolling motor.
The 190 MONTAUK boat weight including fuel and gear is estimated to be 3,000-lbs. This is not much over the recommendation for a 55 -lbs-thrust electric trolling motor. Minn Kita estimates for every 2-lbs thrust a motor has, that motorit will be able to move around 100-lbs of boat weight. On that basis a 55-lbs-thrust motor should move 2,750-lbs of boat.
I figure my total boat weight is 3,000-lbs and a 55-lbs-thrust motor should be okay, as long as I don't try to move at a boat speed of 5-nautical-miles-per-hour all the time. A 55-lbs-thrust motor can operate from 12-Volts. More powerful motors need more battery voltage.
BACK STORY: I have a 2008 Montauk 190 whose chief use in the summer is trot-lining for crabs. I live along the Chesapeake Bay. Trot-lining is a two-man job: one crew pilots, the other screw scoops crabs from the trotline. A key to the operation is holding a straight course when deploying the trotline and then holding a course beside the line when scooping. I can't do it alone - I've tried and it's a comedy of errors. And even with two people, a 10-knot wind can make holding course challenging. The Montauk with its wide deck is a bit of a kite.
I can't always find a crabbing partner, though bribing my kids works about half the time. I'd like to crab solo. I'm considering a trolling motor mounted in the starboard side of the transom. Folks on a crabbing forum I frequent have urged me to buy a 14-foot Jon boat instead. I'm still exploring the trolling motor.
The 190 MONTAUK boat weight including fuel and gear is estimated to be 3,000-lbs. This is not much over the recommendation for a 55 -lbs-thrust electric trolling motor. Minn Kita estimates for every 2-lbs thrust a motor has, that motorit will be able to move around 100-lbs of boat weight. On that basis a 55-lbs-thrust motor should move 2,750-lbs of boat.
I figure my total boat weight is 3,000-lbs and a 55-lbs-thrust motor should be okay, as long as I don't try to move at a boat speed of 5-nautical-miles-per-hour all the time. A 55-lbs-thrust motor can operate from 12-Volts. More powerful motors need more battery voltage.