Boat gas and trolling motor questions.

[stuartsx5]

Two questions. I have a 19 foot fish and ski. It has a 50 pound thrust 12/24 trolling motor. I have an opportunity to by an auto pilot Minn kota but it is 24 volt only and 48 pound thrust. Is that big enough for my boat or would I regret the loss of thrust? This next question may sound silly but I am a little OCD when it comes to oil for my outboard. I have to mix my oil and gas. Will it mix ok if I put the gas in first or do I need to put the oil in before the gas in order to get it to mix. Sorry for the lengthy post and thanks in advance for any help.

[jdmidwest]

I always put the oil in at the house where I can measure it and put the gas in at the pump. The remaining drive to the water does a good job mixing it up.

About the trolling motor, I doubt you will notice a difference in 2 lbs of thrust. But the upgraded newer motor and electronics will probably be better on your batteries.

[stuartsx5]

Thanks JD. One of my concerns was the loss of the 12/24. Even though it wouldn't last long I could do 12 volts if I had a bad battery so I could fish for a day. As far as the gas and oil, that is how I do it now but my gauge isn't real accurate and I can't see the tank so I am really never sure how much gas it will hold so I am afraid I will put in too much oil for the amount of gas I can get in it. People tell me I worry too much about getting the mixture right. They tell me to err on the side of too much oil and just go with it. Just go with it is not in my nature unfortunately.

[fishinwrench]

A 24v with only 48# is kinda weak for a 19' glass boat. I'd trade up for something 24v and 68-70#

Keep your oil in Pint bottles, add 1/2pt. of oil then pump 3 gal of fuel at a time.

A 50:1 mix is plenty on the heavy side, 80:1 is actually ENOUGH so don't overdo it on the oil. Adding oil slows the burn, creates more heat and lets carbon deposits build up in the combustion chamber. I see more outboards blown from excessive heat and carbon buildup than I do from lack of lubrication.

[5bites]

Personally I'd shoot for 80+ on the trolling motor but I don't know what your intentions are.

[fishinwrench]

Personally I'd shoot for 80+ on the trolling motor but I don't know what your intentions are.

Most Fish-N-Ski boats can't handle the weight/torque of a really strong bow mount, so you have to kinda compromise there. They just aren't built that strong in the bow area because hull weight has to be shifted rearward.....full windshields and all.

[5bites]

You mean they literally didn't glass in the support to handle a bigger trolling motor?

[fishinwrench]

That's right. It's always a tad flimsy up there compared to most real bass boat models.

What do you reckon they saved....a whole 5 pounds?

[5bites]

Lol on a boat that's loaded completely full of crap 90% of the time anyway.

I didn't know that though. I guess they just assume most fish and ski trolling motors are to get to the dock or shore.

[LarrySTL]

Wrench knows far more than I do about such things and I would totally accept what he says about there being a max size TM that should be put on a F&S. I had an 18 ft 150 HP standard bass boat with a 24 V 80-something lb TM and while that was generally plenty of power, there were occasional times and situations where I wished I had more TM power.