Last Updated on June 2, 2025
This article explores the performance of three different 12-volt trolling motors on a small boat. The host compares an old 14 lb thrust Shakespeare, a new 30 lb thrust Minn Kota Endura C2, and an older 55 lb thrust Minn Kota Riptide. The host's goal is to see if more expensive, higher-thrust motors offer a significant advantage in speed or features for small watercraft.
The Trolling Motor Test
The host explains that he has been wanting to do this experiment for a while. He is going to test three 12-volt electric trolling motors to see what the differences are between them. The first one is a Shakespeare Sigma 14 lb of thrust trolling motor, probably 50 or 60 years old. It's been sitting in his garage since he got it with his first Jon Boat. The second motor the host is trying is a Minn Kota 30 lb of thrust Endura C2. This is the one you can buy brand new everywhere right now. The third one is a Minn Kota 55 lb of thrust saltwater trolling motor. It has a bigger motor than the 30, which has a bigger motor than the 14. But on a small boat like this, the host wonders how fast they all go and how they feel and operate. Is there much difference between 14 lbs of thrust, 30 lb of thrust, and 55 lb of thrust when it's a small boat with one person in it?
The host anticipates that some viewers might be wondering why he is doing this. He explains that part of the reason is that when you're shopping for your first trolling motor and you're on a tight budget, you're considering whether to buy a very cheap one you see at a yard sale, or a brand new $140 Minn Kota Endura, or whether to spend nearly $600 to get the 55 lb of thrust motor that still runs off 12 volts. Maybe there is a big difference, maybe there isn't. And if there isn't, maybe you don't need to spend so much on a trolling motor. You can buy the cheapest one.
For all three motors, the host used an old Walmart 100 amp lead acid deep cycle marine battery.
Minn Kota Endura C2 30 (30 lb Thrust)
First up, the host demonstrates the brand new Minn Kota 30 lb of thrust Endura. He just opened this up the other day. When he first put it in the water, it sounded like it had a bit of vibration. It ran perfectly smooth when dry, so it was weird. The host let it rip full speed. The most he hit was 3.3 miles per hour, but it settled right at 3 miles per hour. This is on his 14-foot aluminum boat, which is pretty well loaded. Companies often say you want more pounds of thrust depending on how big and heavy your boat is. Minn Kota even has a diagram showing what they recommend for what size boat. Obviously, if you go with very low thrust, one challenge is if you get into any wind or stronger currents, it won't perform as well. But if you're in a pond environment with still waters, that's not a factor. Going the other direction, the host could feel the wind, but he was still hitting about 3 mph, literally bouncing between 2.9 and 3.1.
Addressing a Problem
Days later, the host posted to social media asking about the Minn Kota trolling motor's noise. The simple answer was to take it back to the store. But someone suggested it might be the prop hitting, and a couple of people said that. The host thought, "You know what, that's probably what it is." These things are easy enough to mess with; you just need a half-inch socket. The host took the nut off the prop, pulled the prop off, and sure enough, he saw two silver spots on the motor housing where the prop was rubbing. That was obviously making the thunking noise. He could see where it was uneven on the inside edge of it. The host set a piece of 220 grit sandpaper down on a board and ran the prop back and forth, sanding it smooth. There was also a burr on the outside of the part that fits with the prop, so he sanded that burr off as well, smoothing it out. Now, it's much better. It's dead silent. There's a tiny bit of vibration, but it's worlds better than it was.
Shakespeare Sigma (14 lb Thrust)
The host notes that the nice thing about the Minn Kota is that it's very lightweight. This old Shakespeare Sigma is in bad shape. It's been sitting in his garage for years and is so dusty. The host didn't even know if it would work. He thinks he literally used this motor one time on his Jon Boat when he first got it. This came with his $250 Jon Boat; the guy threw it in for free. This thing is pretty cool; it has a forward, off, reverse, and then a high, medium, low setting. And it works! The host explains you can't take a gasoline motor that's been sitting in a garage for five years, untouched, and just pour some gas in it and start it. For the most part, no, you're not doing that. The host got it on medium, and then kicked it up to high. This feels noticeably slower than the 30 lbs of thrust. He was hitting 2 miles per hour. The host thinks he was going so slow that it was hard for the app to read anything. It was going between 1.9 and 2.6, so let's say 2.3 mph. Going into the wind again, he was still getting about 2 mph. So, about 1 mph slower. This 50-year-old Shakespeare Sigma gave him about 2 to a little over 2 miles per hour both ways. It is smoother and quieter, though.
Minn Kota Riptide 55 (55 lb Thrust)
The host explains that his water around here is brackish, so technically he's not supposed to be running either of those trolling motors. He's supposed to be using this one. This is a saltwater trolling motor, and this one is very heavy. This is his 55 lb of thrust Minn Kota, the Riptide series. The Riptide series are white and made for saltwater use. This one has a really long shaft. The host provides a quick safety note: whenever you're hooking up a trolling motor to a battery, you should have a circuit breaker or fuse in line before the battery so you don't burn up your motor or cause any other problems, like if you run into weeds. As for him, he lives dangerously. He thinks the advantage for that is if you're actually doing trolling, you're literally sitting back here running the motor the whole time, so you're not leaving it set while you're actually trolling and fishing. But if you were doing stuff like fishing, it would probably be a good idea to have a circuit breaker or fuse in line.
The host demonstrates winding this up. He can certainly feel a pull with this thing. When he gets up to full speed, it's 3.1 mph. That's kind of where it's resting. He hears people tell him all the time that they get the same speed out of their trolling motor. The host doesn't know what kind of trolling motor they're running or how much they paid for it, but he never can get more than about 3.1 mph out of these trolling motors. This is 55 lbs of thrust with a well-charged 100 amp 12-volt battery. Going this direction, the highest he saw was 3.2, the lowest was 2.5. He was going into the wind, so really, he was going about 3 miles per hour.
Key Takeaways
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For someone just starting out, if you're on a small boat like this and you're in freshwater, in a lake or pond, the host suggests the Endura 30 seems like the way to go. Even with the initial issue, it was fixable.
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On a small boat like this, the host doesn't see any advantage to having 55 lb of thrust versus 30 lb of thrust. The speed difference was minimal.
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If you're on a really small body of water and someone offers you one of those really old ones, like the Shakespeare, the host advises to give it a try, especially if you can get it for really, really cheap.
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The host notes that the Minn Kota Endura C2 30 at around $140 isn't bad, and it's a lot lighter than the 55 lb thrust one, which makes a difference in a small boat.
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The host observes that the older, lower-thrust motors can be surprisingly smooth and quiet compared to newer ones, even if they are slower.
The host thinks if you can get one of these new, inexpensive motors and it's good right out of the box, or a similar Newport or other inexpensive ones that they sell on Amazon, chances are these motors are more efficient than that old Shakespeare motor. He's disappointed that the new one wasn't great out of the box, but in a small boat like this, he doesn't think there's any advantage to getting the 55 lbs of thrust. And if you're on a really small body of water and somebody offers you one of those really old ones, what the heck, give it a try, especially if you can get it for really, really cheap. But at $140, the Endura isn't bad, and it's a lot lighter than the 55 lb thrust one too, which makes a difference in a small boat like this.
