| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name
 | Date | Lines | 
|---|
| 1081.1 |  | VAX4::TOMAS | Joe | Wed Apr 05 1989 11:16 | 12 | 
|  | Frank,
My friend, Chris, has a 28# Merc Thruster and it is noisy as hell!  As I recall,
DonMac also had one on his original Stump Jumpa and you could hear it a mile
away.  It sounded like a meat grinder!  I think Don has since replaced it with
a Minn Kota.
I'd suggest a Minn Kota.  They're quite, popular, easy to get serviced (if ever
required) and are reasonably priced.  I know a lot of us out here have
Minn Kotas and I can't remember anyone ever having much bad to say about them.
-HSJ-
 | 
| 1081.2 | Minkota 7xxMX | BAGELS::DILSWORTH | I'm the NRA | Wed Apr 05 1989 11:57 | 9 | 
|  |    Frank,
   Minkota makes what they call a "Power Drive" electric motor for both bow
   and transom. They have a 20' control cable/wire that can be used anywhere
   in the boat.  I have the bow mount and would highly recomend it.  Unless
   you have a special need, the bow mount offers much more control than a 
   transom mount.
   keith
 | 
| 1081.3 | quiet power catches fish - for real | MOSAIC::MACINTYRE | Terminal Angler | Wed Apr 05 1989 12:15 | 6 | 
|  |     Yeap, Stump Jumpa had a Merc Thruster.  I still have it, I use it
    for the canoe.  As Joe said, it's real noisy.  Merc uses a gear
    reduction drive that's different from most elec motors.  They say
    it's real dependable, they're also more expensive.
    
    donmac - who definitely prefers his MinnKota 
 | 
| 1081.4 | advice needed | WMOIS::N_PARE |  | Thu Apr 06 1989 10:45 | 16 | 
|  |     
    
    I know this has nothing to do with a Merc Thruster, but I have a
    couple questions about a electric motor that I saw in my new BassPro
    catalog,and it could be another choice for someone who needs an
    electric motor.(incl. me)
    
    They had the Shakespear models advertised at $167.00 for their 38lbs
    thrust, 33lbs for I think $145.00, and 28lb for $130.00 approx.
    Now why are the Shakespear models so much cheaper than the other
    brands? Are they junk or just a good buy? I just need a transom
    motor to move the boat in the shallows instead of the outboard,
    they're cheaper than my prop.
    
    Any advice (pros,cons) will be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks Frenchy
 | 
| 1081.5 | I wish I could get a charge out of this... | CECV03::SURRETTE |  | Thu Apr 06 1989 11:55 | 38 | 
|  |     
    I bought a Shakespeare Trolling motor about 4 years ago and think
    I got a really good deal.  I bought it a MVP sports (It was Colemans
    when I bought it).  The motor is a 28lb thrust transom mount that
    I bought as a factory reconditioned (It was FULLY guarateed by
    Shakespeare 1 year as I recall) and I only paid $89.00 for it.
    
    4 years later, I've had no problems with it at all.  It seems to
    run pretty quietly (I have not owned another brand, so comparisons
    are tough) and smoothly.  The only problem (and it might not even
    be a problem) is battery usage.  I bought the largest deep cycle
    battery Sears sells (105 Amp I think) and it seems to get drained
    fairly quickly (8 hrs of on and off use tends to wipe out the
    battery pretty much).   However, since there is no maximizer circuitry
    maybe this isn't out of the question I guess. 
    
    Overall, I've had very good luck with the motor.
    About battery usage though....
    
    	1.  Provided the Battery is fully charged, am I unreasonable
      	    to expect 8+ hrs of non-constant trolling motor use ??
    
        2.  I have an automatic battery charger (Sears) that appears
    	    to be operating properly (i.e. The ammeter starts at 10
     	    amps or so and is reduced to aproximately 0 amps as the
    	    charging time increases), but when I put a Voltmeter across
    	    the terminals while the charger is on the voltage is less
    	    than 12 v, (around 11 usually).
    
    		a) Is the battery charger junk ??
    		b) Is it possible that a cell in the battery is trashed??
    		c) Should I give on batteries and row instead ;^)
    
    	Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    
    
    
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