Need help fixing to wire my motors - I am new to field

Hello,
Hope I am posting this to correct area of form. I apologize if it’s in the wrong place, I’m new to form.
I am building a little pontoon type flat decked boat/kayak to get me to some of my favorite fishing spots down on the texas coast since my boat was stolen last year till I get good down payment saved up, ant afford a 6,000 kayak. I am rapidly approaching time to attach my motors system to it. My problem is I want to mount 2 motors one on each pontoon. Leaning towards 24v motors instead of 12v. I cannot find drawings or schematics of all the. Opponents needed to control the speed of the motors, I know I need motors, a ESC(electric speed controller), a throttle or knob control, I thought ther was some little electronics part that went between the motors abs ESC, allows for the motors to be varisoeed. I don’t know. I don’t k ow if motor watts affect the ESC or not, my motors I’m looking at are 24v, 459w each, I need to find a cheap affordable dual motor ESC I’m guessing, I originally thought I would just wire the two motors together, come off each leg with 10g wire to controller and it would be like running 1 motor. Any help greatly appreciated, thanks again

 

Without knowing all the specifics and based on the info you have provided, the basic components that would make up system would be:

Motors > ESC > Fuse/Master Power Switch/Potentiometer(s) > Battery

If the motors only have power leads, they would be supplied voltage from the ESC which would then be connected to a battery with a Master Power Switch and a Fuse in line.

The ESC would then have control wires (3) that would attach to a potentiometer that would allow you to control speed and direction of the motor.

2 Channel ESC’s are available, some driven by one potentiometer, while others are 2 channel independent which would allow for separate potentiometers, one for each motor, and then you could of course just use two single ESC controllers.

Since you have two hulls and will be running a motor on each, and will be fishing, you might want to consider retaining independent thrust control of each motor which will allow for tank like steering.

And since you are fishing, you might want to seriously consider using foot controllable potentiometers for hands free propulsion and steering.

Once you decide how you want the system to work, you can better determine what additional components are needed.

I would highly recommend purchasing a (or a pair) of high quality ESC’s. Cheap ones will burn up and leave you stranded. You can get by with inexpensive motors if they are well sealed with efficiency and low performance usually being the main drawback, but I would not go cheap on the ESC.

If range and runtime are important, go with a PWM ESC which will increase efficiency.

What motors have you chosen and are they brushed or brushless?

Pay close attention to their max amp draw and make sure you size your ESC’s accordingly.

Also keep in mind most components are not designed for marine/water use, so you will need to house them in a protected box but still allow for air flow and cooling.

 

Thank you so much it is greatly appreciated I’m not too good figuring the electronics numbers part of it but I greatly appreciate your time of getting back with me. I am going to figure out which set of motors I’m going with I know they will cost somewhere in the range of 450.00-700.00 a set. Abs I DO NOT want to get stranded by no means so no more looking at utube and tbe 2.00 gadgets they use for sure, have a great week

 

The motors will be brushless, looking at motors now will let you know thanks again, Steve

 

If you haven’t acquired or decided on motors yet, I would suggest purchasing a pair of trolling motors. That way all the components will be matched.

If you don’t like the way they function, you can always dismantle the control head and extend the wires to mount the controls to a more ergonomic position, then utilize the transom mount and shaft at the stern and fix the shafts from rotating.

Then if you space the motors apart, you will have “tank-like” steering without the need for a tiller or rudder or the shafts to rotate, but will be able to retain trim and tilt. FYI, not all trolling motors have ability for vertical trim where the shaft pulls up through the mount, which is much more effective in shallow water and when operating in reverse.

If you move on to another project, you can always reassemble the motors and they will still have some value/universal use versus a pieced together setup.

One giveaway for a PWM ESC (Pulse Width Modulation, meaning the motor pulses on and off very quickly which increases efficiency sort of like occasionally pedaling a bike to maintain speed) controlled trolling motor is that it usually has variable speed, not preset speed settings.

Depending on size and displacement of your boat and potential current and wind conditions to/from/at at your favorite spots, a pair of 30lbs - 80lbs 24V motors should do the job,

Going with a pair of modified trolling motors, all you would need is to add a master power switch and fuse, and a suitable battery bank. The switch and fuse could easily be integrated into the lid of a standard plastic battery box for example.

If you can afford it, seriously consider going with a LifePo4 Lithium battery. Not only will it save weight and increase runtime, but if you run the battery down you don’t have to worry about shortening its life or recharging it as soon as possible. They are much more forgiving.

Of course you can always start out with lead acid and upgrade later, and if you have good sun you can always add solar to put a little power back in while you are fishing and to act as a trickle charger when the boat is on land.

 

Thank you very good idea appreciate the feed back very doable hv a great week thanks o

 

Thank you I was needing the components needed. Looking fir quality ESC now thank you have a great week Steve

 

Ba-da-bump...
Sorry, just struck me as a great start to an EE joke.

 

I'm new to field, so would prefer something permanent!

 

Have you compared prices to buy all the parts, fabricate mechanical brackets, etc., to a trolling motor that has the controller already included?