Garmin has answered the challenge of the Power-Pole Move 110 in the on-going mine-is-longer-than-yours trolling motor shaft battle with a 110” Force Kraken model. Power-Pole, the company that invented the automatic shallow water anchor, has had its titanium-shaft 110” model in the lineup for a while now.
Those of us who fish from whole boats that cost less than these $6,500-$7,000 behemoths are obviously not potential customers.
The new Garmin motor—yep, 9’2” long—runs on 36 volts and produces 100 pounds of thrust. It’s aimed at bluewater customers, more and more of whom have discovered that the electric trolling motors originally devised for inland largemouth bass waters provide amazing advantages far offshore on the bow of big open boats. The extremely long shaft is an essential in order to put the prop in the water from the tall bow of these offshore fishing machines.
The introduction of GPS “anchor-lock” systems, which allow the trollers to hold a boat in place despite current and moderate winds, has been key to the rapid acceptance of these motors for offshore fishing.
While offshore skippers have long used “motor-fishing” to keep themselves above deepwater reefs, the noise of outboards or diesel inboards shifting in and out of gear are not conducive to fooling fish.
And for those who have ever had to handle anchor lines for offshore fishing, pretty much any price is not too much to get out of the task. In 100 feet of water, most boat require around 500 feet of anchor line to stay put. Pulling up 500 feet of anchor line, even with a winch assist, is not a task that adds to the joy of offshore fishing, to say the least.
It’s also very difficult for any but the most skilled skippers to figure exactly where the anchor needs to be set to hang the boat right over the reef or ledge below.
Electric trolling motors put the boat exactly where you want it at the touch of the multi-function screen or via a handheld remote. And they make barely a hum while steadily keeping the boat locked on to the spot within a few feet by the GPS link.
The extreme shaft lengths are needed both because the offshore boats have high bows, and also because the usually-rolling seas offshore make it tough to keep the propeller in the water unless there’s plenty of excess shaft.
Garmin (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/marine/trolling-motors) is not alone in this market.
Minn Kota, the big dog in trolling motors, makes two offshore models, both with available 100” (8’4”) shafts. The Riptide Terrova is a manual deploy model, at around $5,500, and the Riptide Instinct Quest, despite the long name, is very easy to use because it deploys at the touch of a button. Price is about $6,100. Both are 36 volt brushless models, and the Terrova has 112 pounds of thrust, the Quest 115. www.minnkota.com.
Power-Pole, the Tampa company noted for their durable shallow water anchors, also makes one of the best trolling motors on the market in their Move series.
The $7,000 110” model is a brushless motor for near silent, low draw use, and it puts out up to 100 pounds of thrust on a 36-volt system. The offer a three year factory warranty, and the company is widely praised for its customer service; https://power-pole.com/trolling-motors/learn-more.
Rhodan, founded by GPS pioneer Glen Robertson, also offers offshore models with shaft to 108” (9’). Their Gen5 unit, the only 48-volt on the market, is listed as producing 120 pounds of thrust, which would make it the most powerful bow-mount on the market.
A 48-volt motor is now a lot more practical than it was when you would have needed four 12-volt lead acid batteries to power it—one relatively light (80 pounds or so) lithium-ion can do the job. Their largest model sells for $5399. https://www.rhodanmarine.com.
Simrad’s Recon, the saltwater version of Lowrance’s trolling motors, has a 72” model which once would have been considered a long shaft, but not so much in the current market. The nice thing about these motors is that they link seamlessly to Lowrance/Simrad electronic mapping, so a touch of your MFD screen can spot-lock you over a reef or wreck.
The shaft length would be adequate for large, 24’ plus bay boats, which can be used well offshore in good weather. The 36-volt motor has a max 115 pounds of thrust, plenty for offshore use. List price is $3799 for the 72” model; www.simrad-yachting.com/recon.
— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com