Trolling Motors
When we were building out our 2024 Atlas Boatworks 23F demo boat we knew it would have a trolling motor. Ultimately, after a lot of research and referrals, we landed on the Minn Kota Riptide Terrova. This trolling motor is one of the more popular ones out there. Due to the size and beam of our boat, we opted for the 36V and 112lb of thrust to ensure we had plenty of power in strong winds and currents.
Our boat is designed with a high bow, so we went with a 72″ shaft length. You could use an even longer shaft if you wanted as we’ve been in a couple of situations where there were 2’+ waves and they lifted the motor out of the water on the peaks of the waves. Those situations are pretty rare for us, so we think the 72″ shaft is the right fit. One of the beauties of a custom-built boat is you get to decide what is right for you.
Fishing
The fishing capabilities of the Minn Kota Riptide Terrova are unbelievable. If I think about the innovations of the last couple of decades that have had the biggest impact, this has to be one.
Spotlock – The ability to use the GPS-enabled Spotlock feature and essentially anchor the boat in one place at the push of a button is a total game-changer. Previously you would’ve been wrestling with an anchor and hoping to drop it in the right place to allow the current or wind to pull you back to where you wanted to fish. It was a total guessing game.
Jog – The motor also has a, “Jog” feature which moves you 5 feet in whatever direction you tell it. Perfect for working your way down a mangrove shoreline or along docks. You stay in place until you want to bump down 5 or 10 feet. It is epic!
In the video below, we use the Minn Kota Riptide Terrova to fish a mangrove shoreline in Southwest Florida. A strong wind and incoming tide would’ve made trying to anchor with a traditional anchor a nightmare. The trolling motor kept us in place and allowed us to move up and down the shore as desired. A steady stream of snook found their way over the sides of our demo boat.
Batteries
The Minn Kota Riptide Terrova that we chose is a 36-volt trolling motor. This means that you either need to use 3-12V batteries wired in a series or a 36V lithium battery.
Lithium batteries are a relatively new technology but have advantages and disadvantages.
On the plus side, they are smaller and lighter, have long warranties (Ours has an 11-year warranty), and give full power for the whole discharge of their power.
On the negative side, they are expensive. Like, twice as expensive as traditional lead-acid or AGM batteries. You also generally need a separate battery charger from your 12V house/starting battery if you go with a single 36V lithium.
Ultimately, we opted for the Dakota 36V 60AH lithium battery for our Atlas Boatworks 23F demo boat. It was lighter and more compact than 3-12V deep cycle batteries. It does mean that we need a separate charger for it than our onboard charger that we have for the house and starting batteries.
The question with a lithium battery is how many amp hours (AH) do you need? We have found that we can fish 2 full days with our 60AH battery and still have plenty of power. Since lithium batteries give you full power until they run out, we’ve never seen a diminishing of capabilities across 2 days of fishing.
Conclusion
We couldn’t be happier with the Minn Kota Riptide Terrova that we put on our Atlas Boatworks 23F bay boat. Between easy deploy and stow, the GPS-enabled features, and plenty of power and time from our Dakota Lithium battery, it meets all of our needs and more.
