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PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:26 pm 
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I recently bought a 24lb Watersnake trolling motor for my Hobie Pro Angler 12 kayak. It only has 2 speeds but I plan to put a variable speed controller which will be much more effiecient by giving me ability to fine tune speed.

So my question is will a Vmax AGM 20ah battery be sufficient at 13lbs, or do I really need to go up to the 35ah AGM that weighs 23lbs? I fish mostly half days and lake is only a couple miles long.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:45 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
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Your battery need depends on how you plan to use it. If you trolling back and forth for 4 hours at a stretch, the larger battery makes sense. But if you are just transporting to your fishing site, the smaller battery is more than enough. Your Watersnake runs at 9 and 20 amps. You'll be surprised that the 9 amp setting will move you along almost as fast as the 20 amp setting -- probably only about 1 MPH slower (until you adapt your controller).

Here are some relevant speed comparisons vs power consumption with the Hobie Evolve, which I believe uses an 11ah battery. These figures are for an Outback, but notice that using only 25% of max power moves the boat along at almost 4 MPH. Your PA 12 should be within a couple of tenths if the Watersnake is comparably efficient.

Watts...................speed MPH
--26----------------2.3
--32----------------3.2
--75----------------3.9
-101----------------4.3
-160----------------4.9
-210----------------5.1
-325----------------5.5

If you keep your speed moderate (3.5 to 3.8 MPH), your 20ah battery should give you at least 2 hr continuous running time IMO. It really doesn't take much power to push a kayak! 8)


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:47 am 
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Roadrunner, thank you for thoughtful reply. I think your first sentence says it all, I usually go to spots, stop then move on. And when traveling from point A to B, I usually troll at 2mph +/-, and I like to stop and hit shore if I see structure/cover that looks interesting during my travel.

I guess for the extra 10lbs I am really opening up more options and extending day if I choose, however, the Mirage drive works great for hitting the shore/docks while manually pedaling, so I can save battery here.


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