Trolling motor for trot lining?

[Harford Crabber]

Harford, that sounds like a great setup. If the steering wheel stick doesn't work I might start looking for a used MinnKota Riptide with ipilot. I forgot about the weight of my motor when I was calculating, it'll put my boat into the 3500 lb range.

My question - if your're solo crabbing and use the ipilot to lay the line why don't you use it to net the crabs? Are you steering your gas engine with one hand on the wheel and netting w/the other? I tried that - it was a disaster. Seems you could use the ipilot feature to plot a straight course just off the trotline.

My other question. Where do you put 2 12V batteries? And do you take them home to recharge after each use? With all my crabbing gear I've already got a major load-in and load-out. I guess 2 batteries and a motor wouldn't make too much difference. In for a penny...

I might try running the trotline with trolling motor this coming year.  The ipilot actually has a function where I could put the trail in memory while laying line then it would follow that same trail electronically.   I been meaning to try it just have never taken the time.  I've never had a problem steering with left hand while dipping with right.  Having the right hand console so I could crab alone was one of the main reasons I bought the boat.

The 2 trolling motor batteries have a compartment made for them in center of boat. The third battery for the outboard is in the stern in a compartment made for it.  I bought the boat from an 80 year old friend that had both his knees replaced and he could no longer step up on the bow platform.  He had replaced all 3 batteries with Optima's the year before I bought the boat. (a big + for buying boat) I trailer the boat all the time and there are built in batt chargers that stay plugged in whenever the boat is in my driveway.  I fish yellow perch on mild days in winter so I never winterize boat, I run it year around.

[KMANN]

Ever since i started crabbing i always used a bow mount trolling motor with foot pedal to run my trotline.I was used to this coming from using it bass fishing in local reservoirs.Kept both hands free to dip and could control the speed better than with outboard.Used this on 18 foot aluminum boat for years before i bought a 19 foot center console and put it on that.It will take some getting used to if you have never used one but it works.

[JimCrab]

Very interesting. My boat is 19 feet long as well. What kind of trolling motor and how much thrust does it have? And how do you manage the batteries? Thanks.

[KMANN]

Nitro Bay boat rolled gunnel so pretty light 1400 lbs for hull only.Trolling motor is minn kota rip tide 70 lb thrust but only ran it on speed 2 or 3 when dipping.i just have them mounted in compartment in bow of boat and hook up charger when i get home.i would say i ran my trotline slower than most 2mph tops.I will say i did better crabbing in my old aluminum boat by myself than i did with the center console and my wife along dipping(lol).I say did beacause we just moved to Florida in July and am now going to try pots down here (commercial type) because you are allowed 5 as a rec crabber.

[rdbeard]

 like some already said , move console to the right if right handed. leave about 12 to 15 inches between gunnel and the b console, then put a suicide knob on the steering wheel and practice. you will pick it up easy. do u have hydrolic or cable steering, the hydrolic is easier to handle.

[samiam]

Great idea. I'll keep an eye out for motors but in the meantime I'll give the steering arm a try. Next summer. BTW I grew up ploughing a 17 foot Grummann lake canoe down creeks and rivers in WV, some whitewater. Indestructible and could hold 3 teens, gear, and beer. Now I've got a 17-foot Mad River canoe up to no good in the backyard. I've thought of recruiting it for crabbing but I think it's probably too tippy for hauling around anchors, line, baskets. And the waves in the Magothy on all but the flattest days might swamp it as well. Might be the quickest way to lose all my gear, which would call for a new addiction!

Not to get too far OT, but I've been crabbing and fishing the backwaters (and some not-so-back waters) of Cape May and Alantic Counties in a variety of Grumman aluminum canoes for years. The Grummans are pretty wide; I've never swamped, capsized, or had any serious stability issues. A few  years back I had a 13' double-ender with a home brew amidships side-saddle mount for a 3 HP motor - damned thing would speed down the river at what felt like a 45-degree angle to the direction of travel. I think I would have discovered any inherent stability design issues with that rig I'm currently using a 17' square stern model. I do keep an eye on weather forecasts, and I'll call off a planned trip in an instant if things look dicey. I also boat alone, I envision that a second person moving around the boat could make for a huge problem in that respect. I'm getting up there in age, this past year I bought a Spring Creek stabilizer for insurance, I'll probably leave it on the canoe full time unless it really gets in the way.

[ranger521]

I have a 1720 key west and I mounted a 55lbs thrust spot lock on the front and its awesome for crabbing.  I can go all dy on that thing.  I use it to run the trot line and pick up ring traps and its nice the ever so nice touch and not worrying about prop tangles bc you can adjust your angles so fast.  Plus mine has a remote control that I tether to my wrist so as not to drop it in the water.  Its awesome and you have so much control especially if its windy out.  Its also very relaxing bc you can hit spot lock and it will anchor you at that spot.  I got the minnkota 55lb thrust and its very nice.  I even hooked up a plug mounted it to the console and when i came home I was it down and put it in the garage and plug it in and Im done.  Hope this helps sorry its late but I have been out on medical.  Any questions just ask. 

