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Soon to be getting my new 19' Kenner and was hoping to get some opinion's on a bow mounted trolling motor (i.e. Brand, lb. trust, tiller or foot control). Thanks in advance. AC

I would say at least a 24v 80# thrust, minn kota riptide, not a foot control for saltwater. The autopilot or copilot ones both look nice, but a stick steer is fine, it just depends on how deep your pockets are. I dont know how heavy your boat is, but a 36volt, larger thrust model might be called for.

Being a forgiving fella, Ill help you out on this one, even though you dissed my Gators and called me arrogant. The Minn Kota , Rip Tide series is superior to all others. Trust me, Ive had em all. Im the dummy that buys cheap first then sells that one and buys the better motor. The Motor Guides Ive had in the past werent as strong, pound for pound and dang sure werent as reliable. Trust me, go for the Minn Kota. In the 19 ft Kenner, you may want to consider going with a 36volt system as I had the Vision 1800 with a 24 volt 71lb and it wouldnt hold the boat steady in a strong current. Good luck.

Thanks for the info BB. I was only cuttin up with you, some of my good friends are Gator fans and we've always got along great. I had to give you a hard time it's what UGA fans & UF fans do for one another.

I have used both and both have been good to me, if you practice good preventive maintenance most things will take care of you...I ran a freshwater Motorguide forever out of Econfina

I recently chatted with a few folks (one that fishes the redfish tour) and we discussed trolling motors...The new Motorguides come highly rated by some...Only thing I dislike on a motorguide is the metal shaft.

Some drive Chevy's and some drive the superior Ford's ...Choose your weapon.

I'm currently running a Riptide with a compact mount, so far no complaints.

creech wrote:Soon to be getting my new 19' Kenner and was hoping to get some opinion's on a bow mounted trolling motor (i.e. Brand, lb. trust, tiller or foot control). Thanks in advance. AC

wHERE YOU GETTING YOUR kENNER?

I bought a Motorguide SW75 60" shaft for my bay boat a couple weeks ago and love it so far. I had heard good things about the new Motorguide wireless series and eventually decided to try one. At $300 less than the comparable Minn-Kota I couldn't resist. I got the motor, a spare prop, and a handheld remote for around $900 out the door. The Motorguide also comes with the quick release bracket, a $75 accessory for the Minn-Kota. I took it out and tried it for the first time Memorial Day weekend. It pulled my 20' bay boat great into a 1' chop and 15-20 knot headwind. I've always been a Minn-Kota fan, but think they need to get a little more competitive on their prices. The new Digital Wireless motors from Motorguide also have composite shafts.

Nathan

creech wrote:Thanks for the info BB. I was only cuttin up with you, some of my good friends are Gator fans and we've always got along great. I had to give you a hard time it's what UGA fans & UF fans do for one another.

Thats a big 10-4. I am like most Gator fans, we gloat when we win and pout when we dont!! Maybe we can get together and have a "cocktail party" of our own. A little competitive gator/dawg fishin!!!!

Hit-N-Miss, I found a place in north east Alabama (Guntersville Boat Mart) that clams to be the largest Kenner dealer in the south east. They beat everyone around here by roughly $3,000. I like to buy locally when possible but I have no problem driving 5 hours to save $3000.

BB, that sounds like a good time in the making. Name the time and place and I'm there, hell I'll even bring the "cocktails" just name your poison.

i have a 21' Kenner and a 24v Riptide saltwater
It does a fine job,I have the onboard battery charger so i just plug it up the night before and its always ready.

Have you bought it yet? What did you get it for? I talked to the same place. Was it white and the only one?

I haven't picked it up yet. It is white but not the only one as far as I know. Boat, motor & trailer are all new (2007).

I put a 24V 82# Motorguide on my 22' Bay Runner and have had good service out of it so far. The design and componants are what swayed me, not as plastic in the motor guide.

I Really like my minnkota riptide, the only complaint I have is the release mechanism, which I see has been redesigned on the 07 models, mine is the foot steer model but it does have the autopilot which I really like.

24v 80lb thrust pulls my 22' Pathfinder around w/o a problem. Which ever brand you decide (get the Minn Kota btw) a 24v system should handle you needs.