24 volts will give you more power and longer use before needing recharging. I would think 12 volts would be plenty for your use. A bow mount on a flat bottom jon is more trouble unless you have a deck up front and without that deck it's difficult to find a good spot to put cable controlled foot pedal. A good option for the foot control is a Minnkota Power Drive which has a servo to steer with from a wired foot control with a cable long enough to take to the back of the boat to steer.This motor I have and like a lot it has varible power instead of different speeds and you don't have to keep your foot on it all the time to steer you just tap the pedal left or right to change direction its a little more difficult to get up or down. The biggest factor is money. I personally like Minnkota over Motorguide just because of past experience