[JimCrab]

Awesome idea. I keep waffling for a number of reasons. I have a slip during the summer and load-in and out is already a big chore w/anchors, Iines, etc, before adding a minnkota and batteries. but it's great to hear someone has tested this method and it works. It really opens the door for single-handed trotlining. and getting my kids to assist takes serious bribery.

my Boston whaler is only a little longer than your key west. how many batteries do you use, and what type if you don't mind?

for yucks here's what I'm currently thinking about: https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-350/hull-deck/cockpit/steering/wheelstick-telescoping-steering-control-arm/

could work, could be disastrous. laying out the line would be a little challenging with one hand on the stick, the other on the line. actually netting the crabs should be simpler, though I couldn't control speed. my engine has a very slow 2.5 knot idle.

many thanks,

Jim

[Gary S]

I have a 1720 key west and I mounted a 55lbs thrust spot lock on the front and its awesome for crabbing.  I can go all dy on that thing.  I use it to run the trot line and pick up ring traps and its nice the ever so nice touch and not worrying about prop tangles bc you can adjust your angles so fast.  Plus mine has a remote control that I tether to my wrist so as not to drop it in the water.  Its awesome and you have so much control especially if its windy out.  Its also very relaxing bc you can hit spot lock and it will anchor you at that spot.  I got the minnkota 55lb thrust and its very nice.  I even hooked up a plug mounted it to the console and when i came home I was it down and put it in the garage and plug it in and Im done.  Hope this helps sorry its late but I have been out on medical.  Any questions just ask. 

  I am interested in your experience with the bow mounted TM and spot lock for checking pots and traps. I recently traded a 244CC Key West for a 18' Parker that I hope to be my Flounder and crab machine. Since I usually crab by myself and only want a couple doz I mostly use topless traps, sometimes I'll put out 2 pots a day or two before. I am starting out in a canal in Delaware but can quickly be in the ASSawoman Bay behind OC Md. I plan on a 80 lb Minn Kota Bow mount for fishing but if it makes crabbing easier that's a plus.

[Harford Crabber]

Not sure how much your Parker weighs.  My boat and motor, me and crabbing stuff is close to 2300 lbs.   I have a 70lb, 24volt MinnKota that does the job.  Sure won't bring it up on a plane but will pull boat along between 2 & 3 mph depending on wind and current.  For crabbing the best feature is point it in the direction you wanna go, set the button and it takes you in that direction no matter current or wind. (Doesn't work so good in rough water). For fishing, especially in deep water, set spot lock and it holds you on that spot better than an anchor. (you don't need an anchor!)  I bought it 3 years ago for about $1,400.  The model I have does not deploy or stow itself.  You have to drop it in water and pull it out.  The ones that do that start at about $1,000 more.

[Gary S]

Not sure how much your Parker weighs.  My boat and motor, me and crabbing stuff is close to 2300 lbs. 

I'm guessing my Parker will weigh a few hundred more. I don't think they still have the 70 lb, 24 volt is now 80 lb and I'll get a 60" shaft. I'm still undecided about the Ulterra with auto stow/deploy, I can easily afford it but I'm also known to be tight  if I were younger and had better knees I wouldn't consider it but at 71 and with bum knees I may fork over the extra coin.

[Harford Crabber]

we're same age. After a day (few hours) of crabbing alone it's nice to point it toward the boat ramp and clean the trotline mud, etc while it's taking me home.  Sometimes I'm halfway there by the time I'm ready to stow it and go in on outboard. On the other hand, getting up to the bow to pull it out is a pia after lots of dipping. If it were to go kaput tomorrow I might spring for an Ulterra with auto stow-deploy.  I've sometimes wished I could change height easier like the the Ulterra does.  But overall I'm happy with what I got.  Certainly worth the price.   

I did have a problem where the plastic collar in the steering mechanism broke and MinnKota replaced the entire steering mechanism under warranty.  I wish they had made that part out of aluminum or something tougher.

[Gary S]

  Harford crabber, did you work at APG? I retired from Army Research Lab at APG almost 12 years ago.

[Harford Crabber]

No I didnt work at APG.  I owned a local pest control company for about 40 years.   I'm in Aberdeen Lions club with some old guys that I think worked at ARL.  Do you know Rowe Haywood, Joe Swisher and the late Jim Kelton?

[samw72]

Hey Crabbers,

In crab season I can't always find a crabbing partner and my kids run and hide.They're warming up to crabbing, but slowly. I can't trotline alone in my boat, a  a Boston Whaler Montauk 190 with a Mercury Verado 135 outboard. I've tried, it's a comedy. The wheel and throttle are too far from the netting spot and I can't steer for &^%$* with one hand.

I'm thinking about a trolling motor - feel free to poke holes in this idea, esp. if you have experience with it. My plan - buy a transom (stern) mounted Minn Kota trolling motor with 55 lbs thrust and a battery, which I can stow in the live well in the stern. Technically for that boat I'd need a trolling motor with about 80 pounds thrust. However, I only want to go 3 knots maximum with it, so I feel under powered is justified. And I don't crab in challenging weather.

And I'm cheap. A good motor w/55 pound thrust is in the $500 range. 80 pound thrust is double that. And I don't need the thing to push me along at 15 knots.

It seems plausible to me to stand/sit in the stern with my left hand on the tiller/throttle and the other on the net, as trot liners with Jon boats do. What's the problem w/this scenario? Think I'll burn out the motor by over stressing it even if I'm just going max 3 knots? Thanks for your input!

I used to have a SeaArk 2072 with a Minnkota Ulterra 24v 80lb thrust, it was perfect for running the trotline, I used the handheld remote on a lanyard around my neck to steer while I dipped em up!