New Trolling motor

[buddha]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Minn Kota Terrova 80lb with IPilot? I may change trolling motors and am curious on those who have them what they think of battery life, Ipilot and such. Thanks for any info.

[PerchJerker]

It's a great motor and the i-Pilot is a great option. I don't think you'll find (m)any guys who have much bad to say about it.

[Chode2235]

Its the best one out there right now. Lots of great options and features. The only reason not to get one is if you are still hooked on the responsiveness of a cable driven foot pedal.

I just got one and will be installing it next weekend.

[jwmiller33]

It's a great motor and the i-Pilot is a great option. I don't think you'll find (m)any guys who have much bad to say about it.

+1

[thatoneguy]

I'm really intrigued by the iPilot thingy. My bass fishing involves an awful lot of weaving around the edges of rice beds and bullrushes, and it would be a WHOLE lot easier if I could just plop some waypoints in and focus on fishing instead of always minding the motor.

[Esox_Magnum]

Love the Terrova, I'd sell the wife for one if that was my only option.... she wasn't thrilled about selling her kidneys for one though Mine will be on the boat soon, makes fishing with it almost unfair, and I can't wait to get rid of my Maxxum Pro......

[reddog]

I rigged my 36v 101 IP Terrova this week. Cant wait to get on the water again.

[PerchJerker]

it would be a WHOLE lot easier if I could just plop some waypoints in and focus on fishing instead of always minding the motor.

What you're talking about --- plopping in some waypoints --- is the way you would set a route in a GPS, but it's not really what you do with the i-Pilot.

With the i-Pilot you "record a track" --- you tell the thing to "start recording", then you drive the boat along the track you want, and when you're done you "stop recording". Now you've got a track saved in memory and you can tell the motor to rerun that track whenever you want. No waypoints. If I remember right, it stores 3 tracks at a time.

[thatoneguy]

Thanks, PJ. I guess I misunderstood the little summary I looked at BasPro or whatever site it was I saw it on. I thought it had the option of navigating a series of waypoints as well. The track thingy sounds pretty sweet too.

I better line up some more golf lessons to teach...I've reached an understanding with the wifey that I can buy these toys as long as they come from extra money I earn, and not core budget dollars

[hanson]

Maybe I'm in fantasy land but I don't think its too many years off where the bowmount trolling motor can be controlled off of a flasher/gps unit, which would accomplish what the previous poster was mentioning.

Minn-Kota and Humminbird are both owned by the same parent company, Johnson Outdoors. Minn-Kota now has a form of GPS navigation built into it with the I-Pilot. How hard can it be to have these units communicate, particulary with ethernet capability now available.

One good example is Humminbird's connectivity with Cannon Downriggers, Cannon is also a Johnson Outdoors company. With certain model Cannons, I can network them with my 1197 and then run the depth of the balls from my H-bird unit. Cool? Yes! I think that is a sign of what's to come though!

[goose89]

Maybe I'm in fantasy land but I don't think its too many years off where the bowmount trolling motor can be controlled off of a flasher/gps unit...

I don't think you're in fantasy land. I could easily see our the Ipilot be "outdated" in the near future. I'm no techno wizard, but it doesn't seem that far of a stretch to see Minnkotas ethernet linked to Humminbirds. Mixed thoughts on that, and the rate of techno advancement. Kinda exciting, kinda scary...

[reddog]

Maybe I'm in fantasy land but I don't think its too many years off where the bowmount trolling motor can be controlled off of a flasher/gps unit, which would accomplish what the previous poster was mentioning.

Minn-Kota and Humminbird are both owned by the same parent company, Johnson Outdoors. Minn-Kota now has a form of GPS navigation built into it with the I-Pilot. How hard can it be to have these units communicate, particulary with ethernet capability now available.

One good example is Humminbird's connectivity with Cannon Downriggers, Cannon is also a Johnson Outdoors company. With certain model Cannons, I can network them with my 1197 and then run the depth of the balls from my H-bird unit. Cool? Yes! I think that is a sign of what's to come though!

SHHHH!

[Kyhl]

You guys just sold me on an HB

[whitebassman]

got the exact model with ipilot. GET IT! You'll never look back. It is awesome. My favorite part is the use of a remote rather then a foot pedal. I'm not tied to the bow and can be fishing all over the boat and still control. I also love the spot anchor. In fact, rarely used a real anchor at all. It'll keep you hovered in one spot pretty tight too. Battery life is awesome, even a heavy 3 day weekend of use I'm still good. You'll love it, (more than your wife!) Trust me.

[Esox_Magnum]

There already is, or was a trolling motor that used GPS, Pinpoint.....

[PerchJerker]

I think Pinpoints used 5 transducers, not GPS, to hold depth and give tracking

[CoorsCaptain]

I don't own one but saw one in action, the spot anchor works great.

[Dr Thunder]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Minn Kota Terrova 80lb with IPilot? I may change trolling motors and am curious on those who have them what they think of battery life, Ipilot and such. Thanks for any info.

I went to the I-Pilot seminar today at Cabela's in Owatonna. The guy doing it gives a good overview on using it on the water. They are giving it again tomorrow afternoon. I got mine last year and flat out love it. No more heavy anchors to mess with for one thing.

[ND4LIFE]

Maybe I'm in fantasy land but I don't think its too many years off where the bowmount trolling motor can be controlled off of a flasher/gps unit, which would accomplish what the previous poster was mentioning.

Minn-Kota and Humminbird are both owned by the same parent company, Johnson Outdoors. Minn-Kota now has a form of GPS navigation built into it with the I-Pilot. How hard can it be to have these units communicate, particulary with ethernet capability now available.

One good example is Humminbird's connectivity with Cannon Downriggers, Cannon is also a Johnson Outdoors company. With certain model Cannons, I can network them with my 1197 and then run the depth of the balls from my H-bird unit. Cool? Yes! I think that is a sign of what's to come though!

I wouldn't be surprised if this is already in the works. I thought the same thing you did when I first saw the i-pilot technology. Why don't they just take it a step further and have it connect to the sonar unit? Well I was at the outdoor show in Fargo today where Reed's had the Humminbird/Minn Kota rep with them. He mentioned some new technology that will be out in a couple years. He even said he wouldn't "bother" will getting a real high end unit now and wait for the next generation. I bought a 788ci as I was in the market for a new sonar unit to replace my old Lowrance X65 (they were $450 and couldn't pass that up).

[buddha]

Sounds like I'm sold. Looks like a replacement is in order! Thanks for all of the input it is very helpful.

[Can'tFishEnuf]

I just hope when the new generation of i-pilot comes out that I can upgrade my Terrova. I would imagine that we will be able to change out the head unit again.