Trolling motor question

[Carl1969]

I've got a little 15' Lowe mod-V with a cheapo 30lb MK transom mount trolling motor. Stupid thing's in the way & gutless & I'd really like to have both hands free to fish. Not much room to be playing musical chairs & I just don't see myself fishing from the front.

Is there a decent bow mount trolling motor I can control from the stern, or one convertible to transom mount? Motor Guide made a transom mount, foot pedal TM, that has been discontinued. I'm looking at something like a MK Powerdrive or MG X3. 

What say ye? Can a Powerdrive or X3 be converted to transom mount? Could the Powerdrive's cable be extended for backseat driving? Can the Motor Guide Bulldog still be found? I found a couple websites claiming it was in stock, but were companies/sites I know nothing about. A Powerdrive with iPilot or Xi3 would be lovely, but a little out of my price range.

[nomolites]

Multiple remote operated units these days, take your pick.  All sizes and brands.

Mike

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I have a Garmin now and it the biggest POS ever.  I had an Xi5 before, the Xi3 is pretty much the same,the spot lock on the motorguide is the best there is, remote works great on those too..   My Garmin remote is so delayed ive deemed it useless.     And Garmin has sent me a new motor to replace my crappy one, is still sucks.

[Dutch]

You might call Marine Repair Center (417-833-9191) in Springfield and tell those guys (Scott or Brad) what you want to do and see what they recommend.  They might even have a good used unit.

[jdmidwest]

Sounds like you need a wireless version. Look for an older motorguide wireless, wireless foot pedal air key fob.

[MrGiggles]

You can set up a transom mount motor to deploy off the transom just fine. You'll need to build a pretty strong pedestal/plate for it to sit on that is slightly higher than the transom. However, they work much better on the bow. Trying to be precise with a transom motor can be like pushing a rope sometimes.

The cable on a Powerdrive pedal is like 18ft long. Same with a Terrova. You can run them from anywhere in the boat. Both can be outfitted with Ipilot (remote operation and GPS capability, spot lock etc.) if you choose, however the Powerdrive loses the foot pedal when you do, a Terrova can use both. 

I second Marine Repair center.

[grizwilson]

on my river boat, tiller steering, went to an Ulterra, can deploy, operate from the rear, never leave my seat, I think the foot pedal is on board somewhere would have to search if needed.  Love it BUT takes 2 batteries. 

[Carl1969]

Thanks, guys. Looks like the MK PowerDrive is what I'm looking for & maybe upgrade it with i-Pilot down the road. The MG Xi3 looks great, but all the recent reviews on Basspro are very bad. Anyone know different? I'd thought the PowerDrive would be the simplest solution, but hadn't realized the cord was so long.

 

[MrGiggles]

38 minutes ago, Carl1969 said:

Thanks, guys. Looks like the MK PowerDrive is what I'm looking for & maybe upgrade it with i-Pilot down the road. The MG Xi3 looks great, but all the recent reviews on Basspro are very bad. Anyone know different? I'd thought the PowerDrive would be the simplest solution, but hadn't realized the cord was so long.

 

I don't have any experience with Motorguide. I know @dan hufferd uses one and speaks highly of it if I remember right. 

Minn Kota is usually pretty good about supporting their products, but the older Powerdrive (not the V2) foot pedals are notoriously crappy, no longer made, and next to impossible to find. Same with the parts to convert it to remote. So if you go shopping for used motors, avoid them.

[Carl1969]

No worries on that front. Not a fan of buying used big ticket electronic stuff, especially stuff I don't completely know/understand yet.