CaptainJoe Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 I really like the new Minn Kota Terrova Trolling Motor. I played with the foot pedal at BPS and it is quite responsive. I really like the new I-Pilot, especially the built in GPS head that will alow you to retrace a route and stay withing 5 feet of a spot automatically. As anyone else looked at these? Better yet, does anyone have it and can post their review? I also see that it is advertising on this site. Thanks... Captain Joe Hreha Owner of MO Fenchbulldogs.com; Captain Joe's Guide Service (Retired); OAF Contributor; & Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired) http://www.mofrenchbulldogs.com
TRRANGER Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 Is that pedal the flat pad electronic pedal? If so I have used it and it is to easy to change, It moves to fast and hard to hold on a straight course. Pedal to touchy for my liking. I guess I am a fan of the old cable type pedals. Old school.
CaptainJoe Posted January 27, 2010 Author Posted January 27, 2010 Is that pedal the flat pad electronic pedal? If so I have used it and it is to easy to change, It moves to fast and hard to hold on a straight course. Pedal to touchy for my liking. I guess I am a fan of the old cable type pedals. Old school. No, it is not the flat pedal. They made it like a normal trolling motor pedal, except it is electric. Instead of having to keep pressing down to continue to turn the head, you just have to make contact and the head turns. Captain Joe Hreha Owner of MO Fenchbulldogs.com; Captain Joe's Guide Service (Retired); OAF Contributor; & Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired) http://www.mofrenchbulldogs.com
bobby b. Posted January 28, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 I've just bought the 70 lb Power Drive for my new boat on order. The Power Drive is the older version of the Terrova. If you need more than 70 lbs you need to move up to the Terrova. I had one of these years ago and liked it then. You are correct, it is very responsive in fact probably as fast as you can move the motor head on a traditional foot control. I got mine with the autopilot, the built-in dual beam transducer, and the add-on co-pilot. The autopilot uses an internal compass to automatically keep the boat headed in a compass direction. The co-pilot is just a remote wireless key type fob. Minn-Kota also offers another option which uses GPS (don't know what they call this)which although has been out for at least a year or two, I've read and heard bad things about this. It's suppose to keep the boat in the same place regardless of wind and current. I've heard that in some cases the boat just spins in circles. This kinda of makes sense in that GPS readings can be 3 meters off so if the reading keeps changing I could see how this would confuse the motor. If others have had success with the GPS I would like to hear regarding this as I can always add it. Also we were at the KC Sportshow a couple weeks back and I noted that the Terrova was on some big Ranger boats.
redbud Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 capt joe,I have a Terrova auto pilot 24v 80lb with the wireless remote. I find that I use both the pedal and the remote in conjunction .I like the auto pilot for deeper fishing you can point it into the breeze and stay on a spot pretty easy.Some times I will fish out of the back of the boat and let my friends have the front and I can still control the boat. When spring comes and I go more shallow I put my old Motorguide back on . Seems like it is much quieter than the powerdrive. With the powerdrive some of the body of the trolling motor extends past the bow of your boat even when the motor is up, you have to watch not to smash it into docks.My road cover would not fit after i put the Minnkota on. My solution for these problems was a removeable mount that slides back off a plate that mounts to the boat. The plate stays on the boat so I can switch out the motors in a matter of minutes. The universal sonar in the minnkota has worked perfectly with my lowrance 520. I have never had any kind of motor interference,if a transducer burns out it is replaceable. A couple of minor oversights on Minkota's part 1.no light on the trolling motor head to show your direction at night. The LEDs that indicate constant on and auto are super bright with no way to dim or turn off.All this said I really like the new pedal WAY better than the older one. The minnkota is great in high wind you dont have to stay stuck to the pedal .I dont have any experience with the gps version but i figured it was just a matter of time. Soon you will be able to sync your motor with your electronics .I hope this helps in some way.
CaptainJoe Posted January 29, 2010 Author Posted January 29, 2010 bobby and redbud, That is some great info guys, thanks. I had one of the first co-pilots years ago, but hated the foot pedal. The co-pilot was great. The I-pilot was the feature that I was most interested in. It has the co-pilot built into it. I agree redbud, it does stick out from the bow. But, if Bobby says there have been problems with the spot control, I need to research this more. While I am taking off a fish, taking a client picture, re-baiting the hook, and the boat stays within 5 feet of a GPS coordinate. That is some neat stuff, if it works. I am also concerned by your comment, redbud, that the Minn Kota is noiser than the MotorGuide. I would like to see MinnKota include the Lowrance StructureScan transducer into the built in head, but that will not happen since MinnKota (Johnson) is suing Lowrance over their SructureScan technology. Thanks again for the info. Captain Joe Hreha Owner of MO Fenchbulldogs.com; Captain Joe's Guide Service (Retired); OAF Contributor; & Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired) http://www.mofrenchbulldogs.com
redbud Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 Capt Joe,sir.The noise I speak of is the electronic whirring when the shaft is rotated .It may just be in my head but when I fish shallow I try to go stealth. No jumping around in the boat, keep your voice down,no slamming rod lockers, etc. Seems like they could hear this noise if there is no other noise to hear.This is really a very small percentage of my fishing time. Fish that are 10 ft or more, fish that hang near docks or bridges,main lake fish probably doesnt matter. The I pilot is cool but an extra $400 is a little steep.I hope the guys at humminbird and lowrance are working on a program that will allow the trolling motor to talk to your GPS, the technology is here .I have already spent enough on a motor and electronics. I would rather have a new rod or reel.
CaptainJoe Posted January 29, 2010 Author Posted January 29, 2010 .I have already spent enough on a motor and electronics. I would rather have a new rod or reel. Thanks for the clarification and I agree on the new rod and reel. Captain Joe Hreha Owner of MO Fenchbulldogs.com; Captain Joe's Guide Service (Retired); OAF Contributor; & Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired) http://www.mofrenchbulldogs.com
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