24v system on a Nitro 640?

[Kitz]

I'm considering putting another battery on my 640 and a 24v TM on the bow. I fish alot of tournaments, and if the wind is nasty I spend more time struggling with the current TM than I do fishing, and it dies before about 1 p.m. I have a 60 ELPTO on it at the moment (would love a 90) and was wondering if it would ruin my top speed (a scorching 40mph) and if it's worth the trade off. Anyone done it?

[Kitz]

Just found a post about this very subject from last year. If anyone has made changes since then, let m know how it worked out.

[OutdoorFrontiers]

Let me put it this way.  Is it worth losing a mile per hour or two in exchange for being able to use the trolling motor all day?

I had a 17' glass boat with a 75 hp outboard on it, so performance was similar to your boat.  I didn't notice any appreciable speed difference but I sure did notice that I was done fishing before the trolling motor system was.

I say, "Go for it!"  Just remember to make sure you've got 6 or at least 8 gauge wire between the trolling motor and the batteries.

Steve

[Ron Fogelson]

I used to have a 640 with a 75hp motor on it, came with a 45 lbs MG TM, lasted about 3 months before I had to replace it.

Couldn't swing the $$ for a 24volt so I stayed with a 12volt but went to a 52 lbs MK and put in a 2nd battery to help extend my time on the water.  The extra battery did slow me down a bit however once I went to a SS prop it wasn't even enough to notice and like OutdoorFrontiers stated the top end speed lost was worth the trade off in having full use of my TM all day.

Good Luck
Fogy

[Brandon Piscitelli]

I have a 98' 700lx w/ 75 merc. Last year I stepped up from a 12V 48lb thrust to a 24V 82lb. Was worth every penny. Had the same problem of the battery going dead about mid-day, nothing is worse then that. Have not had that problem since the upgrade. 82lbs may be a bit of overkill, but it allows me to run it at lower speeds using up minimal battery draw. Did not notice any major decrease in speed when adding the 2nd battery. Go for it...

[fishin geek]

I would have to agree with those who say "go for it".  But, you may want to check into a different battery first if you're still using a regular old wet cell deep cycle battery.  I owned a small flats boat with a 12V Minn Kota Riptide.  Any time the wind blew or I fished in current, the battery was done by lunch time.  Eventually I upgraded to a Optima AGM battery and couldn't believe the difference.  After that I fished all kinds of conditions and never killed it in one day's time.  Granted it was a small skiff that weighed next to nothing, but you may see enough of a performance increase to make it worth your while.  If not, you can always use the Optima when you upgrade to 24V.