I-pilot thoughts after 1st time on the water

[eyebjim]

Well I made it down to pool 4 last weekend and tried out the new i-pilot on my terrova. The conditions were not great. The current would push you about 4 mph. It was breezy too. Perfect for a trial of the i-pilot. pulled up to a spot that I normally will work with the trolling motor to keep close to the spot but with mild current and wind you usually end up doing little trolling paths in a kind of a circle to stay on the spot. I hit the spot lock button and, what do you know, it kept us there. This was with a wind and current in different directions. Next I went up to the damm and wanted to pull up in the fast current and cast into the trees. Normally I would anchor here since the current is 4-5 mph or drift. I again placed it on spot lock and whallah it held perfectly. I tried this in several areas and all went well. I was truely impressed with it. Judging from the chart plotter in the boat the spot lock controlled to +/- 5 feet in all situations I tried. The back of the boat will at times pinwheel but that has to be expected and also happens with a anchor.

I only used the auto pilot and spot lock so I have yet to see how the record/follow path or cruise control function.

[titelines]

This is great to hear as you have the exact set-up I'm looking to upgrade to.

Keep the results coming as you try new things.

Thanks!

[S.D. Ice Angular]

This is great to hear as you have the exact set-up I'm looking to upgrade to.

Keep the results coming as you try new things.

Thanks!

Same Here,

Question Though, How much did you pay for yours?

I have not seen them anywhere to buy them yet.

I also will be putting it on a Terrova.

Keep the info coming...

Thanks

[eyebjim]

The big C has them for about $400 to fit the terrova or V2.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Way cool, it's on my drooling list

[jwmiller33]

i wish i had a bow mount so i could get the i-pilot... i have the minnkota catalog and it looks like the coolest thing in the world! althought i dont entirely understand how it works. is it hooked up to the GPS on your depth finder unit? or does it have a independently built in GPS?

[marine_man]

I'm pretty sure it has it's own GPS and is not connected to your plotter / locator.

marine_man

[PerchJerker]

Good report eyebjim, and under good "test condtions" too!

marine-man is correct, the i-pilot is a gps ---- it does not connect to any other gps or chartplotter or anything like that.

You can buy just the i-pilot to convert your terrova or powerdrive v2 to an i-pilot motor (cost for that is $375 and it's super-easy to do and takes 10 minutes) ...... or you can get a new motor with i-pilot already installed.

[keyks42]

Eyebjim

Thanks for the report, I'm in the market for a trolling motor and was looking at the Terrova 80 but with none of the special features because of the price but you probably sold me on the i-pilot. I do have one ? does the universal sonar work with Vexilar. I usually run my fl-18 in the front of the boat.

Mark

[S.D. Ice Angular]

Picked one up at the sportshow today for my terrova. Marine General $360.00

NICE!!!!

Cannot wait to try it out

[eyebjim]

I do not know for sure if the universal sonar of the terrova will work with the vex but I would think it would. You can get a conversion cable for just about any sonar to work with the terrova. I had one for a old Garmin 240. If they make that I would sure think there would be a cable for the vex.

[PerchJerker]

The US2-7 cable will work with the vex and the terrova

[Scott26]

I had the Ipilot out today as well on the terrova. I couldn't stop giggling like a school girl.

The anchor function is top notch in my book. The cruse control function is good. the route tracking is great. you can start in the middle of your saved trail as well as 3 routes saved at the same time.

Also I got an us2 cable for a vex for sale if you want it.

[Hoffer]

So...can the Ipilot also function as autopilot?

Also, you mention you can upgrade if you have a terrova or a V2.

I know I dont have a terrova - but what is the V2?

I have a pretty standard minnkota bow mount. The one you see on most boats that probably come standard with a decent bow mount.

Thanks-

Hoffer

[bmc2b]

You can upgrade a terrova or a powerdrive v2, but not an original powerdrive with the i-pilot. The i-pilot has the original autopilot built in based on a compass heading, and an advanced autopilot which lays down a line of gps points in the direction pointed when activated, then follows that track.

[jigginjerk]

Hoffer, If you have the powerdrive with the flat plugin for the foot control then it cannot be upgraded to the i-pilot. I beleive the V-2 has only been out for a couple years. The V-2 is just a new version of the old powerdrive.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks for the review.. fun stuff!