...trolling motors, and used both types significantly, which kind do you use now and why?  I'm due for a new trolling motor and can't decide if I want to switch or not.

Until I got my most recent boat, I had always used cable TM steering.  This one has a electronic TM steering.  I personally like the cable better Faster response and less prone to problems.

Digital hands down. Hard to get used to though because of fast it responds.

DO NOT GET A DIGITAL!!!!!!!!!

I used one on our last BassResource Road trip to Lake Fork. You can ask fivebasslimit. I cussed and fussed about that thing the entire trip. They suck.

Problems.

1. You are always looking down at it to tell what direction it's going. This is a distraction when trying to concentrate on fishing.

2. If you are about to hit something (ie. rock, stump, ect.) you will hit it because it takes forever to change directions.

3. It is a pain in the tail to deploy and stow. I pinched my finger several times.

4. If it is not locked all the way down there is no way of telling until you hit a wake and it deploys over the side and breaks.

Stick with cable steer. Digitals are only good for one thing..... as a fish attractor on the bottom of the lake.

DO NOT GET A DIGITAL!!!!!!!!!

I used one on our last BassResource Road trip to Lake Fork. You can ask fivebasslimit. I cussed and fussed about that thing the entire trip. They suck.

Problems.

1. You are always looking down at it to tell what direction it's going. This is a distraction when trying to concentrate on fishing.

2. If you are about to hit something (ie. rock, stump, ect.) you will hit it because it takes forever to change directions.

3. It is a pain in the tail to deploy and stow. I pinched my finger several times.

4. If it is not locked all the way down there is no way of telling until you hit a wake and it deploys over the side and breaks.

Stick with cable steer. Digitals are only good for one thing..... as a fish attractor on the bottom of the lake.

As a former owner of one I'll add the following.

There is no good way to mount a transducer onto the TM and then secure the transducer wire to the shaft so it's secure and out of the way.  due to the design of those dig. PD type TM's, the shaft of the TM has to slide through the drive/turning head to deploy.  You can't secure the transducer cable up against the TM shaft because of that so you're forced to leave slack to allow for the movement.  This slack either gets itself cut in the stow or deploy process or snags underwater on limbs, etc when you're actually using the motor.

2nd, head turning speed is directly proportional to what speed the TM is currently running on.  If you're running the TM on higher speeds the head turning speed dimishes greatly.  In other words,  if you're about to strike an underwater object and crank the TM on high to avoid it and then begin the turning process, the head turns so slowly that you'll probably hit the object unless you reach down and manually grab ahold of the TM and crank it manually.  Besides the fact that the manufacturer recommends that you Don't do that it really takes away from the experience and as someone who owned one, this happens quite a lot if you're fishing up shallow or in areas of thick cover.  

If you fish a lot of open water situations those PD type motors are fine.  If you fish electric only lakes I'd also suggest the PD motors as well.  If you're running inbetween spots on a electric only lake you can basically set the TM on high and walk away.  Sit in back, organize tackle, eat and if TM course corrections need to be made, merely point the remote at it or use the foot pedal which has the long cable.  No need to sit with your foot on the foot pedal like on a cable drive TM.

Otherwise, for most fishing applications a cable drive is still the best option out there.

Are you talking a Digital steer motor? As in a Motorguide digital steer TM, or Minnkota Power drive? If so I am right there with you, DO NOT BUY ONE, but there are MG TM's that are digital and are cable steer, and I say buy those ones. and In what i have used they are the best. I have a Motor Guide "Digital" Tour series TM, 36 volt 109# and its a cable steer motor. and in my opion one of the best TM 's out there

I have owned a PD and it sucked. I still have one on my small boat, and when I can afford to i will be getting rid of it. I always feel that I am one step behind where I want to be with it. It has its place, but the way i fish, it doesn't fit my style. Its just toooooo slow in reaction and changing direction. My good friend had a digital ster MG and it is as bad as the PD. he hates it too. same problems.

In the past MG had some issues with the quality of their TM's and I was one that had problems with them. Even the new pro series on my father in laws new tracker. Now my MG is a tour series Digital and it is great. In the past 3 years since I got my new TM 5 guys in my club have gotten either new TM' or boats and the 3 guys that bought "digital"tour series motors love them, the 2 guys that didin't get the "digital" mg wish they would have opted for the upgrade to the digital. Like I said all these Digital motors are cable steer.

In my opion ,never buy a power steering TM ,lways cable steer TM. Minnkota and Motor guide are both great motors. each has its fans and haters when one you get one you will be happy with, just make sure its a cable steer.

If you go Motor guide, I would look at the "Tour series" digital motors, they cost a bit more, but in what I have seen worth it.

Cart7, I forgot about breaking my transducer wire on the Fork trip. That was just one more thing that ticked me off.

HPBB, I am only talking about the digital steer motors. The Motor Guide Tour series you are talking about is also the best one I have ever used. I wish I had one on my boat but I got a good deal on a MinnKota that I couldn't pass up.

I didn't heed carts advice when buying mine. Now, I can't sell it. :'( Stupid thing ticks me off so much. Slow steering. Stupid foot pedal design. Slow steering. Pain to stow/deploy. Slow steering.

Did I mention slow steering?

