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One of my favorite fishing gadgets are the, relatively new on the market, Minn Kota GPS enabled i-Pilot trolling motors. I was able to upgrade my old manual Minn Kota electric to the new GPS enabled/controlled version. I love it. It has changed many of the ways I fish.
I’ve been wondering how many of you boat owners own or use them. So I decided to take a poll.
And, if you don’t mind, post up your thoughts on how good (or bad) you think they are ... please reply. I’d be interested in your thoughts.
I will add my comments a little later.
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I bought a used Bass Tracker Panfish (16ft) last year and it had an ipilot on it. It didn't have any instructions on how to use it or it's capabilities. I did find instructions online though.The only thing I've used it for so far is keeping the boat in the same position. I will be trying some of the other things on it this coming summer.
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I have one! (Ralph already knows this!) and I love it. Unfortunately, it is now on my list of necessary things to have on each fishing boat I now own, or will ever own. The list keeps getting bigger.
It is truly an amazing device. And even works in wind. In fact, it works better in wind that in calm, and works WAY better than a real anchor.
Now I need to work on a better boat to put it on!
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I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.
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Ralph, I would love to own one , My Minn Kota is the Auto-Pilot , I contacted Minn Kota about upgrading and they told me that this unit could not be swapped out with the Ipilot.
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[quote Old_Coot]One of my favorite fishing gadgets are the, relatively new on the market, Minn Kota GPS enabled i-Pilot trolling motors. I was able to upgrade my old manual Minn Kota electric to the new GPS enabled/controlled version. I love it. It has changed many of the ways I fish.
I’ve been wondering how many of you boat owners own or use them. So I decided to take a poll.
And, if you don’t mind, post up your thoughts on how good (or bad) you think they are ... please reply. I’d be interested in your thoughts.
I will add my comments a little later.[/quote]
This is an awesome device... The ability to anchor on top of fish quickly and without throwing an anchor to scare the school below away is priceless.
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[font "Calibri"]I have one on my boat as well. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! The ability to plant your boat right on top of a big old laker in a 100’ of water and stay there with the spot lock is priceless. The wind is no longer a factor. I also like that you can set your on the water speed in 1/10 of a MPH, very handy when pulling worm harness out at Willard for the ice off Walleye.[cool][/font]
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How much was the conversion kit, how difficult was it to install and where did you get it...I have the manual and didnt know they could be converted.
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$399.99 at Cabelas. it is a simple replacement head for your PowerDrive V2 or Terrova model only.
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Ordered one last week it should be here any day now! I have heard good things about them.
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The I-Pilot is by far my most favorite technology. I installed the the 24volt system on my 1968 Hydroswift last year making one of the oldest most technologically advanced boats out on the water. It took a lot of custom work to get it mounted correctly and wired up. I don't see how I could ever go without it. Works great for trolling and Jigging. The 24 volt unit will party all day long no matter what type of fishing you do. I would not recommend skimping out on the batteries. You get what you pay for in my opinion. Doesn't make since to invest into such a unit and hold back as far as power. I also installed a minkota 3 bank charger that can be easily plugged in. This way the boat will be ready to rock and roll by next morning after a day of abuse.
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I helped my old man out when he got one. With the amount of precision speed presentations we do the cruise control is priceless. Spot lock is great when pitching jigs into a wind swept point. If you hate wind and boat control in the wind then this motor is for you. I have the motor guide pinpoint ptsv tracking motor and the minnkota puts it to shame. I love the bottom tracking and shore tracking of mine but the Kota is ten times better.
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I picked one up for my Terrova 101 as soon as they came out a few years ago. I will echo others comments... it rocks! The only down side that I've found with it is that in higher winds I've had the control head turn suddenly and wrap my line while jigging from the bow. It can get a little chaotic at times. Overall a great upgrade for your boat though [cool] Fred K.
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Ralph you need another choice on your poll. I have an copilot and love it. I bought a motor without either ipilot or copilot last fall. After doing some research and talking to a few people who use both, I decided to go with the copilot. The control on the ipilot is difficult to use compared to the copilot. The GPS feature is nice, but its still not accurate enough for me to hover over fish. I'd rather do this with my copilot. The conversion for my regular Powerdrive to one with the copilot took me about 20 seconds. You take out two phillips screws and then put on the new side panel and replace the screws. Oh, yeah, you plug it it. The only time I'll use a foot pedal again is if my copilot control goes dead. Just ask Jim Williams what he thinks about the ipilot control, but then again he uses it much more than all of us put together! So, I have a copilot by choice on my motor.
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[center]Uh, yeah - right here! I want it!
Where do I sign up for the raffle Ralph?
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From when I first heard about yours - and the much extended support this poll has brought - gush!!
You need to add another option - like the second, but with the "I wish" added on! I think it would be silly to have electronics that are worth more than my whole boat! Haha.
But I'd have to go with the 'someday' - maybe if I get a boat worthy - specially with hopes of hitting more bigger waters - don't think I'm likely to anchor up in 100ft of water!
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I noticed that there was a hand full of votes that selected “What is i-Pilot”. So I thought I would take a crack at describing it here.
