Torqeedo or trolling motor?

[Caladan]

Hello all,

We just purchased a 10' Zodiac 310 Fastroller, and we are wanting some type of electrical propulsion unit for leisure sightseeing travel on small powerplant lakes and bayous with slow water. We do have a small outboard already, but we want an electrical unit for when we are traveling in our RV. We are thinking about getting a Torqeedo, but for approx. 1/3rd the price we could get a 55lb. thrust Minn Kota w/battery. I'm pretty sure that a Torqeedo will provide enough performance to do what we want, but I'm not so sure about a trolling motor.

Can anyone provide some insight/comments/deranged thoughts about the suitability of either setup for our intended purposes? Comments about trolling motor run time would be especially appreciated.

thanks again,
Caladan

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Torqeedo or trolling motor?

The cheapest torqeedo at west marine is $1700. Motor Guide 55's are on sale here for $245. And I couldn't find anywhere that said the torqeedo comes with a battery.

 

[Syzygy]

Re: Torqeedo or trolling motor?

A freind of mine bought an older Torqeedo for his RV trips and he loves it. He bought it before the newer, more powerful ones came out. Now I am considering the 3hp equivalent, which does come with a battery and looks like it would go for a long time at low to mid-throttle (enough for what I want to do with it, some lake fishing).

I found a 1003S at Defender for $1,549.00 (best price I could find) and it is more than I wanted to spend, but nothing else has it own battery and I could not find anything that was as powerful in such a small pkg (68 Lbs thrust) or that did not require a big battery (which I did not want to fuss with in my 9' West Marine dinghy).

Good luck!

 

[partskenn]

Re: Torqeedo or trolling motor?

I had a 10 ft inflatable with a 35(or 38) MinnKota. it would move it ok in the marina, but outside of the breakwall if there was any kind of breeze, or current, it was hard to tell that you were even moving. The motor was definitely easy to carry, but mine was not enough motor. My battery would last for 2 or 3 hours at anything less than full speed.