the fishing was brutal, especially with the water temperatures and a deep place like that. still a good time getting out there with shawn and testing the boat out. i got to see how quickly it takes on water without a plug haha. i made sure to choose my words carefully to prevent "that's what she said" but i slipped once when we were loading everything up at the end.
I have the powerdrive autopilot. Its one of the older ones not the terrova (which suck) and have zero complaints. Everyone one I fish with back home have them and the only issues come from the terrovas. The auto pilot function is great if its wavey and you wanna go in a straight line while you do something else like fight a fish or tie lines and not stop the boat. ( I.E. trolling). I never use the autopilot around here. I would save the cash and not get the autopilot. Get the co-pilot if anything so you can steer with a remote instead of the pedal. And the minn kota's are quite durable, had my powerdrive deploy while going about 40 mph, replaced the prop and steering motor and she was as good as new.
DO NOT GET A TERROVA!!!!!!!! lol
DO NOT GET A TERROVA!!!!!!!! lol
Don't do it. Auto pilot means no pedal. You can always add co pilot later.
The autopilots do have a pedal. The is a button on top of the head to turn AP on and off. You get the motor going in the direction you wanna go then hit the AP button a you go in a straight line.
that's good to know. i saved money and got the basi 50 lb. thrust without co or auto pilot. i spoke with damon today about all of the concerns people have - directional speed and "noise" and he pretty much refuted everything with sound reasons. i just have to get used to it. i will say being able to on constant easily with your foot is nice for staying in place. i found myself putting it on a very low speed to go parallel along the shoreline the other day. i just fished instead of messed with controlling the motor.
This is my thought on noise and the minn kota. You would thnk the motor and prop spinning and making noise and vibrations from either minn kota or motorguide would have a greater effect on fish then minn kotas electronic steering spinning outside of the water normally and couple feet a out the waterline. I have no basis to my thought. Just my personal take on the issue
This is my thought on noise and the minn kota. You would thnk the motor and prop spinning and making noise and vibrations from either minn kota or motorguide would have a greater effect on fish then minn kotas electronic steering spinning outside of the water normally and couple feet a out the waterline. I have no basis to my thought. Just my personal take on the issue
yes it's more the "client" prop that spooks the fish than the electronic motor noise above the water. damon said that noise doesn't transfer through the shaft into the water and he's tested in his scuba gear. it isn't anything different than people talking in the boat, banging the bottom, dropping something etc. sudden blasts from the prop will spook the fish.
I didn't realize that there was a third option called copilot. That's the wireless system that will control the motor from a remote fob that you can wear like a watch and use with the foot pedal. BAM!!! It doesn't have the same feature as autopilot to hold you on a straight course but it sounds like copilot is for me
one of those options meant you couldn't do something. i forget what was it was though. i'd still give damon a call so he can give you his opinion on everything.
The autopilot and ipilot cancel out the foot pedal but copilot works together with it. I checked and doublechecked. I still may end up just being cheap and get the basic motor.
I bought the Minn Kota PowerDrive last year and use it on my 18 1/2 foot Lund. I didn't really have the opportunity to use a lot of the features such as Spot-Lock, and Record-a-Track very much but I do really like the hand held remote. I wear it around my neck and am able to control the motor from anywhere in the boat. Plus, you don't have a foot pedal to clutter the floor and trip over.
get the basic and go wild with a new finder.
The only thing is I don't quite fish a lot of open water like you. I have 2 thoughts. I'll either start doing it or waste money. I keep going back and forth. It's driving me crazy to have to wait for my w2's to get here so I can get my money and start making some real decisions.