Which new Minn Kota Trolling motor?

Raining_Kings · 02-04-2009, 07:17 AM

My boat has very little room to mount a bow motor so the smaller footprint is required, which both Minn Kota Terrova and Powerdrive have, but not sure which one to get? No experience with either one, and the literature isn't real clear on the advantages of the Terrova. Anybody use both of these and have some good advice for me? Is the Terrova worth the extra $300? Am looking at the AutoPilot and CoPilot for either one.

Thanks.

-= Scott

MXRacer105 · 02-04-2009, 08:28 AM

I had a Minn Kota Powerdrive on my previous boat.... was not a huge fan of how slow they moved in comparison to the cable driven models, but if you are after Autopilot and such they cant be beat.

One thing to keep in mind, if you plan on mounting a graph on your bow (transducer on the TM) be very careful how you run your tranducer wire. A cable driven TM will spin 270*, whereas the electronic ones will spin 3 or 4 complete rotations until things are too bound up for it to spin anymore. My tranducer wire was the thing to give when this happened to me......

Powerdrive vs.Terrova.... I have no idea there, I am sorry.

But if you plan on fishing the rivers, especially in the spring, get as much thrust as you can.

Also, if he doesn't pipe up, shoot Hunt'nFish a PM, he has one on his boat.

Good luck and we'll see ya out there.

built2fish · 02-05-2009, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MXRacer105

I had a Minn Kota Powerdrive on my previous boat.... was not a huge fan of how slow they moved in comparison to the cable driven models, but if you are after Autopilot and such they cant be beat.

One thing to keep in mind, if you plan on mounting a graph on your bow (transducer on the TM) be very careful how you run your tranducer wire. A cable driven TM will spin 270*, whereas the electronic ones will spin 3 or 4 complete rotations until things are too bound up for it to spin anymore. My tranducer wire was the thing to give when this happened to me......

Powerdrive vs.Terrova.... I have no idea there, I am sorry.

But if you plan on fishing the rivers, especially in the spring, get as much thrust as you can.

Also, if he doesn't pipe up, shoot Hunt'nFish a PM, he has one on his boat.

Good luck and we'll see ya out there.

The Terrova is a good one, no doubt. You may want to look into a PinPoint too, if you can find one. This motor has some very interesting features and I have heard good things. This is what I know about it:

1) Will hold your boat in place automatically
2) Will shore track at a precise distance from the bank
3) Has a feature that, when activated, will automatically spin the boat around and take you back down the exact line you just came up.
4) Will depth track that will keep your boat at an exact depth along a weedline, or whatever you're fishing.
5) Has 6 transducers built into the lower unit for auto pilot and tracking and also gives the user a heads up display for water depth, temp, and battery life.
6) Has a precious metals battery saving system that is supposed to be
phenomenal.

I was actually with MXRacer105 when we (I think it was me that actually did the damage

) experienced the transducer wire breakage. That was one thing that sucked about that motor for sure (the motor did not have a stopping point and would spin, and spin, and spin.....) Now don't quote me, but I am pretty sure that the newer models do not do this anymore.

All remote bow mounts have there drawbacks, but they also have many advantages, if you take the time to get used to using them.

Hunt'nFish · 02-09-2009, 03:30 PM

As I understand it these are the key differance w/ the Terrova....
Redesigned foot pedal for ergonomics.
A full thrust Burst feature...that one is nice.
A redesigned stow/deploy system.....might be nice for older folks.
The Universal Sonar 2 cabling is internal to shaft not external AND it's supports dual sensors. (not sure if that means side imaging or just dual frequency machines.)
Also the steering increments are finer (1 degree) than the PD models.
(not sure if that means quieter or not.)

Is the Terrova worth it?....not sure. I'm a tight wad.

I've been perfectly happy with my Powerdive AP's. I have 12v 55lb AP's on both the sled and the Crestliner.
Hunt'nFish

Mr6lbR · 02-10-2009, 07:23 PM

I seen a 50lb. thrust powerdrive for $225.00 on oregongearlist.com. Looks like its in good shape. I have one just like it and I am pleased. thats a good deal for $225

built2fish · 02-11-2009, 09:18 AM

IMHO even though aluminum boats are lighter and therefore will move more easily under less power, in ideal conditions, the fact that they are lighter and ride higher also makes them much more affected by wind force and therefor, a large 24 or even a 36 volt is a must. I may be wrong, but I think that a 50lbs. thrust would be insufficient on a big sled. (Assuming that your avatar is your boat)

Raining_Kings · 02-11-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by built2fish

IMHO even though aluminum boats are lighter and therefore will move more easily under less power, in ideal conditions, the fact that they are lighter and ride higher also makes them much more affected by wind force and therefor, a large 24 or even a 36 volt is a must. I may be wrong, but I think that a 50lbs. thrust would be insufficient on a big sled. (Assuming that your avatar is your boat)

Yeah, thanks I'm in kinda thinking the same thing. I'm sure 55lbs would move it for a short bit, but I'm willing to spend the money just once to get the best set-up, so thinking at least 70lbs. My boat is a deep V 18'6" and I'm thinking its more heavy than light. I did have 55lb on my old John Boat though and it did move it darn well. Still leaning towards that Terrova.

Webwader · 02-12-2009, 03:58 PM

I just recently had to make the same decision between a Powerdrive and a Terrova because I wanted a unit with autopilot. Even though it is more expensive I chose the Terrova for the following reasons.
1) The steering is faster than the Powerdrive, at least the analog Powerdrives. I have never run the digital V2 Powerdrive so I have no comparison. My old TM was cable steer and the Powerdrive was way to slow for me.
2) I liked the foot control much better. Again, coming from a cable steer, I was used to the heel/tow foot pedal and the very low profile and reduced foot motion was a big factor. In addition, it also has the toe operated buttons similar to the Powerdrive but more ergonomic. The downside is that it has a bigger footprint than the Powerdrive unit if that is a big factor.
3) The speed control is a dial rather than the slide control of the Powerdrive. To me, the slide control was very hard to operate accurately with my foot while the dial is a snap and there is enough rotation that it is not supersensitive.
4) The stow/deploy system is much better than the Powerdrive even if you're not old like me.

Another plus is that when stowed the power is shut off so that you don't accidentally turn the prop on in the stowed position and when you deploy it again, it's at the same setting you left it.
I did not get the Universal Sonar model mainly because it was no compatible with my fish-finder unit. I am generally against multi-functional units anyway because if one of the functions fails, it not easily replaced.
The Terrova does not have a full thrust Burst feature but full thrust is available just as quickly by use of the speed dial.
I bought the 12V model because of lack of battery space for 24V which would have also required a full rewire. But in my opinion, there is no such thing as too much trolling motor power so get as much as you can afford. One of my fishing partners has a 24V Powerdrive on an 18' boat with a fairly low profile and wind and waves occasionally give him a battle for boat control.