How Does a Trolling Motor Work For Your Boat?

Do you know how does a trolling motor work for your boat? Trolling motors work best for moving around the water in the boats with less sound. It uses the rules of the electromagnetic force. Outboard motorboats are very noisy that makes it scares away the fishes. Trolling motors are usually slower than fuel motors, but better convenience makes it a preferable option for fishermen and others. Nowadays, trolling motors are available in different modifications enabling powerful trolling motors. This way, companies are enabling these motors for numerous applications for both small and huge boats.

Like the standard classic motor, trolling motor also comes with a thrust, control, shaft, propeller, and motor. It requires knowing the trolling motor wire size to determine the other suitable configuration of different parts.

How does a trolling motor work?

Trolling motors work well on both fresh water and saltwater. You can install the motor in the bow, transform, or on the boat’s actual motor. Users can mount the motor permanently or on the brackets to change it according to their choice quickly. Trolling motors allow the users flexibility with different features like foot control, handles, and wireless remote systems to efficiently operate the motor. With the handles, users can quickly turn the motor in different directions easily.

Foot-controlled motors have a foot pedal system for moving the boat or watercraft. Hand controlled system allows better flexibility, speed as well as accuracy than a foot control system. It is entirely up to the users’ convenience. Whether some might feel comfortable with foot controls, some might feel it is putting much pressure. Instead, they choose hand control to twirl the handles right or left, frontward, or backward.

After taking control of the motor, the propeller at the base of the motor starts spinning through the water. The users determine how much power to send to the prop, no matter which kind of control they have. The speed of the boat depends on how fast the propel spins.

The power of your trolling motor will determine how fast it will move. You can control the power and speed with efficient control. You also have to keep in mind the length and number of blades on the prop, weather conditions like wind, water conditions like waves, the kayaker’s bodyweight, etc. How fast the boat will move depends on how much water the prop pushes.

Video Credit – The Outdoorsman

Different kinds of trolling motors come with different orientations. Such as, for installing a bow mount motor you will need to have enough space on the front of the boat. On the other hand, if you have a small boat choosing a transom mount on the back of the boat would be the best choice. So, before purchasing one, you need to know in detail how the trolling engine and its other parts work. It will make it easier for you to choose the right one that will last long. Choosing the motor wire size suited better for your trolling motors involves focusing on many parts of it.

• Batteries:

Deep cycled batteries are best suited for operating your trolling motors. These batteries are designed to control the gadgets efficiently. It enables the motors to be fully released and energized without affecting the batteries. To fix the hassle of recharging and changing the batteries in electric trolling motors, solar charging trolling batteries are also available. It has not only changed the traditional power system difficulties but has also made better impacts on the environment.

You will choose the battery according to the voltage of your trolling motor. These batteries come in three varieties:

1. 12 Volts
2. 24 Volts
3. And 36 Volts.

You need to know how these batteries work and which size you need in detail. Usually, a 12 volts motor is used for most of the kayaks. For bigger boats, you will need 24 volts and 36 volts.

• Amperage:

Trolling motors generate by drawing power or current from the battery. Amperage on the trolling motors helps to find out how much of the energy is drawn. Knowing how much amperage is drawn allows you to choose the circuit breaker’s size for the whole system.

You can find out the amperage by looking at the pound thrust rating of the trolling motor. You can easily measure the number by dividing the pound thrust by the voltage and multiplying the result by 12.

• Volts:

The current flow from the battery to the trolling motor is known as the voltage. Usually, it is called the direct current because of the straight direction of the current flow from the battery to the motor.

Volts play a crucial part in choosing the size of the wire gauze for your electronic trolling motor. Like, for a 12-volt motor, one will require only one 12-volt battery. But for a 24-volt motor, two sets of 12-volts batteries are needed. Thus, three sets of 12-volts batteries for 36-volt motors.

• Breakers:

A circuit breaker is vital for keeping the current level in balance. It protects the electrical circuit from any impact during the overflow of the current. So, when the current level overloads, it stops automatically to prevent any damage.

It would be best if you choose your circuit breaker with a higher amperage rating than your motor. It secures an ungrounded current conductor. When it is powerful than the motor’s amperage rating, it can efficiently handle the overflow of the current. The amperage draw and voltage of your trolling motor determine the amp of the circuit breaker.

• Wire gauge:

The area of the cross-section of a round wire is the wire gauze. A large wire has a smaller AWG (American Wire Gauge) number. So, for the extra length, you will require a lower AWG length.

It is not very difficult to choose the right wire size for your trolling motors. But there is a lot to consider, like battery size, amperage of the motor, AWG rating, etc. Each of these factors is crucial cause these bring a lot of change to the required length of your wire.

For instance: if you have a powerful motor, you will need a thick wire with lower gauze. But you also have to keep in mind the size of your circuit breaker, which should be able to handle your trolling motor’s amps. But it would be best if you always were careful about the AWG rating of the wire.

At The End

In most cases, trolling motor manufacturers helps a lot with your queries and finding out your needs. There are also trolling motor wire charts available for you to decide better according to your preference.

Hopefully, it has met your queries about how trolling motor works and the basic understanding about trolling motors.