Posted this in General Boat Topics but my get better feedback here.
Really like my new boat I bought this spring. Just fish small lakes and was looking for a small boat but with stability. Crestliner came out with this Retreiver 1660 with a 60" bottom and 85" beam, real wide for a 16 footer. Just what I was looking for. All is good but would really prefer a 80# trolling motor vs the 55# Terrova I have now. It works ok, but just would like some more power. Boat only weighs 680 lbs and has a 30hp on it, but I guess it's the width because the 55 lb just struggles a bit. I can't fit any batteries in the front hatches, the rake is too shallow. Don't want to give up my live well in the bow either. I may be able to re-arrange the battery area in the stern compartment to add a third. It's tricky because I have to be able to access my gas tank as well. It might not be enough room without cutting another hatch opening. The whole stern platform is hollow underneath, so all the room in the world, just no access except the one hatch.
The easiest solution is to switch out the cranking battery to a deep cycle and add that as my second battery for a 24 volt trolling motor. The 30hp is an electric start but has a rope pull on the outside. Never tried it but figured in case I ran both batteries all the way down, I could use it. It would be a rare occurrence to use the trolling motor that much, I'm an early morning to about 10:00 kind of fisherman.
Any reason this configuration would not work? It's the easiest solution and avoids adding a third battery. And I don't have to jack with getting a three bank charger vs my current two bank.
Reply With Quote
