About a month ago, I went out for an overnight sail with just a Motor Guide 55# thrust trolling motor (on an M17). At max thrust....in calm water....she would do about 3 knots. And about 2 to 2.5 knots at reduced power to minimize battery consumption. As luck would have it....it was blowing 20 to 25 that day. I sailed back to the Marina....but once I got the sails down it was up to the motor to get me back to my slip.....dead into that wind. It wouldn't do it. In fact, she stopped dead in the water. I had to work sideways into the lee of the covered marina, and then hugged it tight to gain enough headway to get back to my slip. And it was too tight an area to sail into alone. My alternative would have been to sail into the lee of a nearby shore...drop the hook and wait it out. So if your sailing conditions (time demands) allow for the fact that sometimes you may not be able to motor anywhere you need to go, and you can be flexible in where you go and when....it could work. Howard M17, #278 On 7/10/04 11:06 AM, "David Thomason" <thomasond2@michigan.gov> wrote:
Has anyone installed an electric trolling motor on their Monty? If so, what HP & size boat. Any consideration towards using a solar panel for recharging? I'd like to eliminate the danger & smell of the fuel, as well as enforce a zone of silence about me. ;-) _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats