BassMan11

On 5/10/2024 at 2:35 PM, porkpie said:

Read the room fellas, you missed the temperature, and you're overcooking the roast.  Further, ever tried charging a child under 12 for a grip and grin? Nothing bad will ever come of this, even if posted on facebook.

Exactly. 

You might have trouble with a 45" shaft on that boat if the wind kicks up.... usually those shorter shafts are for bass boats which are much lower to the water than deep V hulls.. that is why the guy got rid of it in the first place.

You also bought an regular I-pilot motor, not an I-pilot link. So its just a GPS motor and does not have the capability to hook up to a fish finder. You would have to upgrade the head unit if you wanted that. 

If you do that, then you'll have to buy a Humminbird fish finder that is compatible for Link... check below. 

https://minnkota.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/support/compatibility/link

As for batteries... if you have confined space 2 100ah mini lithium trolling motor batteries might be a good option. There are some budget brands who make them which get decent reviews right now.

Getting into higher tech electronic outfits for your boat is not a cheap endeavor. Its a "do it right the first time and try and make it last as long as possible" type of thing. 

Good luck

BM 

Looking to do some upgrading so selling my HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch. Works great just switching over most electronics to Garmin

Comes with the following:

Sun cover

Power Cable

2D 83/200 transducer

6' Lowrance Network cable

6' NMEA2000 cable

Minn Kota trolling motor US2 adapter

$600

Will ship anywhere in Ontario for $20

PM me for details

On 4/6/2024 at 1:16 PM, siwash said:

go for it.. I don't know if I want to drive 4.5 hours (9 round trip).. down here boats are pricey.  Someone above said they wouldn't touch it for $5000.... i dont think he knows the market.. 12' tinners are going for $3000!  It's stupid.. I guess everyone is getting gouged in this high inflation world so they want to overprice their old toys too.. 

Most here know the market. Toys have been inflated for 4 years now and really if anything, prices are down this year. You're also looking for a boat at the worst time of the year so everything is top dollar. 5K for that old worn out boat 4.5 hours away isn't worth it so a good pass imo. 

There will be deals on places like kijiji and marketplace.... but you better be refreshing a few times hourly because they're gone almost immediately. 

Happy hunting

12 hours ago, Terry said:

Be careful with evinrude 

I had a 2001 and couldn’t get some parts for it 

I had my auto tilt and trim fail on an 08 ETEC 75...... I could have bought another motor for the price they wanted for a new one. Luckily found a salvage but still very expensive. I wouldn't buy an Evinrude or Johnson now that they are out of the game.

As for that boat.... keep looking unless you're getting a screaming deal. It's seen some things. Like the trailer though.

1 hour ago, siwash said:

Bassman, see above... 

 

Thanks.. seeing quite a few used in the 70s lbs range.. on Marketplace. 

 

Thanks everyone.. 

There is a reason you're seeing 70lb Powerdrives for sale online and not Terrova's. 

Some nice fish there.

Cheers.

BM

80lb Terrova and be done with it. I assume being a bow rider its a glass boat to the extra power will be nice. 

You can buy a single 24V Lithium battery but most applications you'll need 2 12V batteries in series.

New there is only a $350 difference between a 55 and 80. If you're making the investment, always go bigger if you can.

7 hours ago, kar99m said:

This is my starting battery very small lithium, about 6 years old. No problems, have never charged except when in a boat, very light and powerful can't even think to go back to old AGM or any other battery system. 

Interesting stuff KAR. Now these are Lithium-Ion which are a bit different than LIFeP04 batteries but seem to still have a BMS inside them.

Looks like the starting battery I would need for 800 CCA would be just over $600CDN (which is a bit steep for a starting battery) but only weighs 5lbs which is pretty neat. 

 Hopefully the price comes down as more of these type of batteries come to the market. Deep cycles have a lot of different applications where not many people care about the weight of the starting battery in their car, truck or RV. 

3 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

Thank you so much for this write up. I have started reading a lot, because when this set of batteries goes (im on year 3) its going to be time to finally make the swap. At the time, I was on the fence simply due to pricing, but everything I am reading now is certainly pointing me back to lithium for my next battery purchase. The collapse in pricing is astonishing, but not surprising as the tech became readily available.

To date I have not heard of one person speak negatively about switching the lithium, and holy cow a 100lbs weight savings is astronomical when it comes to boats, if your running anything under 20 feet long, it almost seems like a total no brainer. Jesus, anyone running a 14 foot tinner would have to be high to not go lithium. The gas alone would probably pay the difference in a year.

I am by far the most intrigued by getting one of those giant 36v's to run my trolling motor. I started my boat out with 3 trolling motor batteries and one starting electronics battery, but with the 3 10 inch screens and livescope, a few low voltage warnings after long days pre-fishing had me sketched right out about running out of juice on my starter.

Ive now swapped one of my TM's AGM's to an electronics only battery, and downgraded the trolling motor to 24volts. I do not notice too huge of a difference between 36 and 24, however I will say the 36 notably has more tourque when you need it and I do miss it the odd time. 

After fishing with a club member this summer that has a tinner rigged for walleye fishing up north, he put me on to a neat little invention called an Automatic Charge Relay. I personally call it the poor man's powerpole charge. It allows your boats alternator/rectifyer to send juice to another battery once it determines that your starting battery is back up fully charged after starting. This is ideal, now when im making my runs around the lake, some of that juice can be fired back to my electronics batteries to help me get through some of those 12+ hour days at the lake.

Anyways, enough about me and hijacking your thread, I actually have a question that I have not been able to decipher through my reading thus far about lithium batteries. You allude to it in your post, but perhaps you read into this further, It is my understanding that Lithium batteries do not like being charged when cold, but also many batteries available in the market are temperature protected or maybe even heated?

Now for the good ol boys down south, none of this is applicable at all, but for us folks in the great white north that fish in the fall, how does one get around these "low temp cut offs" Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard that some will shut down as soon as they reach 5 degrees C? (i may be making that number up? but from memory?)

So honest question to you Bassman, what are do we need to look for in our Lithium batteries up here in canada? Im sure there is some way to pay for some feature that will have us canadians not worried about going fishing during the months of September through June lol. I couldnt imagine parking the boat at the dock at night on a clear september night only to find that my batteries arent charged when I wake up in the morning to go fishing.

Hey Arki,

ACR's work great with Lead acid or AGM starting and house battery set up. I currently have one for sale now though lol. According to the smart shunt it would take about 30 hours of straight use with my 3 fish finders (at full brightness), the livewell, and the radio at half volume to kill the 100ah house battery. 

Low temp charging cut off will save your battery (below 0 degree's). For me if I was on a trip and we were flirting around 0 / -1 I just wouldn't charge them since mine does not have the cut off. Also when the temp sensor gets back to above freezing the BMS will let the battery start charging again. Right now there isn't really a work around from the "type" of battery perspective. 

If I were a tournament guy and this was a concern that might cost me money.... maybe a space heater or insulated compartments... but from what I gather even the pro's say these batteries can last days on a single charge. 

The self heating batteries would be more for off grid or RV applications to keep the battery warm when it gets down below -20. This still won't help with the cold charging issue.

BM

6 minutes ago, BillM said:

Dakota is a absolute waste of $$$.   All that extra for what?  They could charge those prices because they were one of the first in the game.  People are finally waking up to realize their batteries are just like all the rest.   

Its also funny because all the brands LIFeP04 battery cells and materials used to make them are coming from China..... all of them. Then they are put together where ever after that with BMS's and sensors... but the "cheap Chinese" battery argument doesn't really fly right now. 

1 hour ago, CrowMan said:

Great info ! I have the AOLithium for a year now, and they have exceeded my expectations in every regard. I have heard nothing but good things about the Power Queens too. I'm still scratching my head why Dakota commands such a high price...difficult to justify.

I did forget to mention the warranty might be a reason why the extra $$$$... although the 11 year is more like 6 according to the fine print and their customer service seems to not get very good reviews as of recent. Still a good battery though.

Well I made the jump into LiFEP04 batteries after smothering myself with information. I think I have a learned a few things I can pass along to the average fisherman who is in the market for new batteries for their trolling motor or house battery setup. 

First off - Yes I know Dakota Lithium seem to be the standard in fishing... there is also Battleborn, Relion, and Millertech which are all high end batteries all over $1000 CDN. I would assume there is a reason these batteries are 3X the price of some reputable budget brands, but for me those aren't really options. Probably has something to do with cell grade (which is a whole other can of worms). 

There is also middle of the road companies such as Amped, or Ionic who also get great reviews but are in the $6-700 range

I narrowed down my list to 3 brands who all get good reviews across several fishing and off-grid forums as well as Youtube which are all approximately in the same price range - $400ish

AOLithium

Power Queen

Li time

These brands seem to keep rising to the top of budget category. My first choice was AOlithium with built in Bluetooth connectivity but they are currently sold out and I am impulsive. So I went with the Power Queen 12V 100ah on sale at the time for $319 a piece. 

Bluetooth connectivity to monitor battery capacity was important for me though as when a Lithium battery dies it dies and not being able to re-deploy an Ulterra trolling motor is an issue.  So I bought a device made by a company called Victron call a smart shunt. The devices monitors your battery system and its health. Whether its 12, 24, or 36 volts. You have all sort of historical data such as number of cycles, average charging amperage, average ah draw, etc. Not necessary in all scenrio's but more info the better imo.

Another option the Power Queen batteries do not have but others do (Li Time Trolling motor edition) is low temp charging cut off. These batteries do not like being charged when its below 0C and it can ruin the battery. So if your boat is outside all fishing season, this is something to consider.

LiFEP04 batteries are more like mini computers then a conventional battery. Inside they have a BMS (Battery management system) which is essentially a brain that will protect the battery from over charging, over current, shorting (no more welding wrenches), high temp, and low temp by shutting the battery off if it senses any of these issues. So with that in mind... they can also be a bit more finicky than a standard Lead Acid or AGM battery. They also make 24 and 36 volt single batteries instead of wiring multiple batteries in series. Lots of pro's and con's there to read about.

My setup is a 24 volt system for the Ulterra and then a house battery for all of the electronics. I decided to go with 2 100ah group size 31 in series for the trolling motor and then a mini 100ah house battery as I have a compartment size constraint. My 4th battery will stay a standard AGM starting battery for the motor. They do make LifeP04 starting batteries but they are expensive and there are not many companies that make them at this time.

Out - 2 group size 31 Nautilus XD AGM's - 103ah - 71lbs each

          1 Group size 24 Nautilus XD AGM - 79ah - 60lbs

In - 2 group size 31 LiFEP04's - 100ah - 25lbs each

       1 Group size 24(ish) LiFEP04 - 100ah - 19lbs

Current price to purchase - AGM batteries - $1701 plus tax

                                                LiFEP04 - $1157 plus tax

My AGM's lasted 8 years and still have life left so I was able to sell them. I have no complaints about those batteries... made heavy duty.... but that is a 133lb weight savings, 15ah gain, and over $500 cost savings. Will they Power Queens last 8 years? Jury is out on that as there are no long term reviews on these types of batteries. They claim they will, but we will see. 

Lastly are chargers - Multi bank chargers with the a Lithium setting work great. I opted to go with a 24 volt onboard charger as cell balancing may be better across both batteries when in series. Again this is something I will monitor. 

Below are a couple of pictures.. wiring will be cleaned up a bit but wanted to make sure everything is in working order.

Trolling motor setup with charger and smart shunt

House battery compartment

Smart Shunt app main page

Hope this helps

Cheers

BM

9 hours ago, DaddyMac said:

https://www.wajashkcottages.com

We stayed here a few years back in June and had a great time.  Dokis First Nation on the French River.  We had great walleye fishing and a couple big muskie for some extra fun.  Not sure about boats as we had our own.  Cabins were simple but comfortable and not expensive.

I have stayed at Wajashk several times over the last 20 years.... great spot on the French. 

What a beautiful last couple of days West of Ottawa.

Really gets the soft water and boat tinkering juices flowing!

Pretty crazy stuff.

Side imaging is still very useful as a tool and provides a lot that Livescope can't. Having the historical data with side scan where you can drop waypoints around structure is useful... and then you can scope the crap out of it to find fish.

I'm a tech guy so i like all this stuff... but from a cost perspective.... yikes. I went with the original PS-22 Panoptix transducer... 1/3 the price, less power consumption, no black box. Still a huge upgrade from a jigging application perspective... forward vu is obviously lacking in comparison to LS but is still useable. 

Its really just a gateway setup lol. 

15 minutes ago, BillM said:

The lithiums are becoming a lot more attractive now that the prices are dropping a bit.  I'd love to get rid of 3 group 31 AGMs  

Totally agree. I run 4 AGM's (2 31's and 2 24's) on a Lund 1675 Pro Guide lol. 2 trolling motor a house and a starter. 