On my 12 footer, which can't keep a straight course with a bow mount, it is killer, especially in elec only lakes, as the boat will "drift" side to side at the stern, and I have to make a corrective action as it starts, because if I don't, the boat will spin around faster than the motor will, thereby, I go in circles. Have to milk the pedal the whole time. And, it isn't an easy pedal to work. Stowing and deploying is a very tedious 2 hand job. Never cooperates correctly with me.

On a bigger boat that will track straight, I can see it useful on elec only, but not a jon, or small vee.

But, if someone is determined to buy one, I have a MK powerdrive, 50 pound thrust for sale. Everything is in good working, and cosmetic condition, but I don't like the motor design.

Stick to cable steer!  Digital takes FOREVER to turn directions.  More prone to breaking.  The only thing that I have had to replace on my cable steer is the cable which broke after 8 years of hard abusive use.  Cables are the only way to go.

Bassboy....Do you have a transom mount trolling motor in the back to act as a keel on your boat?  If you don't have something in the back of the boat in the water, the boat will spin with any trolling motor.  My 12' V-Hull did the same thing.  I put the cheapest transom mount trolling motor that I could find on that back and the problem was solved.  I saw the same topic with a slightly different solution in Bassmaster 15 years ago.  Bassmaster's tip was to mount  a small wooden keel on the back of the boat.

Many people hate the Power Drive motors but I am probably the only one that likes mine.  I have had it for three years and I like the fact that I don't have to have my foot propped up on a 45 degree peddle all day.  I point my motor, set a speed and take my foot off the pad.  I don't have a ton of obsticles to avoid so turning speed doesn't mean much to me.  The transducer cable issue is a valid problem so get a built in transducer if you decide to get one.

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Many people hate the Power Drive motors but I am probably the only one that likes mine.  I have had it for three years and I like the fact that I don't have to have my foot propped up on a 45 degree peddle all day.  I point my motor, set a speed and take my foot off the pad.  I don't have a ton of obsticles to avoid so turning speed doesn't mean much to me.  The transducer cable issue is a valid problem so get a built in transducer if you decide to get one.

Hate is not really the word I'd use for my distaste of those motors.  

I actually believe that the PD type motor is the future of TM motors but the problem is Minn Kota has really failed to develop that design into something useful for bass fishermen.

They've expended all their development into Auto pilot, higher lb motors, built-in tranducers, remote control, modified foot pedals and various removable mounts.

They fail to Address the problems preventing a large number of bass fishermen from ever even considering putting one of those on the front of their boat.  ie: head turning speeds, stow and deploy, reliable foot controls, transducer cable placement.  

I got my first PD in the early 90's and in all those years MK has never addressed the slow head turning speeds,  Just recently finally made the stow and deploy system a little easier and could only address the transducer issue by creating built-in tranducers which merely locks a customer into a specific brand of depthfinder for the life of the Trolling motor.

Minn Kota created the next generation TM when they came up with the Genesis.  A fully automatic stow, deploy system that was literally hands off operation.  Stop the boat, hit a button on the dash and the TM is in the water by the time you're on the front deck with a rod in your hand.

The problem was the motor mechanics required precise alignments and a few trips across a 2ft chop lake would rattle the thing apart.  The PD head turning speeds were still a problem but still a design that if worked with and refined would be the ideal TM of the future.

I can even see the day of voice controlled TM's using the PD style design.  Again, until MK or MG decides to start designing the problems of these motors out of the end product those motors are not IMO a suitable motor for bass fishing unless you fish in specific enviroments.  In your case, you've found one of those enviroments that those motors work in.

Bassboy....Do you have a transom mount trolling motor in the back to act as a keel on your boat?  If you don't have something in the back of the boat in the water, the boat will spin with any trolling motor.  My 12' V-Hull did the same thing.  I put the cheapest transom mount trolling motor that I could find on that back and the problem was solved.  I saw the same topic with a slightly different solution in Bassmaster 15 years ago.  Bassmaster's tip was to mount  a small wooden keel on the back of the boat.

No.  Sometimes we lash a paddle back there.  But, and I may not have expressed my point correctly, with a cable steer, I can turn it quickly, and be able to keep up with the course changing easily.  The PD doesn't respond quick enough for me to do that.

If you fish a lot of open water situations those PD type motors are fine.  If you fish electric only lakes I'd also suggest the PD motors as well.  If you're running in between spots on a electric only lake you can basically set the TM on high and walk away.  Sit in back, organize tackle, eat and if TM course corrections need to be made, merely point the remote at it or use the foot pedal which has the long cable.  No need to sit with your foot on the foot pedal like on a cable drive TM.

Otherwise, for most fishing applications a cable drive is still the best option out there.

I like my PD40 for my application.  Electric only v-hull boat.  I can sit in the back of the boat and run across the lake with both bow and stern TM's on.  I have figured out a trick that helped me greatly with the Powerdrive pedal.  When running in constant mode up and down a shoreline, etc  I turn the pedal 90 degrees and use the top half of it as a heel/toe steering like a cable motor.  Before that I was having some difficulty keeping on track.

Would I have liked to have a cable motor?  YES

Would a cable motor work for my application?  NO

The powerdrive works for my application

Has anyone tried a Terrova motor yet?  They have have a different stow and deploy mechinism and different foot pedal design.  Is the head turning speed faster than a power drive?

I have Humminbird electronics so I could use the built in transducer on a Minnkota.  I am the complete oddball all around  Go figure!