Minn Cota Vantage Transom Mount Questions

[SCONASOTAN]

I have a 16 foot Crestliner Superhawk and I want to put one of these motors on it for backtrolling mostly and vertical jig applications on lakes. Can someone give me the pros and cons of these motors. Is there other transom mounts that can be turned around with the the handle pointing in the boat for backtrolling. Looks like most stuff is built to troll forward. thanks for any help you can give.

[walleyewild]

On most Minnkota's there is a screw and nut that holds the control head on the shaft, if you remove the screw and spin the control head 180 degrees backtroll away.

I have a 3x vector and all I do is pull a pin on the bracket and spin my motor.

Hope this help's.

WW

[taw]

Pros: The MinnKota Vantage is the ultimate backtrolling motor for ease of use and 4 to 1 steering for quick response. The motor is power up and down, variable speed throttle with maximizer for long battery life.

Cons: Because the motor has more things to go wrong (ie more powered components)the reliability can come into question.

[straydog]

This might sound stupid but dont any of them have reverse like the smaller transom mounts?

[MIDNIGHT777]

I had a Vantage on the back of my previous boat which was an Alumacraft Dominator 175cs. Used with Whitecaps splash guards it was a fantastic back trolling outfit. When the motor worked I absolutely loved it..........

Which brings me to the problem. It spent a ton of time in the repair shop. I owned it for 2 years and I had to take it in 4 times to get repaired. Every time it seemed to be the same problem........the handle. I did a lot of research on this and other websites and found that many guys were having the same issues. I have heard of it as a "love/hate relationship" with the Vantage. Even the guy at the Minnkota authorized repair shop said they see A LOT of Vantages come in for repair. Now I am not a guide and only used the thing like any other recreational fisherman and was quite disappointed in the durability of this trolling motor. I had the Vantage repaired for the 4th time just before I sold the boat to a friend, and within a couple months it went belly up again. I was thinking I got a lemon of a motor, but after hearing many other guys having the same problems I figured that was not the case.

Just to be fair I did find guys that have had the motor for years without having any problems, but they seemed to be the exception.

I did hear that Minnkota (I think) came up with a device to keep the motor in place when not in use. It keeps the unit from swinging from side to side while in the up position and you are flying across the lake bouncing off waves. I heard that the handle bouncing off the gunnels while running in big waves could be a cause of the handle going bad so I tied mine down with a bungy cord after the first repair. It did not work.

If I had to do it again I would go with the 3X Vector.

Hope this helps,

Matt

[SCONASOTAN]

Thanks guys for the input. I have read other places about the Vantage breakdown issues. Enough to scare me away.

Questions on the 3 X Vectors. Any problems you have seen with those?? How do they stow away for road and water travel?? They seem to be the best choice if the Vantages don't hold up.

I have a 16' Crestliner, would the 55lb thrust be good? I don't want to be underpowered. When I bought the boat they marketed it with a 55lb bow mount but were all out and gave me the 80lb for no extra. The 80lb bow mount really pulls my boat fast, maybe too fast at times.