Trolling Motor Recommendations?

Although we have a couple paddles(!), does anyone recommend a portable trolling/electric motor that could attach easily to the Getaway... and take us a few miles when the wind dies?
Thanks much!

I have the Torqeedo electric motor with a Cheeta motor mount. They work great! Pricey, though.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

i also have the same as Bob, I would add only that the motor is excellent, the warrenty leaves something to be desired.

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Jerry Malone

Yes... and yes! I think the Torquedo was used to power a Getaway (without rig) from Long Beach to Catalina Island!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caR4moRU0Lo

http://www.navagear.com/2009/11/20/torq ... ropulsion/
Thanks, guys.

You can get a solar charger for the Torqeedo also, but I don't think it'll keep up with the battery discharge at full throttle.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I put a small Minn Kota Endura MAX 45 attached to the front spreader on my Getaway because of the price of the Torqueedo. It works pretty good to get us in and out around the crowded boat launches on the weekend and when the wind isn't cooperating we've used it to get back to shore. I've run it for a good hour at 50%-70% power on a AGM 80 AH battery and figure I could probably run a good 2-3 hours at half power which gives us about 3-4 knots.

I mounted the motor to the front spreader to apply forward motion to the craft. When I have a crew with me, one person steers from the stern and the second controls the thrust from the bow and can apply small corrections from up there. When I'm by myself it's much more difficult but I lock the rudders straight back and steer from the bow only to get back to the dock.

I lost my AGM last week when we tipped last week (because I wasn't paying attention to the weight and balance of everyone onboard). I've ordered a small 30 AH lithium to replace it and hope to get at least an hour out of it without having the 50 lbs of battery to worry about. The new battery weighs in at just over 11 lbs. I'll re-post when I've got that installed and have had a chance to try it out.

This is where I mounted to motor to avoid having to deal with a motor mount on the stern.

Thanks for that input! A trolling motor is a much more affordable option, and pulling rather than pushing the boat makes sense. Maybe strapping the battery (lighter weight) in a box (ice chest?) to the middle crossbar or mast would work ...?
Great ideas!
Thanks!

CadKing:
Why didn't I think of that! I have been pissing around trying to figure out how to go electric on the rear cross-bar.
Are you getting enough thrust in reverse?
How is that Lithium battery working out?
I have a hot stick tiller extension which would provide steering while your on the front tramp.
Thanks,
JP

The lithium has worked out great so far. I've easily been able to get as much life out of the smaller, and much lighter, 30 amp hour battery asI did on the 80. I'm not certain how safe the lithium batteries are with exposure to moisture. I've seen some scary videos of what they can do when exposed to the air and I have no idea how they react to water. I keep it tied down to the front netting (which it easily handles) and figure at worst, it burns through the netting and will drop through to the bottom of the lake eliminating any danger to me (not so much for the fishes).

To be honest, I don't use reverse that often to answer that question. You can rotate the thrust in any direction up there, so if the wind isn't fighting you too much you can pivot around pretty tight. If your fighting the wind, forget it. That little motor just cant match the force sideways on the hulls and sail.

All in all though, the thing has worked out great getting me out of the middle of the lake when the wind just completely dies. The only complaint I have is when I go solo, it's hard to deal with the steering at he stern and motor control at the bow. If I'm on my own I tend to lock the tiller and use the thrust to point me in the direction of the dock and that actually works out OK. With two people though, it's great. When not in use, I just fold it over and lock it up out of the water and you hardly know its up there.

I had a torqueedo. it was noisy (something in the drive train sounded like somebody was trying to pull the tail off a cat); it also "cut out" whenever I was trying to dock (switching from forward to reverse causes this...you have to stop for a count of ten, THEN you can change the direction of the prop)...I suppose I "could" have gotten used to any of those things with practice, but for nearly $2 grand, I didnt think I need to do that. Also, imagine a big sailboat coming out unexpectedly in the marina as you are motoring down the fairway...happened to me....wasn't pretty.

I ended up with a Honda 2.3...but it has its problems as does the Cheata motor mount. I think it is just one of those things that you have to find what works for you.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II