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In case others are considering using a trolling motor with their N16...
On Sept 14, I evaluated an electric trolling motor as alternate propulsion in case the wind is too weak, too strong, or the mast breaks.? The motor's seller claims 55 pounds thrust without saying what boat speed is associated with that number.? I measured thrust using a spring scale at the dock: 46 pounds.? Power consumption was 23 A at 25.4 V from 4 14Ah LFP batteries in series-parallel.? That's 584 W = 0.78 HP.? The motor propulsion was sufficient to maneuver the boat around the dock with very low wind.? It was also able to maintain headway in approximately 5 knots headwind with sails hoisted and flapping, sheets loose.? I doubt it would have enough power to be of any use if the wind was at 10 knots.? I bought an 86 pound thrust version of the same motor and hope to try it later this week.
I have used a 4 hp 2 cycle Evinrude on this boat before, but it has a leak in the carburetor that I haven't fixed yet.
Cheers,
Halden

I acquired an off brand 70-80lb thrust long shank trolling motor with my boat, it works well but I haven't used it in winds over 10 knots

The motor that claimed 55 pounds thrust came with 2 manufacturing flaws.? The grommet holding the power cable in the housing was loose due to an untightened nut inside.? Also, the tiller control was wired backwards.? Turning it clockwise made the motor go backwards.? For some odd reason, I then ordered the 86 pound thrust version.? The price was low and the previous motor's flaws were repairable by me.? The higher power version has a longer shaft,? a 2nd propeller., and seems to have the same motor;?? Max current is 45 A instead of 30 A at 24 V.? It also has reverse wiring on the tiller control and one has to turn said tiller slightly off-centre to make it stop.? One of the propellers doesn't fit the motor shaft.? My attempts to get customer support from the vendor have been infuriating and without any progress.? I suppose that's whey they were inexpensive.
The motor, however, does work.? I forgot to bring my spring scale to the lake this time, so I couldn't verify the thrust.? My crew member with a GPS app on a smartphone measured 4 km/h while motoring with 10A, no wind, and sails hoisted.? At full tilt, 35A, we reached 6 km/h (3.2 knots).?
For lake sailing this seems sufficient.? So, I plan to find a place to mount the batteries under the cockpit seats and install a power connector on the seat near the stern.
I also thought of attaching a leash to the motor in case I slip and drop it during install or removal.? But I've never seen other boats with a leash on their outboard.? Why?
Cheers,
Halden

An update:
I returned the 55-pound thrust motor to Amazon and got a refund.? But I bought the 86-pound thrust motor directly from Vevor, which turned out to be a mistake.? After many exchanges with me sending them photos and videos which they demanded as a stall and wear-out-the-customer tactic, the seller probably realized that I was about to raise a dispute via the credit card company. They offered a refund of a small fraction of the purchase price and I demanded 50%.? To my surprise, they agreed.? To my further surprise, it arrived.?
Then, I opened the motor to attempt repair.? I reversed the wiring on the potentiometer to correct the direction problem.? I found that the plastic piece that couples the tiller end to the potentiometer is molded so that the potentiometer is off-center when the tiller is at its detent center position.? By adding a fixed resistor between the potentiometer's center and one of its end terminals, I solved the problem of the motor turning slowly when it's supposed to be off.
This motor also has at least one design flaw too.? It's hard to operate the lever that releases the latch when it's tilted up and out of the water.? I'm thinking of bolting an extension to the lever to help with that.
I'm guessing that Vevor bought a lot of motors that were known to be defective or had a high defect rate at a low price from some manufacturer in China.? I also noticed that the same motor is available at Walmart under a different brand - BENTISM for USD$140..? Maybe Walmart uses a different business model.
By operating on 24V, the current required at high power is about half what it would be at 12V.? This means you can use smaller diameter cable and/or have less power loss in the cable.? Neither motor would turn on at all if the applied voltage exceeded about 27.3 V.? To solve this, I apply a small load to my freshly-charged LiFePO4 batteries just before connecting the motor.? The motor itself draws the voltage down below the threshold as soon as it turns on.
So...if you're handy with electronics and don't mind spending some time repairing manufacturing defects, this motor might be good for your N-16.? If not, consider a similar spec motor from a different company.
Halden