Porta bote trolling motor

[Bev & Billy on Sta-sea-dawn]

hey.....I have the 10' portabote....does anyone have a saltwater trolling motor on there's. I am wondering which size 35/45/55/65 lb. thrust will work the best...I am using as a tender mostly...some snorkeling/fishing. always in calm water.
I have a 6 hp. Tahatsu (way to fast)at the moment and at 125 lbs. post open heart surgery, I am finding difficult to put on and off the ketch to the dinghy. Would a trolling motor push the dinghy as a 3 hp. outboard motor. How would ya'll rate the push of electric to comparable outboard....ie...what outboard would compare to a 4 hp outboard?


Billy aboard Sta-sea-dawn, Pearson 365 ketch

[Jim S]

I may be incorrect but I think that 17lbs thrust equals 1/2 hp.  The 10' portabote will plane with one person and a 3.5hp Nissan outboard (but not with a Cruise-n-Carry 2.5hp).  My thought is that a trolling motor big enough to plane the 10' portabote  will requite some serious size batteries which may be as big a problem to move onto a dinghy as an outboard.  Perhaps a Torqueedo 1003?

[Dale Tanski]

Billy,

Indeed the thrust of the trolling motor is only one part of the equation, battery capacity is the issue.  Thrust is the number assigned to the motor regarding how much it will push. Think about a tug boat... lots of thrust not much speed. Trolling motors are designed to push heavy loads not get on up on plane. 

Your 6 hp Tohatsu is designed to do a little of both depending on how it is propped.  With the right prop that motor would be an excellent primary propulsion for up to a 4000 pound sailboat that will max out at around 4 to 5 knots.  Bolted on to a tin skiff, with the right prop that same motor will travel at 20+ mph on plane.  That motor by the way weighs 57 lbs in the short shaft version and 59 lbs in the extra long version if it is the 4 stroke model not quite the 125 pounds that your post surgery body is estimating.   A Tohatsu two stroke version would be approximately 75% of the weight of the 4 stroke, but for environmental reasons they are available in every country in the world but the USA.  I am a dealer for Tohatsu outboards.

Your 10 ft Fold-a-boat is rated for a 54 pound motor max.  Fold-a-boat states in their literature that it will plane with a 2hp 4 stroke with one aboard.  The Cruise-n-carry 2.5 hp mentioned may have the wrong pitch prop bolted on the shaft. It should do the trick nicely with the correct propeller.  The Torqeedo 1003 travel electric outboard is rated as an equal to a 4 hp gas fired outboard.  We have sold several of these as they are rated up to a 2500 displacement hull and only weigh 29 pounds assembled.  The racers love them because of their weight.  I say assembled weight because they come apart into 3 pieces, tiller handle, battery pack and the drive system making them easy to move about and stow.  The battery weighs 19 pounds by itself and is obviously the heaviest portion.  The unit talks to the satellites and constantly tells you how fast you are traveling, how many miles with the remaining charge you have at the current speed you can go, and how many minutes at that speed as well.  Green is never cheap. I will sell the Torqeedo 1003 Travel for the folks on this site for $1940.00, short or long shaft with the charger. 

Lehr makes a propane outboard that is air cooled which makes it light but very noisy.  We declined a Lehr dealership because there did not appear to be a parts supply/support system.  Additionally, they required us to be a servicing dealer with the necessity to prep and run every motor in a wet tank prior to release to the customer.  I took exception to this requirement as NO West marine has the ability to do either of these requirements. They receive an exemption on these requirements because they are West Marine of course.  This was not a problem as we do so with each and every Tohatsu we sell. Without a PDI (Pre Dealer Inspection) a Tohatsu outboard does not carry the 5 year warrantee so be very careful who you buy from. Internet motors are not PDI'd as you have to fill them with oil to run them and once they have oil in them they become hazardous freight so you can't afford to ship them.  We have had several customers save a few bucks buying them on line only to discover there is no warrantee.  Oh well you get what you pay for.  Oh by the way... West Marine stores in Canada are going away very very soon.  If they do not get their act together they all will be gone altogether in a few years.

Hope this helps...

Dale Tanski

[Jim S]

I think the Lehr outboards are all water cooled.

How does the Portabote row?  If I remember my experience properly, it was pretty good.

[Jim S]

A slipmate pushed his Catalina 27 into his slip this past weekend with a Minnkota 30 on a fiberglas dinghy.  He was actually pushing from the stern with his wife steering the Catalina.  They were going pretty fast down the fairway and in complete control.  My concern is that his Minnkota for fresh water would not last very long in our brackish water.

[Bev & Billy on Sta-sea-dawn]

My 10' porta boat rows easily. but need to alter oar locks.  The ones that come with the boat are aggravating

[slokat]

I was using a MinnKota all terrain 40lb thrust when on mooring in Morro Bay, it pushed my 8' fiberglass rowing dinghy with no problem & also my flat bottom jon boat. Also worked well with my 8' Avalon inflatable, loaded down with stuff and people.

Used a small trolling battery for simple trips & size 27 deep cycle if we were ferrying people (or stuff) back & forth.