I started with a fiberglass 8 ft pram that I fished the hell out of here in Northern Ca as well as Central Oregon on some pretty big water. I really enjoyed that little pram. I could put in just about any where and it was light enough to carry if the need presented itself. I switched back and forth from a 4hp Seagull 2 stroke to a 55lb Minn Kota electric. Very stable for a small pram, no trouble standing while fishing and I always had my 70 lb Golden Retriever along with me.
Thought I'd share a couple of points you might find helpful. If you're out to cover water a small gas motor is going to do a much better job of getting you there. But having to pull start a gas motor can be hard on the back. As far as stealth maneuverability, as Rockman pointed out, the electric is far better than the gas. Regarding your back I think I'd lean toward the electric motor. I've got a terrible back and one of these days I'm afraid it's going to put an end to my fishing pursuits. With this in mind I'd recommend picking up a trailer. Pulling your boat off the top of a car or out of the back of a truck and then having to get it to the water is asking for trouble. With a boat trailer you can back it right into the water, no carrying or having to unload the pram. With a light set up like you have you don't need a ramp to put in. You'd be surprised what you can back into from the shoreline. One problem with the electric trolling motor is the battery...it's not light! With a bad back you don't want to deal with picking up and carrying a battery. The nice thing about the trailer is you can leave the battery in the pram. I had mine set up with the battery in the stern in a battery case with no problems.
I've got a fishing buddy 2255 bottom line side finder I used on this pram and really liked it. You might want to look into something similar, can't have too much information. I always had my oars on board, if that motor quits on you or the battery dies it's nice to have a way to get in. Here's what it looked like fishing out on Lake Davis.
Rockman I'd love to see what your set up looks like. You definitely took it a few steps further than I did.
Hope this helps.
Pete
Aka FeatherRiverSam
Sonny, the black lab, ran ahead to make sure there were no gophers or jackrabbits in the way. If you don't give a dog a specific job, he'll improvise one for himself and it will invariably be fun. There's a lesson there.
John Gierach
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