Doing the Math: Pontoon /Minn Kota /Clack

B
bernduffy
0
Planning a little trip, which is always an amusing jumble of miscalculations. So....get out your slide rules. You young whippersnappers take out your whizzbang calculator thingies.
If I put my 9 foot pontoon in at Barton and drift to Carver and use a Minn Kota 55 to power back to Barton: with moderate current flow, can I expect 3 mph which means approx 110 minutes to cover the 5.5 mile trip? Obviously, I'd get a reading of conditions as I drift down and would adjust accordingly for the trip back up.
What's the sweet spot on a Minn Kota for a balance of power and endurance? Don't want to empty the battery in sight of the Barton Bridge...
I know there are lots of variables (wind, weight, toon diameter, etc) but I'm just looking for a ball park estimate so I can figure when to head back. My "problem" is I love fishing so much, I can't stop casting..even as the sun goes down.... Please help me stay out of trouble with the wife and local authorities.
(As if my wife wasn't THE local authority...)
One more cast...
Bernie
 
What battery are you using?
I am using a costco deep charge group 27 and I can get about 10 to 12 miles using the number 3 setting.
 
I am getting a deep cycle to replace the old battery. The costco works well? Did you mean 10-12 miles at approx 3mph at the 3 setting? Or 10-12mph? Obviously, if I leave early enough and have the whole day, none of these calculations are all that important. But I know myself: I never leave early enough and always stay out longer than I should. So figuring the powered upstream time is what I'm trying to get a handle on.
Thanks for the info. Hope to (figuratively) run into you on the river.
Bernie
 
By the way, do you have a preferred shaft length for the minn kota?
 
I have three years on my oldest Costco battery.
I also have a 55 lb thrust Minn Kota
I should said that I go 10-12 miles in length on the number 3 setting on the speed control.
I used the shortest shaft that I can.
I do carry two Costco group 27 so I can stay out all day-they run with $72 with a core-$9 more if you don't have a dead core to turn in.
 
You're just joking around, Right?
You're never going to get back from carver to barton with an electric motor on a toon.
That is, unless you plan on doing a lot of walking and carrying your toon+motor+battery+gear.
At very least you will have to carry your pontoon up each section of riffles and fast water and you might be able to go back up some of the slower spots with the motor. But that leaves you with a lot of walking.

to see anything close to the 3 knots against current you'd have to be rowing upstream like an absolute madman while your kicker is running full blast, except in the slowest spots.

With a prop motor - either gas or electric - you cannot safely navigate this river going upstream from carver to barton. You need a jet for upstream travel.
You can drift downstream and use the electric motor to more thoroughly cover each hole and slot on the way by but that's about it..

Arrange for a shuttle service that way your rig will be waiting for you at the bottom of the drift when you get there.
 
I Agree with Osmosis... when I got my toon I was excited to get a motor to avoid the need for a shuttle, but without a jet you will not be going anywhere upstream.
My toon is just a little too heavy to portage by myself, even with the wheel I have setup. and have yet to find a way upstream (even on smaller rivers) without all the added weight from an engine/battery
I would use the minnkota for bays and lakes, or for helping you stay in slots...
I just hop out of my toon before each drift, I'm not sure I could really land a fish while in my toon... I haven't anchored in the current yet, but there is no way I could control the the toon and rod at the same time.

I recently got a flatbed trailer and would be down to run from Feldheimer to Barton or from Barton to Carver.

I am busy this weekend, but beyond that I am down.
just let me know. (I need a shuttle too)
 
bernduffy said:
By the way, do you have a preferred shaft length for the minn kota?
Click to expand...

From MinnKota
with a transom mounted motor then you need to know the distance from the transom to the waterline when your boat is loaded. You want to take that distance and add at least 20 inches to it. If there isn't a shaft in that size then round up. Let's say the distance is from the transom to the waterline is 10 inches. You then add 20 inches to that and the length of shaft you want is 30 inches.

I have a scadden toon and called them to discuss transom lengeth.
he said the 30 or 36" shaft would work just fine.

I think my toon has a 19' diameter
 
Thanks, Osmosis. I have only banked at Carver and Barton and was not aware of the riffles between those points. Although "rowing like a madman" might clear a pool of other anglers, it will probably also clear the pool of... fish.
I'll send you a PM, Kobabe . I'm very interested in your wheel arrangement. I have in mind a couple of put ins where is would really help. And thanks for the info on shaft length. It confirms what I was thinking.
Bernie
 
i wouldnt try a electric on anything in the clackamas..... 2 fast of current as even at setting 5 the motors will only swing the prop fast enough for about 2.5-3 mph... in flat calm water... and with a 4 or 5 mph current even setting 5 will barely move you forward if at all.. let alone the riffles are about 6 to 10 inches deep...
 
Make the wife happy, pay for the shuttle and get home at a reasonable time, Safely!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Minn Kota Steering Awkwardness
Replies
12
Views
3K
bernduffy
B
Back
Top Bottom