Minn Kota Ipilot questions.

[Gnarf]

I'm planning on purchasing a Minn Kota bow mount trolling motor to use as an autopilot on my 18ft four winns this year. I have a few questions.

1. How much thrust is recommended for keeping the nose steady on lake Michigan?

2. Terrova or PowerDrive?

3. What kind of batteries do you recommend?

[coralee]

Hey Joe

I have the Terrova with 80# thust on my 17' Prosport which is a fairly heavy glass center console and I love it. It works great. I don't remember which batteries I got but I bought them from Drummond Marine and they have done well. I can steer the boat easy for 6 hours while pushing with a kicker. Your welcome to come over and check it out or go out with me in the spring. (Its getting closer :-) ) I use this one for early and late fishing or when no one is available to help me with the Slickcraft.

[Nailer]

I used to have a Power drive 65#ap, but now the Terrova 80# Ipilot.

Both will do what you want, but the Terrova is a better motor.

I use 2 of the Everstart batteries from Wallmart, and they have served me well.

I use the biggest ones they have.

Get yourself an onboard charger for them.

My onboard dose all 3 batteries at once, and I love it.

[jimcr]

I have a duel battery setup as mine is a 12volt system, go with the 24 volt bettter run time. I put in a switch so I can switch between the 2 batterys and can run for about 6-8 hours depending on current and wave conditions.

If your fighting 2-3footers your going to have a hell of a time . For the most part in my 17 foot boat if I can be out there , it does fine. I have 2 27m batterys plenty of power , recharges in less than 24 hours , keep an eye on the acid as all the recharges can brig it down some. Lost one battery last year before switching to a 2 battery system.

For a small boat neededing an autopilot its a great alternative. and cheaper.

As far as holding coarse I run a compass setting as the currents can push you quite a lot out on this side of the lake . If you try to run a GPS setting it will be fighting to get back on course , at least on my boat.

Getting setup is fairly easy , get your kicker going just below your desired speed , then bring in the IPilot set you compass heading or GPS heading and speed and you should be good to go. we lock down our sterring wheel with a bungee cord.

My single 12 volt batterys last 3-6 hours depending on conditions , have not had a day where both batterys have been dead . Most trips are less than 5 hours.

Any other questions fire away.

Jim

[sfw1960]

I have a PD65v2 on my 17' Lowe and Ken's 80lb Terrova is nicer (still have foot pedal use if wanted) - the v2 you can't have a foot pedal with an i-Pilot (my pedal's been below deck in a bag for 5 years) and I've never needed it - I'm going to put on an i-Pilot Link on another week or when the water thickens a little more.

If you can afford the Terrova 80 lb 60" get it - also I'm with Ken on the CD29 Everstart batteries - they outlasted the more expensive Deka brand for me.

There is a 112lb -36V option, but I know a lot of guys if they need more thrust they lock down the big motor @ idle and use the i-pilot to point the snout.

Robert

[AllenW]

I ran a 80# Terrova I pilot on my 185 Alumacraft Tournament Sport and it did pretty well, I now have the 2020 Larson FX DC and am running a 112 Terrova I pilot/Ilink and it does even better in rough waves.

I guess if your boat is much heavier than the 185 Alumacraft I'd go with the 112, three battery set up.

On board charger makes life much easier, and I run Interstate batteries.

Al

[jimcr]

I would definitely have more than 65lb of thrust , Thats what mine came with and its on the low end . That Terrova sounds like the ticket, you don't loose your foot pedal either.

[BottomDollar]

I'm curious as to whether or not anyone has tried the new PD with the updated "deploy assist lever." I'm about to order/install an ipilot for the primary purpose of autopilot with the kicker doing thrust duty, so I'll never need a foot pedal. A 70# PD will do the job for me on an 18' Starcraft, but all I hear is how hard it is to deploy/stow the v2's. Thanks, and sorry to hijack the thread.

[jimcr]

I wouldn't say hard , but if your still moving there is some resistance due to movement.

As for the kicker doing thrust duty , I don't think you'll be happy with the Powerdrive alone , pushing a boat at 1.8 -2.2(down speed) = 2.3-3.1mph in current might seam doable but you will toast your battery pretty quick.

We set our kicker just below our needed speed , and bring in the troller . We sometimes run for up to 6 hours , thats a long time on a battery pulling a boat. If you don't have a kicker I would stick the money there first as you would go through batterys like candy.

[BottomDollar]

I wouldn't say hard , but if your still moving there is some resistance due to movement.

As for the kicker doing thrust duty , I don't think you'll be happy with the Powerdrive alone , pushing a boat at 1.8 -2.2(down speed) = 2.3-3.1mph in current might seam doable but you will toast your battery pretty quick.

We set our kicker just below our needed speed , and bring in the troller . We sometimes run for up to 6 hours , thats a long time on a battery pulling a boat. If you don't have a kicker I would stick the money there first as you would go through batterys like candy.

Thanks! I've got a Honda 8hp that I'll be setting at about 2.2-2.3, then using the electric to bump me up to 2.5-2.8. I'm actually on Champlain chasing landlocked Atlantics (and the occasional brown, steelhead, and lake trout), small lake compared to you guys, but frequently windy with 2-3'ers.

I'm pretty set on 24v, and in that range it's the PD 70# or Terrova 80#. I don't want or need a foot pedal, but if the Terrova is that much better I'd certainly consider it. Thanks for the reply and letting me piggy-back on the OP's question. Cheers.

[littleboat]

I have a Crestliner Sport Angler 16 1/2 ft. with a Minkota autopilot (Terrova) motor is 12v 55lb thrust with foot control option also runs on a single battery. I use it on the Detroit River, St. Clair River and lake. It runs very well with the autopilot. BUT, I added a Ray Marine autopilot on it this year. I troll with my boat main engine which gives you much better control on the big lake, especially when the waves start to grow to 4ft. On the river the small I-pilot works fine and the big lake if the water is calm. You may want to upgrade to a 24v motor if you will be carrying a heavy load while you just use you I-pilot. Using the main (60hp 4 stroke)with an my Raymarine auto pilot takes cares of the power and battery issues.

LB

Edited January 6, 2015 by littleboat
added infor for main HP

[Long Lines]

I'm planning on purchasing a Minn Kota bow mount trolling motor to use as an autopilot on my 18ft four winns this year. I have a few questions.

1. How much thrust is recommended for keeping the nose steady on lake Michigan?

2. Terrova or PowerDrive?

3. What kind of batteries do you recommend?

I had the 80# Terrova I Pilot on my 18' Lund Alaskan. Had 2 of the Group 28 Cabelas brand AGM batteries tied together for the 24 volts. Also had a Minn Kota on board charger that I installed with the motor and batts...only way to go. Loved that set up. I would recommend this as a minimum. If you have the room for the 36 volt 101#, that may be something to consider for longer trips.

Used my 6 hp kicker for thrust, used the I Pilot for directional control/autopilot. Avoid using the "cruise control" for speed as it'll over or under compensate for wind, wave and current direction at times and in doing so, run your batteries down or create a loss of directional control.

[coralee]

Minn Kota has a rebate on now for up to 112.00 on an I Pilot and another rebate on their battery charger.