I need a boat & motor suggestion.

[teddy12b]

Hello Everyone,
My dad has been thinking about getting a boat setup up for fishing on a nearby reservoir.  He doesn’t want or need anything fancy, just some type of a jon boat.  Most of the guys in the family are in the 200 – 250 pound range and something that could hold 3 of the guys would be great, but highly unlikely that we’d all be in the boat together at the same time. 

The part where it gets tricky is what kind of options are available for motors.  The reservoir does not allow gas engines meaning it would have to be an electric motor.  I haven’t seen much for options in that area, but I really don’t know squat about boat motor or in this case, trolling motors.

A bigger Jon boat would be just fine for what this would be used for but the electric motor is the bigger question.

[quickdtoo]

You can get electric trolling motors in just about any confiuration you want from small to big salt water and anything in between.

Tim

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?mode=article&objectID=29748&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/common/search/search-results2.jsp?Ne=2510&Ntt=minn+kota&noImage=0&Ntk=Products&QueryText=minn+kota&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=3248

[jgalar]

You can also get sail kits for jon boats and canoes.

[teddy12b]

The reservoir he'd like to fish at has some old jon type row boats available for rent.  After reading up on the electric trolling motors I think he'd just be better off spending 300-500 on a trolling motor and a good battery that can be easily mounted to the jon boats there.  Some of those trolling motors have some real thrust behind them!  Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it.

[dakotashooter2]

I'd suggest checking into a motor with a  24 volt system. It will probably provide a bit more power for your use. I have not used such a system but it is said that they are more efficent and easier on the batteries than a 12 volt system.

[Longknife 76]

I just purchased an 18 ft Lowe with a 24 volt trolling motor, that thing will move it along real nice even with 3 people on board and a cooler full of------refreshments!!!!!! Ed

[teddy12b]

It's been over a year and I still kick around the idea of a boat.  Ideally I'd like to get something 10' - 12' that would fit in the back of my truck.  There are some great deals on ebay, if you don't mind driving a few hours on $4 per gallon gas to pick it up.

[bilmac]

In my previous job where we used lots of boats we called jon boats floating coffins. This is because the sides on these things are so low that when you get any waves at all you can stick a front corner in a wave an plane it right to the bottom. This happens when you have some speed and at trolling motor speed this is not so likely, but almost any v bow boat has much higher sides and is thus safer. I picked up an ugly old 12 footer at an auction the other day for $50. Did a little work on it and it works fine, and a lot more capable than a 12' jon with 8" sides.

[Savage]

For three guys in the 200-250# range, you need a boat that is way to big to fit in the back of a truck. A good deep wide jon boat in the 20" x 48" x 18' range would be required to carry that much weight. Horsepower of the engine is easy, just hang on the maxium horsepower the boat is rated for. Such a rig would require a trailer, which is a lot more handy anyway. Personally, I don't think more than two can fish effectively out of a jon boat.
Savage