Electric Motor Thrust

[dubob]

I have the same Minn Kota (70 lb, 24 volt) as Dubob on my Lund 1775 Adventure and its barely enough some days. In a 15 mph wind the motor runs 80% to 90% power to maintain .7 mph.
I agree on getting the longest shaft that will fit in your boat, in 2 ft of chop my motor sucks air and looses most forward momentum.
Despite the occasional  shortcoming of my Minn Kota I really like it. I spent 12 hours trolling at Willard, spread over three days, and didn't run the batteries dead.

The difference between you and I is that I will come off the water when the wind gets much over 10 mph.     That ThunderJet just has too much surface area to control in the wind and all my time is focused on steering the boat.  Trying to fish in it is a royal PITA.  I do have the 60" shaft on my boat.  Battery life for me usually runs anywhere from 6 to 7 hours.  I use AC Delco AGM Group 24 as that is all the bigger my battery box will carry.  I'd love to have lithium ion, but at almost a grand a pop, that's a little rich for my blood.