Home Forums Fishing Freshwater need some (electric) trolling motor advice

I just sold my bass boat and am in the process of upgrading my old 14' Kingfisher. The 35 Evinrude is fine, but I need a new trolling motor. The current motor is an old motorguide foot control, but I think I want to switch to a bow mounted hand control because there really isn't enough room for the foot control and cables in the front (very small boat). The length of the motorguide is only 36" from the top of the motor to the bottom of the "skeg"......and all the bow mount trolling motors in my catalogs are WAY longer than that! The shortest I can find has a 42" shaft.....

My question......since I've never used a bow mount hand control motor, I don't know what shaft length to choose???? If I buy a new motor with a longer shaft, I'm afraid it will be too long when stowed and will be in the way.

Does a bow mounted hand control motor need a longer shaft length than a foot controlled motor???

If anyone wants to offer specific advice as to which model to look at, keep in mind, the motor MUST be a bow mount and it MUST be a 12 volt motor.

Thanks, Mark!!

I would buy as long of shaft as I could fit on the boat. Nothing worse then fishing in the wind and the trolling motor coming out of the water. I have fished both hand control and foot control motors and like the foot controls so much better because you lose fishing time by using your hands to steer the boat. Have you looked at the Minn Kota 12 volt foot control motors with the small foot pad that can be run from anywhere in the boat? Something like the power drive 40# thrust 42 inch shaft 12 volt is what I would look at to start with. It is easy to learn and easy to use and the foot control is connected to the motor with a 17 foot long thin wire so you can use it anywhere in the boat. I have used them for years and just picked up a 24 volt 70# thrust long shaft. I have had great luck with them as far as reliability and value

I recently sold my Minn Kota Maxxum 55T electric motor. This is a great motor with 55 lb of thrust and also has the maximizer technology which extends your battery life quite a bit. I'd go with the 42" shaft for your application.

Mark