Hey everyone i was debating on adding a trolling motor to my ride 135. I seem to be falling behind my cousins alot, and I am looking for a way to keep up. For people who have one what are the pros and cons you have noticed? Does the extra weight make it a lot harder when you do need to paddle?

The extra weight will affect handling and paddling. But unless you weigh 300# or carry huge amounts of stuff, your Ride should handle it. I rarely paddle my Commander 140 now that I have a trolling motor on it. I'm not into tournaments anymore, so for me there's no down side to the trolling motor. I can run 5 mph for quite a ways, which is fast enough to cover some water if you want.

But I wouldn't have spent $800 or more for my trolling motor. I built mine myself, and I have about $150 in mine. I have a 105 amp-hour battery and a 35 amp-hour battery, and I pick the one I need for how long I will be fishing. I have run the 35 amp battery pretty low a couple of times, but it still got me back.

Good luck with it.

You'll have to register the kayak if you add a trolling motor.

Thanks for the replies. I was looking at getting the minn kota endura on amazon. Do yall have any other recommendations? Mcgwire probably has a nice boat and his own personal guide.

Oh the battle of the purest..... I added a bassyak on my Native Ult. 14.5 and I will say that I could have easily done a trolling motor for a lot less and better for what I want. THe benefits to making one similar to a bassyak is that you can control these with your foot pedals, might sound good but you might not want it controlled that way. I also have had the worst trouble dealing with the "remote control" that came with mine. With that said, I would go back and just get a regular trolling motor and just extend the handle like you would have on a skiff gas motor. Its cheaper and easier to take on and off if you need it or not. If I am fishing rivers I DO NOT take the bassyak, you can paddle, drag and wouldn't be worth the trouble. If you are on a larger lake then it is definitely worth it. Try not to let the purest bring you down, even though I agree with the paddle experience at times, when I want to fish a area that is very far from my launch it becomes a time/effort debate. I think this is a fishing blog and not a rowing blog.

As far as recommendations, I have a MK Endura Max 40 I use on my PA from time to time.. It's easier on power than the regular Endura series motors. You can read about the Digital Maximizer on the link below. The link is for a 45# thrust model, the 40 I have is only about $5 less. They ship to store nearest you for free too.

Good unit.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Endu...-Shaft/21811308