That is 340lbs in batteries! 

I currently have an ACR that charges the starting battery first from the motor's alternator then flips over to the house battery when the starter is topped up. This set up doesn't work with Lithiums so it will stay that was for a bit. 

20 hours ago, BillM said:

There's no issues charging AGMs when it's cold.  If they're completely dead, then you should charge them in above 0 temps.   I've always left my AGMs plugged into the charger/maintainer over the winter.  Been doing this since I can remember.  

I'll probably switch over to lithiums when my current group of AGMs die, I'd guess another 2-3 seasons.   Weight savings will be nice. 

Hey Bill I had read that optimal charging temps for AGM's were over 32F... but i guess there are non optimal charging conditions. With Lithium charging below 32 can damage the cells and ruin the battery, hence why some of them have the cold temp charging shut off if the battery gets to cold. In my garage I won't have that problem. 

I got 4 seasons out of my AGM's and lots of life left... sold them fairly quickly. 

I did a bunch of research into Lithium phosphate's and 2 budget friendly brands kept coming back time after time as a good deal that are built well that are easy to order from Amazon.

Li Time - $369

Power Queen - $349

The basic models do not have low temp charging cut offs, but then again your AGM's are not supposed to be charged below 0C either. No bluetooth either.

AOL Lithium seems to be also very well made according to several reviews but you need to order from their website.

I pulled the trigger on 2 Power Queen 100ah's as my AGM's are just too heavy. cutting the trolling motor battery weight from 140lbs to 50lbs is significant enough to make the switch. 

My current AGM's are Nautilus AGM extreme XD's group size 31's - $665 each currently at CT.

If you have the money and want to go with Dakota, Ionic, or Battleborn that is great as well. But the few battery brands above seem to be a good budget option with a decent reputation thus far.

Time will tell.

BM

Still lots of time for winter... but yes this might be the weirdest year yet. 2 days in a row at about 10 here West of Ottawa. 

Maybe we will get 4 feet of snow in March? 

31" over 10lb Walleye on Nipissing a couple years ago.

On 1/19/2024 at 2:54 PM, CrowMan said:

Big polarizing issue in my home town of Oakville. Some little old ladies are even afraid to come out of their house. Local social media fuels the paranoia, especially among new Canadians that have had little exposure to wildlife. It's the "big bad Wolf" syndrome.

As far as I know, the only time there have been threatening interactions between Coyotes and humans is when people feed them, and they get conditioned to humans as a food source. Most of the "stories" of pets being eaten by them have turned out to be urban myths.

Personally, I don't see them as a threat at all. There is a pair that walk past my house every morning like clockwork...they don't bother me, I don't bother them. On a few occasions, where I've come head to head with them in the local park...either a bark from my Vizsla (not a big dog) or a clap of my hands has sent them scurrying away with their tail between their legs.

They're here, because food is here...frankly, I like the fact they keep the local rodent population under control. The rat problem is one of the dirty little secrets of the  suburbs.

 

I mean there is some validity to the increase number of animals and humans being attacked by yotes in suburban area's. There are a few news articles a year outing attacks on toddlers in their fenced in back yards or people out for walks. 

In 2022 several pets were killed and several people were attacked by a yote in Ottawa's south end. 

The closer you get to "town" the more aggressive they become. I'm all for wildlife being around... until they are causing a problem.

Last spring we had a bear in our community for a couple weeks taking down bird feeders all down the street.... thats fine and all.... but with a 5 and 4 year old playing in the back yard.. not overly keen on just letting them be around.

Hey Smitty,

The guys put out in CB close to Buchhams. No activity out there other than 1 small shack. A lot of shacks at the end of peoples driveways as of Tuesday this week. 

18 hours ago, BillM said:

Where are we flying into?   

Hey Bill,

White Owl Lake out of Hornepayne June 2nd to 9th.

Well I finally booked the trip so now I know what we can mange. They have a generator so i'll be brining the big unit. Found a BNIB Garmin 2d/structure scan transducer for $120 on marketplace. 

Will upgrade to a lithium closer to the trip and feel better about the ability to locate fish in case the weather doesn't cooperate. 

Now the fly in planning has begun.... can't wait for June.