i have an 35 pound thrust minkota i use on my boat for lake fishing. Do you think it would work in saltwater or will it mess it up? [QUOTE] [when you hear "FISH ON" you can always get a fishermans attention]

just rinse it off well with fresh water when you get home. also, pull the prop off and rinse around the prop shaft.

Except for a couple of models (Riptide), MinnKota will not honor any warrantee claims for electric motors that have been used in salt water.

If it isn't a Riptide, don't use it in salt. I sale alot of electric motors and have had 3 Endura models that were less then 2 years old brought in because they know longer worked, guys swore up and down they were only used in freshwater but as soon as the prop was removed you could see the salt build-up. Nothing we can do for them when they miss-use the motor.

I know Minkota specifically sells a salt-water motor.

I had a similar dilema and I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't risk it for one trip.

I use to use my Motorguide 50lb. electric all the time on my old 12' fiberglass in the salt and never had problem. I think the key here, like with any motor, is rinsing after use. A little WD-40 here and there sure did not hurt either.

I think your main difficulty will be fighting the wind and tidal currents. You'll have to run that motor on probably the 4 or 5 setting, which will drain even a good deep-cycle battery in about a hour or 2. Bring some oars, and stay close to the ramp.

I mooch and use an electric to back inot the current some. I use the regular Minnkota 35 lb thrust (endura). First electric I used for 8 years - then somebody stole it off the back of the boat. Second one I'm on my 3rd year.