On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:13:51 -0400, daytripper
wrote:

On Wed, 1 Oct 2008 20:09:50 -0700 (PDT), royal coachman
wrote:

Hi,
I have been fly fishing, in the west, for several years. We travel
full-time in an RV so we can visit almost any fishing venue. (If it
wasn¡¦t for the lack of a national fishing license ƒº)
I decided a pontoon boat would be good to explore small lakes and
rivers. I have ordered an Outcast 900FS, a one man, 9 foot pontoon
with a 400 lb capacity. It has a motor mount in the center of the boat
behind the seat.
Question: I would like to get an electric motor for the pontoon but I
don¡¦t know what motor to buy. I need some advice from folks with
experience with these motors on pontoons. Brand, model, thrust
required without over powering the boat. Since the motor will be
mounted in the center, how will I control the speed/direction? Thanks
much for your advice/opinions.
Sincerely, Jerry Thomas

Looking at the AIRE web site (manufacturer of the Outcast series)
http://www.outcastboats.com/outcastb...e.cfm?boatid=4
the motor mount appears to be well astern, so the effectiveness of steering
with a trolling motor should not be a problem. Whether you could comfortably
swing the tiller arm of a trolling motor full left and right from the seat
might be an issue if you are short, but the motor will be in the best place
for steering. You might have to locate the frame as far forward as the
attachment points allow to counter the stern weight of the motor and battery,
lest you ride bow high.

Anyway...A 12v Minn Kota or Motor Guide short shaft transom mount with 30 to
40 pounds of thrust ought to be plenty. For Minn Kota, an Endura 30 (30lb, 30"
shaft, 5fwd/3rev speeds) would fit the bill inexpensively, has a composite
shaft (nearly boink proof) and comes with a tiller that can extend an extra
6", which might prove helpful. The comparable Motor Guide model is the
Thruster 30 HT (30lb, 30" shaft, 5fwd/2rev speeds), but it has a metal shaft
and no tiller extension. Both can be had for roughly $110. Both have speed and
direction control by the tiller grip, so if you can reach it, you can control
it.

fwiw, I've been using a Minn Kota on my canoes for nearly two decades now, and
as it has never ever had an issue, I'm a fan...

I'd agree and add that I've had both over the years (probably 3-5 of
each), and I never noticed a difference. IME, they are both decent
products. We've had one failure that I can recall, and I can't remember
which brand it was, but I can say that I don't remember thinking, "Man,
that didn't last..." IIRC, currently, we have 4 trolling motors - 2
MotorGuide Sal****er Series, a Minn Kota 36 volt foot-controlled, and a
Minn Kota 12v tote-along for dinks and canoes, and if any went out
beyond repair and barring huge price differences, I'd probably replace
it with the same kind.

Whatever you buy, I would recommend Wal-Mart's house brand of
_deep-cycle_ battery - it's got the best, easiest warranty and the best
price I've found. Whatever you go with, make sure you use a
_deep-cycle_ battery, not a regular "car" or even marine _starting_
battery, and if you don't have one, get a decent charger.

TC,
R

/daytripper