BigBendFishing.Net

Hey guys,

I'm looking at putting a trolling motor on my 17' Key West, looking at a Minn Kota Riptide SE. I think I've figured out I'll need 55lb thrust or better, but am not sure about the length of shaft. Anybody got any advice?

I had a 55 on a 17 foot boat and was not enough. Go with the longer shaft, you want regret it. Just my opinion.

A 55lb on 17' KW might be a little to small, 70 or 80 would be better, this requires 2 batteries though and that might not be an option. A 55 would work but in heavy current or wind you are not going to go very fast. Fast for TM is 3.5 mph so not very fast is 1mph or less.

Get the boat on the water and measure from the top of the deck to the water line and add 24" at least to get the length you want. If you go to short when waves/wake come the motor will breach the surface and make all kinds of noise. MK recommends the motor be at least 12" below the surface.

Thanks for the advice. Think I'll go a little bigger.

My KW has a Riptide SP 70# and it handles reasonable current and wind, that is a 24 volt system. Check on the Key West Boats owner forum, it is handled by KWB and there is a good group of folks involved including several factory mgt. people so they can give some good advice on the shaft size and thrust issue for your specific hull.

http://www.keywestboatsforum.com/

70 or 80 pound I-pilot would be your best bet. It has autopilot and cruise to control speed. This gives you mobility and hands free in the boat to tie hooks, take off fish or anything else.

When we were in the market for a trolling motor, the folks on this forum were very helpful. We had to go with the 100 pound thrust. Someone recommended the I-pilot route and we are so glad we went with that feature instead of the autopilot. It has an anchor mode. Great when you hit just the right spot and want to anchor up and fish. We use it all the time.