Can a Trolling Motor Shaft Be Too Long?

It is always great to ease your hands from stress by using a trolling motor with your boat or kayak.

But can a trolling motor shaft be too long?

Yes, a trolling motor shaft can be too long if the water you are boating or kayaking on is too shallow.

One thing is making use of a trolling motor.

But another thing is in determining the best height it should be at.

This is what will make the trolling motor to function well.

A trolling motor shaft can be too long when the propeller of the trolling motor cannot spin freely due to contact with the bed of the water.

This is very common when you boat or kayak on a water body that is too shallow.

When you boat or kayak on a water body that is very shallow, the propeller will easily hit the bed of the water and develop fault.

That is why you have to be mindful of the height of the trolling motor in every water you boat or kayak on.

What Makes Trolling Motor Shaft Too Long

1) Too Shallow Water Body

In all the water bodies, the conditions of the water bodies are very different.

These different conditions have a vital role to play when it comes to how successful you can boat or kayak on the water.

It also affects if you can easily use a trolling motor with your boat or kayak while using the water.

One of the conditions of the water body that affects this is the depth of the water.

If the depth of the water is deep, then you will not have issues in using a trolling motor with your boat or kayak.

But if the depth of the water you boat or kayak on is very shallow, it will affect the use of a trolling motor.

In such a case, using a trolling motor will result in the damage of the propeller of the trolling motor.

This is because in a shallow water body, the propeller of the trolling motor will easily hit the bed of the water body.

Due to this, the propeller can get damaged easily.

2) Wrong Adjustment Of Trolling Motor Shaft Height

Another thing that makes a trolling motor shaft too long is when the height is not properly adjusted.

When you are in a deep water, the height of the trolling motor you use will not really affect the propeller .

The propeller will still be freely submerged in the water.

This will help the propeller of the trolling motor to move freely.

But when you are on a water body that is very shallow, you need to adjust the height of the trolling motor.

If the height of the trolling motor is not adjusted, this will lead to some problems while you are using your boat or kayak on the water body.

One of the problems you are going to encounter is that the propeller of the trolling motor is going to hit the bottom of the water body you kayak on if the water is too shallow.

This will cause damage to the propeller of the trolling motor.

So if you are in a water body that is more shallow than the last one you used your kayak or boat on, you have to make sure that you adjust the height of the trolling motor shaft.

This will help avoid casualties like damaging your trolling motor propeller when you are boating or kayaking.

What Happens When a Trolling Motor Shaft Is Too Long

1) Boat Will Not Move Well

One of the things that makes a boat or kayak with a trolling motor to move well is when the position of the trolling motor is optimal.

If the height of the trolling motor shaft is too short, there will be issues in the performance of the trolling motor.

Also if the position or height of the trolling motor shaft is too long, there will be issues too.

To avoid this, you have to make sure that you position the trolling motor shaft at a height in which it will allow the trolling motor to function well.

When this is done, then the boat will be able to move well on the surface of the water.

But if the shaft of the trolling motor is too long, then the boat or kayak will not be able to move well when it is on the water surface.

2) Boat Propeller Will Be Destroyed

Another thing that happens when a trolling motor shaft is too long is that the propeller of the trolling motor will be easily destroyed.

When a trolling motor powered boat or kayak moves on the surface of the water, the circular movement of the propeller is what aids the movement of the boat or kayak.

But for the boat or kayak to move well, the propeller has to produce a circular motion freely without any obstruction to its movement.

If an obstruction occurs, then the propeller will not be able to function well.

One of such cases in which the propeller of a trolling motor’s movement is obstructed is when the boat or kayak is used on a water surface that is too shallow.

When the surface of the water is too shallow, it will not be able to accommodate the height of the trolling motor shaft well.

What you are going to experience is that the propeller will keep hitting the bottom of the water body.

This will end up destroying the propeller of the trolling motor.

3) Boat Motor Will Fail

When a water body is too shallow, one of the components of the trolling motor that will be damaged is the propeller.

But apart from the propeller, another part that will be damaged will be the motor.

This is because for a propeller to be able to move, the circular motion is produced by the motor in the trolling motor.

This circular motion is then transferred to the propeller which then helps the kayak or boat to move.

When the motor keeps generating this circular motion to a propeller that is obstructed from moving due to contact with the bottom of the water surface, it will also create harm to the motor of the trolling motor too.

That is why it is very important to make sure that you always adjust the height of the shaft in the trolling motor well.

If you discover that the water is too shallow, you have to make sure that you avoid kayaking or boating in such a water body with a trolling motor powered boat or kayak.

This will help prevent your trolling motor from getting damaged.

If you have any question related to can a trolling motor shaft be too long, you can make use of the comment section to notify.

Further Readings

Best Way To Make Your Kayak Last Longer

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