trolling motor comparison

Question
My dad's in his 70s and still fishes on the lake he grew up on in northern MN--about a quarter mile wide and 3/4 mile long.  He still uses a 1 3/4 horse Johnson motor that's 40+ years old, but it's getting a bit balky and putting it on and off the boat is getting a little tricky for him.  I'm thinking about getting him a trolling motor to make this all easier for him but would like to know whether (or what size) trolling motor would be needed to push his 14 foot aluminum rowboat with a couple people and a few fishing poles up the lake as fast as the old Johnson motor does.  fishing trips aren't more than a couple hours and if weather is bad, he doesn't, but if a trolling motor could function as well as the old Johnson, it'd be good to know.

Answer
Is it possible to repair the old Johnson?  If it is I would suggest your doing so.  If he has been using that motor for 40+ years I doubt a  fancy trolling motor would satisfy him.  Make sure you ask him about this.  I may be completely wrong and he might be quite happy to use a trolling motor after all.

You will need a pretty strong motor  to equal that 1 3/4 gas motor.  I would suggest one with at least 40 pounds thrust.  It may depend on your dad what would be best.  If he likes to work with his hands free get him one with foot control.  If he is used to simply using his gas motor to get him up lake and then does his fishing using a paddle to move around to fish, then a simple hand held transom mount motor will be fine.   Remember it isn't you who is going to be the one who uses the motor so make sure it suits him.

Whichever he seems to like best buy him the simplest one you can get.  I have used  several kinds including one that uses a compass and electronics to keep the boat on a pre set course.  It has a motor control that turns the shaft to guide the motor.  It was great when I first  got it but about a year later I began having trouble with the control unit.    I sent it back to the factory and they repaired it and it worked fine for a little less than a year and began acting up again.   I  couldn't send it back free this time   so from then on I had to use it in manual control.  Not long later the manual control went out and I had to completely rebuild a set of switches to   operate it.   While it works it is a nescience to have to hit the right switches for just the right amount of time to go in anything like a straight line.  Unless your dad likes to redo his equipment I recommend something simpler.  I am now using an older one that I rebuilt and it works better than all the fancy electronic stuff.  I am an electrician but know very little about electronics.

If your dad has to sometimes work against strong winds winds one way or the other make sure you get  a motor strong enough.  It might even be smart to get a 24 volt system which can maintain speed for longer than a 12 volt system.   Also get at least 105-115 Ampere hour batteries.  Not only will they do a better job running the motor they will take more charges than a smaller battery.  I would say you should expect to spend at least $300 for a motor and $75-100 each for the batteries.  This should last him for several years and while lifting batteries is as bad as hefting the gas motor  maybe you can leave the batteries and motor  on the boat using some kind of lock.  There are batteries for both.  Also, when you mount the motor whether it be on the bow or on the transom locate the batteries on either side of the centerline and near the center of the boat fore and aft.  Most people put all the batteries along with gas cans in the very back of the boat making it badly unbalanced.  Most new factory rigged boats have the heavy thing distributed about the boat to get best trim.

I might suggest that you go to www.Lake-Link.com and check the Trading Post.  You might find just what you want from someone who wants to get rid of it.  Of course you might try E-Bay.  Look in a Bas Pro catalog  and decide on just what you want then look for it on E-Bay.  You might get it for a good price.  Otherwise Bass Pro shops is likely to be the best bet unless you know a dealer locally who will give you a good deal.

This is about all I can do for you without knowing more details on what size and kind of boat, a bit about your father and how much you are willing to pay.  Not to me the pay but to a supplier.  You don't need pay me anything.   My service is out of love of fishing and helping anyone who needs help fishing.  Thank you for calling me to answer your question.  If you have further and more specific questions please don't hesitate to call on me.

I am
Jack L. Gaither  (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia.