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Old 05-14-10, 05:53 PM   #1
nofearengineer
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Question Minn-Kota Terrova

Has anyone used or even seen one of these in person?

I was looking through my Cabela's porn, when I saw it. Man, it looks ridiculous. It supposedly has a feature called i-pilot where it will keep you on a certain spot by GPS, pretty much no matter what. I can imagine that would be pretty helpful when trying to pick apart open water structure on windy days. It seems hellaciously expensive though...something like $1,600 for the complete set-up with the keychain remote.

I think I need to go out in the garage tonight, and have a talk with my current trolling motor....it isn't over, but it isn't looking good either.
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Old 05-14-10, 07:32 PM   #2
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I've had enough trouble with my MinnKota 101 not to invest a lot of money in something that has more chit to go wrong with it. The more options or intricate the design you have, the more possibilites for failure. The only MinnKota I would "think" about purchasing at this point would be the Fortrex, otherwise I would go back to Motor Guide. I just want a strong, simple T/M that I can rely upon every time out. I really haven't gotten that with the MinnKota, it's failed me twice during a tournament and that was in the FIRST two years. Warranty is great, but that won't keep you on the water if it's in the shop.
I don't think I'd really use something like a T/M guided by GPS while fishing - I don't like the boat moving without actually watching or have a darn good idea where it's going when I'm fishing. I also don't think I want it on "constant". I like to drift when fishing if at all possible - shutting down the sonar (unless fishing deeper structure) and the T/M, making as little noise as possible. Might be nice on an electric only lake to set a waypoint and turn it on to get there and rig a rod or relax a bit until you get there, but to operate it while actually fishing - I don't think I'd do it.
And as far as holding a boat on a windy day - I got one word for ya: ANCHOR. Or another: WIND SOCK. All are a heck of a lot cheaper, but not likely to satisify your techno addiction. And knowing the monkey has his teeth burried in your butt and lockjaw has set in, I see a new T/M in your future. Let us know how ya like it.
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Old 05-15-10, 05:28 PM   #3
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Now now....it would certainly be a long time before I can put the scratch together for a new TM, but I did check, and Motorguide doesn't have anything like this. Also, it kind of irritates me that the Motorguides with the built in transducer only work with Lowrance, while the Minn-Kota ones will work with Lowrance or Humminbird. It just seems they are head of Motorguide in this area.
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Old 05-16-10, 09:55 PM   #4
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I have got the terrova and it seems to be great so far.
I have it hooked to a eagle fish finder.
I just got it with my new boat, well not new, but it is a 2004 nitro new to me.
I dont know about the gps keeping you in one spot.
I do have a gps fish finder on the consol but have not done any research on it to see if i can hook it up to a gps. It does have auto pilot and seems to work very well.
Is there anything perticular that you want to know.
Mine is a Terrova 24v 80lb thrust

Let me know if you want any more info since all i have done is just take it out and use it.
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Old 05-17-10, 12:33 AM   #5
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Thanks, Mike...I'll probably be hitting you up for some info in the next few months.
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Old 05-19-10, 09:51 PM   #6
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That is fine! let me know what you need.
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Old 05-19-10, 11:53 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
Thanks, Mike...I'll probably be hitting you up for some info in the next few months.
UH OH! Sounds like the Monkey is about to take another bite out of Bryces behind lol.
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Old 05-20-10, 12:06 AM   #8
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UH OH! Sounds like the Monkey is about to take another bite out of Bryces behind lol.
Not really soon....but probably before the end of the year. If I really exercise some patience, next Spring.

I am just so damned sick of my trolling motor pedal. I like to sit while I fish, and given my accident-prone nature, that's probably for the best.

Unfortunately, when you're 6'5", you have accordingly long legs. For some reason, my right foot is kind of retarded when it comes to the trolling motor. But the power cable to my pedal is short, and on the left side of my bow. So I can't sit and face left (pedal won't reach) or sit and face right (pedal won't reach my left foot).

So my options are to go wireless, ala Motorguide, or do the Terrova / Powerdrive V2 thing where the TM power doesn't go through the pedal, and there's a long wire instead of a stiff steering cable. That and the spot lock thing on the I-Pilot really captivates me. Not having to fool with the TM as much will really help. I want to fish some deep water structure with some jigs, Kory. Once I caught a couple of nice bass on jigs, man....I was totally hooked. The pickup felt so much different than the T-rigs I've fished.
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Old 05-20-10, 11:03 AM   #9
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Nitromike...the Terrova specs and features look great.

However, a "non-standard maneuver" concerns me. Often, when I need to get into really tight quarters, or hitting the shore to pick a snagged lure, I will lift my TM up by its cord so it's barely under the water. This is so I can lift it out of harm's way if I'm about to bump into something nasty. Can this be done with the Terrova, or does it shut off as soon as it's no longer fully-deployed?
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Old 05-20-10, 12:18 PM   #10
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I may be wrong on this, but remember reading that the i-Pilot does more than just hold you on a single GPS'd spot. Say you find a stretch of bank that produces really well. Hit a record button on the i-Pilot while you're trolling down the bank and it GPS's your entire path. Go back out the next day and fish the exact same path, foot-free. Sounds really cool, but doubt I would be willing to shell out a cool $1600. I would love to hear how well the i-Pilot works, though. Let me know when you get a new one, NoFear!
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Old 05-21-10, 07:05 PM   #11
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I have had a Terrova on my boat for the past 4 years. Until this winter, it was equipped with the co-pilot remote control, which I wore on my wrist. I loved that setup. This winter, I went for the i-pilot, primarily to get the spot lock feature. To my dismay, the i-pilot cannot coexist with the copilot, so I had to dig the foot pedal out of the closet and finally plug it in. With the copilot, I had never felt a need to even put the foot pedal in the boat. I would be a much happier camper if the i-pilot didn't disable the copilot. At least with the Terrova, it will coexist with the foot pedal. You can get an i-pilot for the newer Powerdrive motors, but on that motor, it can't coexist with the foot pedal, so you're limited to the i-pilot's hand held remote, which I don't find to be anywhere near as convenient as the wrist watch style remote on the copilot.

The i-pilot's gps aided autopilot is much better than the compass-only controlled feature in the non-i-pilot equipped motors. But the remote, as I said, isn't as convenient. I still have to look at it to use it, and instead of an oversized wrist watch, I have this thing the size of a 15 year old cell phone dangling around my neck. Makes me feel like flavaflave. (but without the hot chicks fighing over me, dammit)

The gripes I have with the i-pilot though, are that it only cares or knows about the position of the front of the boat, and it's not programmed very intelligently. It often maneuvers in such a way trying to keep the bow where it's supposed to be, that the stern swings around awkwardly. Can be a real pain for the guy on the back deck.

By needing to be more intelligent, I mean it should 'know' about momentum, among other things. Since it knows how fast and in what direction I'm moving when I hit spot lock, it shouldn't wait until it gets to the limit of its allowable range away from home before spinning around and trying to get me back where I wanted to be when I hit the button. Similarly, it shouldn't wait until nears the spot before shutting down. If it shut down as soon as it started me moving in the right direction to get to the spot, it could 'see' if I was going to coast into position or not. Instead, it waits till I'm there, then has to correct for the momentum, etc. These are the kinds of things you do without thinking about it when you're controlling the motor. It isn't smart enough to work that way, so it wastes a lot of energy (read battery) correcting for it's overcorrections. I'm sure the next generation will be better in this regard. And since MK and h'bird are both part of the same family now, I wonder how long before we see it interfacing to the other GPS unit(s) in the boat?
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Old 05-22-10, 05:28 PM   #12
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As for mine it does a great job so far. The original owner put it on there and it is only a year old.
Like nofearengineer said earlier about the cord that you could easily just pull your trolling motor up out of the water. My old had a cord and i loved it, unfortunately this terrova does not have one. It does take a moment to get it up, but it is very easy. Now as far as the ipilot i do not think mine has that. Well i do no that i do not have the handheld device for controlling it. I did not even know that it existed until now. I guess i need to do some research on and see if i can add that to mine or not. It sounds really great.
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Old 09-18-10, 04:47 PM   #13
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Default Terrova Summary (Installation and Use)

I'm considering a Terrova for my Ranger, but haven't made up my mind yet. A post at Fishing Geekz shows installation pictures and has some commentary about his usage. Net net, he loves the features, but the installation was a challenge and it hangs off the front of the boat more than I would have guessed.
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Old 09-18-10, 04:50 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by okiefish View Post
I'm considering a Terrova for my Ranger, but haven't made up my mind yet. A post at Fishing Geekz shows installation pictures and has some commentary about his usage. Net net, he loves the features, but the installation was a challenge and it hangs off the front of the boat more than I would have guessed.
Absolutely love mine. It was honestly the easiest trolling motor I've ever installed.

However, it does hang off the front of the boat more than I'd like it to. So far though, I haven't had any problems. Just be mindful when pulling up to the courtesy dock.
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Old 09-18-10, 11:41 PM   #15
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sounds like more time playing with computer crap than fishing...no thanks
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Old 09-19-10, 12:27 PM   #16
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More info on Terrova w/ipilot and operation by this guys website.

http://www.jasonhalfenoutdoors.com/iPilot2.html
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Old 09-19-10, 03:41 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Embrey View Post
sounds like more time playing with computer crap than fishing...no thanks
Quite the opposite I think. i-Pilot can jeep you on a spot without having to muck with the foot pedal. It can also automatically slow troll a 2-mile long track. That is awesome if you are a walleye, striper, or musky fisherman.

All while you just fish and enjoy yourself.
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Old 09-19-10, 03:54 PM   #18
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eh...ill stick with my foot. it does what i tell it and i can see turning my back on it and plowing a stump repeatedly
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Old 09-20-10, 07:44 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
Quite the opposite I think. i-Pilot can jeep you on a spot without having to muck with the foot pedal. It can also automatically slow troll a 2-mile long track. That is awesome if you are a walleye, striper, or musky fisherman.

All while you just fish and enjoy yourself.
Eh , what are you saying ?
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Old 09-20-10, 08:25 PM   #20
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lol .........
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Old 09-27-10, 09:23 PM   #21
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Default Interesting article

Interesting article on this trolling motor...sounds positive but has some things to consider.

http://www.fishinggeekz.com/fishing-...th-ipilot.html

Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
Has anyone used or even seen one of these in person?

I was looking through my Cabela's porn, when I saw it. Man, it looks ridiculous. It supposedly has a feature called i-pilot where it will keep you on a certain spot by GPS, pretty much no matter what. I can imagine that would be pretty helpful when trying to pick apart open water structure on windy days. It seems hellaciously expensive though...something like $1,600 for the complete set-up with the keychain remote.

I think I need to go out in the garage tonight, and have a talk with my current trolling motor....it isn't over, but it isn't looking good either.
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