Northwest Fishing Reports

I just picked up this 12' Starcraft from a friend.







It's an old boat, yet I think it will be fine for my needs. It might need some minor repairs as the keel has been caulked already. Rivets like to leak over time, I understand after reading up on the subject.

Now the big question.

For now, I will just use a trolling motor. Would a Minn Kota Endura C2 50 be more than adequate to power this boat or would it be over kill?

Thanks in advance for the help.

My goal is to take it out next weekend on Wildcat Lake.

I assume that it is a 50lb thrust Motor? That would be great for that boat on the typical smaller electric motor only lakes. I push a 14' deep V aluminum with a 55lb thrust Minn K. It is heavier and has a 175lb gas motor attached. The Minn Kota gets me around fine.
That being said... you will be fine in the smaller lakes, but if you get out on a lake like Lake Washington with just the Minn K. you will easily get overwhelmed by the wind. Don't get in that situation.
Have fun.

50lb wouldn't be an overkill, just make sure you get a good battery.

I would recommend getting 2 batteries as well. It will prolong your stay on the water, and it provides some safety on the water. Just put the extra battery not in use up towards the front of the boat when not in use to help balance out the extra weight.

Matt wrote:I would recommend getting 2 batteries as well. It will prolong your stay on the water, and it provides some safety on the water. Just put the extra battery not in use up towards the front of the boat when not in use to help balance out the extra weight.

I strongly agree with Matt here. It only takes a dead battery once to learn that lesson, but not a fun one to learn depending on what lake you're on... haha
Also if you have oar locks on the boat, I'd keep some oars in there too in case you have issues with the motor. If not actual oars at least a paddle or two.

As far as the 50lb thrust goes, it's certainly not overkill. I had a 55lb on my 16' aluminum v with a lot more weight in it and it pushed it pretty well, and still went plenty slow to troll.

Looks like a great boat, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun and kill a lot of fish in it!

Thanks for all the help guys.

These good batterires you all talk of...how much do they run a piece? Where is the best place to find them?

Congrats on the boat, should be perfect for the small lakes. 50# motor should push it fine and still slow down for trolling. There are alot of different batteries and opinions. I have an optima and a interstate deep cycle rv. The interstate seems to last longer. Just my opinion, I wont buy another optima although its nice that there sealed up if your hauling the boat in the back of the truck and handling the battery alot. Something to consider if it might get tipped over in transit.

Check out Optima batteries, they last longer than the typical lead acid batteries.

Optima batts are sold at my local car parts store so I can check them out.

I can charge these with a standard car battery charger correct?

No, not really, get a charger that is proper for the gel cell batteries.

Bengal Ben wrote:Optima batts are sold at my local car parts store so I can check them out.

I can charge these with a standard car battery charger correct?

Excuse AMX. He's a little forgetful at his age. :joker:

The Optima can be charged with a standard charger no problems. It's not a gel battery. Only an AGM battery in a sprial shape. Which can be charged exactly the same as a lead cell battery.

Here is a thread I made last year about batteries. Still some good info on it.
http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/yaf_po ... ttery.aspx


And I'm one of the folks that says Optima is very overrated. The specs do not command their premium price.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_p ... /specs.php


If you actually compare them to other AGMs, for the same price or even less, you can get higher specs battery. Basicly what you want is, bigger the numbers, the better.

You just missed out on a killer deal for the Cabela's AGM battery. They had their group 30 on sale for $160. That's assuming you want to lug around a ~80lb battery.... The specs on that blows the Optimas out of water.

You can also get standard cells if you're on a budget from Costco, Walmart, NAPA or any other auto shops for well under $100 with better specs than the Optimas.

Another thing you may want to factor in is warranty. Some have like 3 years of warranty, others maybe 1. I know with Cabela's AGM, it's 1 year. No problems with my batteries yet.

Generally, if you keep the batteries charge. Don't overcharge them, they'll last you for a few years.

Yep, that thread is a good read FF, and it clears up misconceptions about the Optima. Research is a wonderful thing, and it's at our fingertips all the time.

FishingFool wrote:You just missed out on a killer deal for the Cabela's AGM battery. They had their group 30 on sale for $160. That's assuming you want to lug around a ~80lb battery.... The specs on that blows the Optimas out of water.

You can also get standard cells if you're on a budget from Costco, Walmart, NAPA or any other auto shops for well under $100 with better specs than the Optimas.

Thanks for the Help FF. Definetly a good read.

I just bought my Minn Kota 50# motor and Circuit Breaker. Last item left is the battery.

After reading the thread you posted along with a few others. I almost went with a wet cell WalMart cheapo yet glad I didn't.

I found that Cabela's has a AGM group 24 on sale for $124.99. Since you have owned this same battery FF, what is your thoughts? What charger did you choose?


Thanks

Bewarned on the Cabelas batteries. They will hit you with a core charge. Take an old battery if you have one laying around.

Bengal Ben wrote:

FishingFool wrote:You just missed out on a killer deal for the Cabela's AGM battery. They had their group 30 on sale for $160. That's assuming you want to lug around a ~80lb battery.... The specs on that blows the Optimas out of water.

You can also get standard cells if you're on a budget from Costco, Walmart, NAPA or any other auto shops for well under $100 with better specs than the Optimas.

Thanks for the Help FF. Definetly a good read.

I just bought my Minn Kota 50# motor and Circuit Breaker. Last item left is the battery.

After reading the thread you posted along with a few others. I almost went with a wet cell WalMart cheapo yet glad I didn't.

I found that Cabela's has a AGM group 24 on sale for $124.99. Since you have owned this same battery FF, what is your thoughts? What charger did you choose?


Thanks

Make sure you get a charger that stops when the battery is fully charged.