[jimmythegreek]

I install electronics and have alot of experience with trolling motors, I currently run an Minnkota Ulterra 80# unit that isnt even avail to the public yet. There is a max on speed on 95% of hulls out there and 4mph is the ceiling. Adding thrust and voltage to a motor increases your run time and efficiency but NOT the speed. I have personally seen only 1 boat run 4.1mph with a motorguide 36v system with an aftermarket prop, most minnkotas will get you to 3.7 max. There rly isnt a need for a 36v system on smaller than a 17' V hull, 18' Vs and larger can benefit from a 36v as far as run time goes. On my 19' crestliner sportfish I could troll almost 7hrs continuously at 1.5mph before I had to turn up the speed to compensate for battery loss with an 80# terrova ipilot. The minnkotas use pulse width modulation which essentially is turning the motor on and off multiple times in a second, giving you almost 50% more run time, but can cause transducer interference. If you are having good results w a 55# thrust an 80# will be perfect for you. You also cut the amp hour draw in half when going to a 24v system, so right now you are drawing 1amp hour for every poiund of thrust, meaning you pull 55amps at full power, so with an 80# 24v system you will pull 40 amps at full power of 80# of thrust, thats why everyone pretty much uses 24v systems minimum. Another thing you can do is run 2 batteries in parallel and extend your runtime. I highly recommend the 80# minnkota terrova with ipilot, it will change the way you fish, and if you troll the ipilot link is the top of the line, lakemaster now has a chip for Northeast region. Remember the added cost of a 2-3 bank charger and the 2-3 batteries when making a choice on motors. 29 series deep cycle batteries are a minumum and 31sereis is what I recommend, batteries plus carries a nice duracell with 225amp hours RC for under 130 bucks. good luck