Sport Fisher 44T

On the troll

When my mate Richard Ardizzone was searching for an electric trolling motor for his Walker Bay 10 rowing and fishing dinghy, he stumbled across the Sport Fisher 44T at his local Kmart store.

Made in China from a combination of MotorGuide and Minn Kota designs (the latter mainly transom bracket design), the 44T has seven quick-release trim and tilt positions (compared to the MotorGuide bracket which has 10) and a three-bladed prop, which is almost identical to the MotorGuide Hannan Weedless series and has a fine enough pitch to handle aluminium runabouts to 4.3m.

The motor casing skeg is deep enough to protect the prop from damage should it hit an underwater snag and is tapered aft to improve water flow to the prop. Nice touches are an extendable tiller handle and a prop nut removal tool as standard.

Tested on two very different hulls, Richard’s 44T showed true flexibility, although the motor is designed more for hulls to 4.3m than car-top dinghies. And, like all transom mount trolling motors, the 44T requires careful height experimentation on the transom to get the right blend of effective thrust without ‘burying’ the prop and excessively loading the motor.

On the 2.95m Walker Bay 10 and pushing a total of 270kg across a measured distance the 44T averaged 7.4km/h and 29 amps on position five, and 6.8km/h and 17 amps on position four.

In comparison, under identical conditions, my MotorGuide T30 averaged 7km/h and 33 amps on position five, and 6.2km/h and 19 amps on position four. So the 290mm long motor casing must reduce hydrodynamic drag over my T30, which has a 220mm casing.

Similar to Hunter Marine’s Fisherman 10, my three deHavilland John 10 punt is more typical of the hull likely to be used by freshwater anglers. Pushing a total of 225kg, the 44T again scored over my T30. On position one it averaged 2.4km/h using eight amps, and 2.5 km/h and 10 amps on position two. On position three it averaged 4.2km/h and 17 amps, while on position four it averaged 4.4km/h and 18 amps. As with all trolling motors, the current consumption jumped enormously. On position five the averages were 5.5km/h and 30 amps.

In comparison, under identical test conditions, my T30 averaged 5.2km/h using 33 amps down to 2.2km/h using nine amps. So the 44T is very energy efficient for a rheostat-controlled trolling motor of its output.

On a Clark 430 Navigator aluminium runabout (powered by a Suzuki DF40) and pushing a total of 620kg, my T30 averaged 3.6km/h using 33 amps on position five, down to 1.2 km/h on position one using nine amps. So the 44T should average 3.8km/h and 30 amps down to 1.3km/h and eight amps.

As of August, Richard had clocked up at least 15 trouble-free hours on his 44T, apart from the almost square metal trim rod which, under full power reversing, can drop down from the transom bracket, causing the motor to tilt up without warning.

My MotorGuide T2400 also has the same trim rod design and an unexpected tilt-up fault in reverse, so perhaps the trim rod could be rounded to lock it more effectively in the trim recesses provided, as did the old MotorGuide design with its plastic trim rod.

According to the distributor, Hunter Leisure Australia, the graphite brushes in the motor must be replaced every 100 hours, which is not many considering the amount of yearly hours most trolling motors clock up. The company also recommends lubricating the transom screws with machine oil every two weeks. I recommend removing the prop after every use to check for fishing line around the stainless steel propshaft, which doubles as the electric motor armature shaft. Should the propshaft seal be damaged, water could reach the permanent magnets and ruin them very quickly.

The warranty coverage is two years for recreational and freshwater usage only. Phone Hunter Leisure Australia on 1800 632 792 for your nearest dealer.