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Electric Trolling Motors:

A foot controlled or hand controlled motor can be used. Foot controlled motors cost more and allow for hands free control allowing you to fish while directing the boat. Some smaller boats may use a trolling motor as its’ main means of propulsion. When purchasing a trolling a motor there are several things to consider: Buy a motor with a shaft that is long enough to completely submerge the propeller at all times. How much power (rated as pounds of thrust) you will need. The heavier the boat or the faster you want to go, the more thrust you will need. Trolling motors can be bow mounted or stern mounted. Most foot controlled motors are mounted on the bow (front) of the boat. Hand controlled motors are most often mounted on the transom (back) because it is where most boaters sit and can be controlled similar to gas motors. You can buy a 12 or 24 volt model. A 24 volt version will give you more power and last longer on a charge but requires two 12 volt batteries to be connected in series. The use of deep cycle batteries is advised for either voltage to provide longer charge times. A standard 12 volt motor will connect its red positive lead directly to the red positive lead on the battery. The black negative connector of the motor will connect directly to the black negative connector on the battery. When using a 24 volt motor you will attach the positive red wire from the motor to the positive red post of the battery on the first one in the series. Attach the negative black wire from your motor to the negative black post of the second battery in the series. The next step is to attach a short jumper wire between the negative post of battery #1 to the positive post of battery #2.