12v VS 24v Trolling Motor

Hey everyone! I have a PA17t and am looking to outfit it with a trolling motor for the upcoming season. I was initially going with a 12v but then every forum I read said to absolutely go with 24v if the $$ allows for it. So I decided I will go with a 24v (80lb thrust) and called Minnkota to ask a few questions. I was left with even more uncertainty after getting off the phone. They said 24v is overkill for a kayak and doing a 24v 50aH lithium battery wasn’t sufficient enough to get good run time as they recommend at least 100aH. The battery box slot is only good for 1 battery on the kayak so I am not sure where a second battery would go.

Can anyone give any insight on whether to go 12v or 24v? Anyone have personal experience with this? Would greatly appreciate some good input. Thanks!

While I have never put a trolling motor on a kayak myself, I would second the opinion that a 24 volt motor would be overkill on a kayak. I've had numerous fishing boats with trolling motors (both 12 and 24 volts) and 12 volt TMs are the standard on smaller boats in the 16 foot range, and these boats certainly weigh a lot more than your PA17. Going to a 24 volt motor will be more costly, adds more weight from the second battery, and will require a more expensive charger. Bottom line, I don't see much needed benefit from such an upgrade.

Cost wise it is about $200 which is not much int he grand scheme of things when it comes to this set up. Weight wise it is the same thing because its either 12v 100Ah or 24v 50Ah. Charger is included with the battery so it isn’t an added expense.

Being that I plan on using it in ocean where the wind can pick up and the current can get pretty strong, it’s mainly why I am considering the 24v.

The 24 volt is far from overkill. Keep in mind Minn Kota is looking at a chart they based on weight of the boat. This "chart" is designed for a trolling motor on a motor powered boat not the only means of power on a boat. I do agree the 50AH will not be enough. You need the 100AH. Lifepo4 is the way to go. You have a big investment already. Don't skimp on the most important part- the battery.

I am not trying to skimp anywhere at all regarding $$. There is just nowhere to put 2 batteries to get 100Ah for 24v. There is a dedicated spot on the PA17 for a battery behind the back seat and it only fits 1 battery. That is why I stated either 12v 100Ah or 24v 50Ah. I calculated that if I mostly use around speed 3-4 then which is around 3-6 amps, then I should get around ~8 hours with the 24v set up. Still deciding which way to go tho. Wish I had more input from people who tried this.

Sorry SurfSlayer didn't intend to come across like that. I just know how expensive the battery I'm referring to is. They do make a single 24 volt lifepo4 battery.

https://www.amazon.com/Lithium-phosphat ... 1085&psc=1

Yea I was initially looking at the single 24v battery in 50Ah. I am limited to about 13” in width for the battery bay. The 100Ah 24v is 20 inches so it’s too big.

Gotcha yeah I see what you're talking about. Here's a 60 ah battery option that will fit but is pricey and 60 ah is not quite the power supply you need. https://www.lithiumpros.com/product/lit ... n-battery/

Could putting one 12 volt battery in the designated spot behind the rear seat and one inside the front hatch be an option? You would obviously have to run wiring and wire them in series but that would give you 24 volts and solve your storage problem. You could possibly even go with lead acid batteries at that point if desired.

have you considered a torqueedo ultralight?
designed for kayaks
note the spacing of the 4 mounting screws and pictures

https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/produ ... ultralight

No because the main reason I am going with a Minnkota is for the spot lock features plus plenty more like talking to the humminbird and so on.

Let us know which direction you go. Always interested in feedback on TM systems.

I am currently looking into building my own 24v 100Ah Battery. On Alibaba now looking for LifePO4 Cells. Should be fun!

More power will not equal more speed on a kayak. The pitch of most trolling motor props is set to move boats that weigh much more than any kayak. Now if you could obtain a prop with greater pitch, you might be able to make use of more power/thrust. I all the work we did early on with trolling motors, we never found much speed difference between 12 and 24 volt systems, nor from 18 to 45lb thrust motors. The larger motors just drained the battery quicker.

Most trolling motors of any size on a kayak are going to net you a top sustained top speed of from 3 to 4 knots. More battery will simply give you longer run times.

Thanks for your reply here! When I spoke with MinnKota on the phone they said I should get a speed increase. There are people on YouTube that get about 10-11 mph on a kayak with a motor if you search for it so idk why you say there won’t be a speed increase. I’d like to know your reasoning for that thought. Although that is not really why I am considering a 24v anyway. I am more worried about the 12v keeping up in wind and strong current on the ocean.

10 to 11 MPH on a kayak with a trolling motor is suspect.

The reason you won't get a speed increase with a more powerful motor is that the pitch on trolling motor props doesn't require much power to spin under the weight of a kayak. A more powerful motor isn't going to spin the prop any faster than a lowered powered motor.

Now if you had a situation where the vessel you were propelling put the motor under a heavy load and it wasn't able to spin the prop very fast, a more powerful motor would indeed get you more speed as the RPMs of the prop would increase. But most kayaks simply don't tax most trolling motors. The only way we were able to obtain a higher speed was by swapping the common trolling motor props for small RC aircraft propellors. We also tried the prop from a Native pedal drive kayak as it has much, much greater pitch than standard trolling motor props. But it ate battery life very, very quickly.

But don't take my word for it. Play around and see what you can do.