Re: minn kota help?
I know of someone who tried that with a 28# Evinrude and there was no way a casual grip would hold the prop. He suffered a severe laceration. I have a 12 volt starter motor for my radio controlled airplanes and (although it operates on 24 volts) it will burn your hand if try to stall it. That motor is much smaller than a troller. That said, if you started on the lowest setting and continued to hold it that may be normal. MinnKota motors also have a soft-start feature so even if the motor is set on 10 it has slow start so you are not jerked off your feet. Stalling the prop apparently prevents full power from engaging.
With the motor off, turn the prop by hand. It should turn with a slight jerkiness as that's the effect of the armature rotating past the magnets. However, the motor should not be difficult to turn. You might also remove the prop to check for fish line or other debris wrapped tightly around the shaft. That can cause drag on the motor which results in it drawing much more current than normal -- hence the quicker draw down of the batteries. two batteries in parallel doesn't make the motor more powerful. It just means the motor will have a longer run time. Sort of like having two 10 gallon fuel tanks vs one. No more power but longer run time.