Here is a short, but good, video describing the i-Pilot:
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-AzxTzF9Eo&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-AzxTzF9Eo&feature=player_embedded[/url]
First of all, it is an electric bow-mount trolling motor. Yea, I know, there are lots of bow mounts out there so you ask, “what’s so special about the i-Pilot?” I would have to answer that with these two major things:
1) Its main feature is that it has several GPS related features.
2) It is controlled with a wireless remote (like a TV remote).
I am still trying to learn and master all of features but here are my favorite ones:
Spot-Lock … With the press of a button, its internal GPS immediately makes note of exactly where you are (GPS coordinates) and controls the motor to keep you right in that very spot. It does amazingly well too I might say. It corrects for wind or current to keep you within 5 feet of where you press the button. Think of it as an electronic or “virtual” anchor. No longer do I carry an anchor in my boat (even though maybe I should). Because I no longer have to go through the laborious effort of deploying and retrieving anchors all day, I have more time and energy for fishing. It is just so darn easy to move from spot to spot without dropping rope, chain, and anchor. I love it for mack fishing on the Gorge and cuts on the Berry.
Record a Track … The i-Pilot can remember the path you take (up to two miles long) and you can go back over that path (track) back and forth. You don’t have to go all the way to the beginning or end. You can change direction in the track at any time.
Cruise Control … Like cruise control in your car, you can set a desired trolling speed in, get this, increments of 1/10 of one mile per hour!! All while heading in a specified direction.
[url "http://www.minnkotamotors.com/products/accessories/ipilot/freshwater.aspx"]Check out this link for more details and videos of each feature.[/url]
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Several of you guys make some good points that I want to reply to:
N.E.T.O. … I too will want to keep an i-Pilot on any fishing boat I own.
AFDan52 … Yea, there are some Minn Kota motors that can be upgraded and some can not. I was a lucky one and was able to upgrade my V2 to an i-Pilot for about $400.
WiperMac … I actually got my i-Pilot mainly for mack fishing on the Gorge but use it for countless other applications too.
fish_fear_me2 … Get the model number of your Minn Kota and give them a call. They will tell you over the phone weather or not it can be converted. Conversion kits run about $400 and they are reasonably easy to install. There is actually a pretty good Youtube video that walks you through each step of the upgrade. The upgrade kit comes with a good manual too but I actually liked the video better. If you, or anyone else, wants some help with the upgrade, I would be glad to pay you a visit and assist.
clipripper …. Do a quality job of installing it and you will love it. It is a well built product.
FOOLFERFISHN … Yea, those 24 volters are SWEET. I installed one on my brother’s Trophy and, like you say, “it will party all day”. And, like you, I installed an on-board charger on his boat AND my boat. That sure is a great way to go. We go to the Gorge and simply plug an extension chord between the charger and a wall outlet every night. That is a lot easier than dragging out the battery charger, removing covers to access battery terminals, and reversing the process every morning.
BearLakeFishGuy … “The control on the ipilot is difficult to use compared to the copilot. The GPS feature is nice, but its still not accurate enough for me to hover over fish. I'd rather do this with my copilot.” You are not the first person that doesn’t own an i-pilot that has told me that same thing. Personally, I still think it would be hard to beat the i-Pilot for staying put in one place. BUT, if the pod of fish you are following are moving, then the i-Pilot anchor is of no use. However, one of the features of the i-Pilot is CoPilot. I.E., with the i-Pilot, you get CoPilot AND Advance AutoPilot as part of the package. As for what Jim Williams says about the remote … I do agree … a lot to be desired. When Jim was installing his i-Pilot, I told him, “you are going to hate the remote”. And he does. But good news, I see their new remotes are designed much differently … more like the buttons of a TV remote. To get one costs about $200. And that I can’t justify just yet. So for now, I will just stick with my old crappy one.
CoyoteSpinner … "I wish I had one but I think it would be silly to have electronics that are worth more than my whole boat! Haha.” Yea, I know what you mean but I know a guy that has actually done that. Just ask N.E.T.O.. All of a sudden, his little tub is priceless!
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As we speak technology has changed again on the new I-pilot it is 449.99 It has upgraded the Lcd to 20% larger than the previous I-pilot. The buttons have changed to laser etched buttons. The battery compartment has changed to the back of the remote to make it easier access. Now you can track up to 6 different routes instead of 2 in the tracking. It will interchange with Terova's, power drive V-2, riptide SP and Riptide ST. All being the same new price 449.99. By the way I have them on 5 of the company boats and we LOVE them. I have 3 on board chargers they are minnkota brand they are actually 4-bank chargers. You can wire them up to whatever number of batteries you want. I would be interested in selling them for cheap. They are $400 value.
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Pike,
That is great news about the remotes. I wonder if the new ones will work right out of the box with my existing motor.
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I have a question I have been meaning to ask. I have a PDV2 and i have read that the i-pilot replaces the foot pedal on the new motor. I guess my question is if I already have a pedal and install a ipilot does that mean I cant use my foot pedal anymore or could I use both?
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Same situation and question as Big Bad. I want to fire off an order for an ipilot but not sure if I want/need the updated version or the older model. Sounds like they are both pretty good units.
Interesting post and good information. Thanks Coot.
Best to all.
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