Many people use trolling motors as their primary means of propulsion. This is popular on Jon Boats, dinghys, and other small personal watercraft. While trolling motors work great for this, they will never achieve the performance of a gas motor. The reason for this is because the maximum speed is determined by the propeller speed, or RPMs. Propeller speed is determined by the amount of current that can be passed through the coil, therefore a 12V trolling motor is limited by only having twelve volts available. Electric trolling motors are by design, only able to perform within set parameters, so adding additional volts will only ruin the motor, and not improve performance. [links]