Hello all, first post. I'm looking at buying a new trolling motor and have some questions on the new style with digital steering. I currently run an old M/K with the twin cable, push pull set up. when running the motor, you have to constantly keep pressure on the steering pedal to go where ever you intend to go, or the motor torques to the right. Do the newer digital units have torque steer? Do they maintain a straight course even with no input on the direction pedal? I know M/K has the unit that runs in whichever direction you set the compass indicator at..I believe it is the terrova model... but what about the units that don't have that feature? and how durable are the digital steer units? Would I be better off staying with the old reliable twin cable steering? Any input thoughts, suggestions or otherwise will be greatly appreciated....

I'm running a 16 foot skeeter with a 115 hp johnson. My home lake is Houston County lake at Crockett Tx. Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Thanks, Larry

I owned a MK power drive for quite a few years.  If you do a search you'll find a few threads concerning those motors and what most think about them.  

Carp is right, we have talked about these trolling motors a lot.  Just do a search on power drive and I am sure you will get a bunch of hits.  

I have the MinnKota Power Drive 40lb model and it doesn't torque steer.  If you point the motor in a direction and kick on the continuous switch it will go in the direction that you pointed.  Then you can take your foot off the pad.  You might have to tweek the motor a little left and right but it works great for me.  If you get one with Autopilot, it will move in the direction that you selected without you having to touch the pad.  I have a 15.5' Skeeter with a 70HP.  I would prefer a 55lb but I would recommend a built in transducer.

Also

Welcome to the Board!

not much under power drive, as usual, i am too wordy in my search queries.....

Mr Carp, are you still liking your MK AT? forgive my ignorance, but spell out the model for me please? How much slower does the digital TM turn as opposed to the cable steer? Also, does it torque steer?

Mr. Payneful, How do you like your power drive? would you buy another?

also, I noted in a post by Mr. Carp, you stated that the battery savings wasn't that noticable, Does the "Maximizer" feature really not decrease battery drain? or is that offset by the increased juice it takes to run the digital features?

not much under power drive, as usual, i am too wordy in my search queries.....

Mr Carp, are you still liking your MK AT?  forgive my ignorance, but spell out the model for me please?  How much slower does the digital TM turn as opposed to the cable steer?  Also, does it torque steer?

Mr. Payneful, How do you like your power drive? would you buy another?

also, I noted in a post by Mr. Carp, you stated that the battery savings wasn't that noticable,   Does the "Maximizer" feature really not decrease battery drain? or is that offset by the increased juice it takes to run the digital features?

I have the 55lb AT model MK though I'm looking to upgrade to a Maxxum model soon. The AT model has been discontinued and replaced by the Edge series.  I believe Cabela's still sells a couple models of AT's at special pricing but the selection is like 2 models.

How much slower is the power drive head to turn vs. cable?  I can't tell you how many times I had to bend over and manually crank the PD head around because I was about to hit an obstruction due to the head turning so slow.  What really slows the thing down is running the TM at speeds above 50%.  Then the head turns very slowly.

As for battery drain.  I went straight from the PD motor to the AT.  I never noticed any significant power loss from my batteries doing so.  You have to remember that while the digital maximizer feature may be saving you money while the TM motor is turning you're losing that savings because the battery is getting used everytime you want to change directions with the motor.  

crazy_larry,

            I posted a couple links to previous discussions on another thread titled what is the best trolling motor. You can see a lot of people's comments on the subject. I will say that I gave up defending the Power Drive a while ago but I do chime in with my opinion.

Here is my opinion:

Yes I would buy another Power Drive (version 2 now) or a Terrarova.

I would get it with a transducer and temperature sensor. It is difficult to attach the tranducer cable and it gets caught quite often. This is because to stow or deploy uses the entire shaft and you can only secure the cable at the top and bottom. You have to leave a big loop of cable so that it can turn.

I am going to drill a hole in the motor and run the cable up the shaft soon. A friend did it successfully and I am going to attempt it. I will take pictures and document it for anyone else that wants to try it.

My lake doesn't have stumps or flooded timber to avoid. I have never come upon a scenario that the head turning speed was too slow and I hit unexpected objects. I haven't fished any lakes yet that required the manuverability of an Indy Car and I think the head speed is irrelevant. I would say that it takes about 10 seconds for the head to move 180 degrees. Most of the people that have trouble with the head speed are ones that started with cable steer. If you started using a Power Drive, you would probably hate a cable steer. I haven't had any manueverability issues on the Potomac River either.

I can point my trolling motor in a direction, set the speed, flip the constant switch and just barely creep along. I can take my foot off the pad and fish. I can move my foot ocasionally and tweek the position to keep it on track. I cannot do the same thing as easily with a cable steer and with no recess.

I have absolutely no problem holding my boat's position using the power drive in current or the wind. Maybe I am the only one on the planet that can do it but it isn't that difficult.

I had to do a minor adjustment to allow the motor to deploy properly. Before I did the adjustment it was difficult. Now it is a peice of cake. They have improved the deployment on the Terrarova.

The Power Drive footpad is different and it doesn't translate in anyway shape or form to a cable steer. I don't like cable steer without a recess panel. I feel off balance the entire time I am using one.

99% of the boaters out there start off using cable steer trolling motor. Probably 50% of the people that buy them are used to cable steer motors and don't like the differences. So I would guess that 1/2 of a percent of people like the Power Drive and 99.5% don't ;D

I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter if I convince someone to buy or not to buy something that I like. This is just my opinion on the matter and I hope it helps you make a good decision.

I have a 40 power drive and love it. I have used both cable steer and electric steer. The power drive with the co-pilot attachment is the ultimate. I wear the small remote on a lanyard around my neck and no foot pedal is needed. The remote gives you total control from anywhere in the boat with no cables or pedals in your way.

remote control would have been handy today. According to the stories, the little lake i fish filled up so fast after it was impounded, that there is logging equipment on the bottom of it somewhere.... it is a veritable underwater forest... and sam rayburn is quite similar. maybe i'm just drawn to flooded timber? but i do find myself on the pedal quick and hard rather often. But with more thrust than i currently have, I imagine i'd be able to avoid the stumps without too much problem... I hope... I'm currently running the original 36 lb thrust MK that was on the boat when i got it. I'm looking at 55lb MK, either the maxxum, or the powerdrive v2. but i wonder if 55 lb is going to be enough.?....Got blown all over the last two times I went out.... and I know it's going to be a while before the winds set... Maybe I ought to go ahead and step up to 24 volt?.... any one think 55 lb would be inadequate?

Larry,

          Go to www.minnkotamotors.com, click on products, Select-A-Motor and input all info about your boat.  It will tell you what size is correct for your boat.

Been there done that, thanks.  If you click 12 volt, you get recommendations for the 55 lb motors, if you click 24 volt, you get 70 lb motors.....  I just wonder if 55 lbs would manuver me around in this stout wind.?....  Sam Rayburn keeps white caps most of the time... :-/

My 2 cents is the non cable driven terrova (sp?) motor my friend has makes quite a bit of noise when the head turns.  We have spooked some sighted bass by activating it.  As stated several times above, the response time in rotating is noticable if you are used to cable driven.  

update..... :

I'd decided on a 12v 55lb thrust Mk maxxum at bps for $689. Got there, they still had a pallet of mk AT 24v 65lb thrust motors on sale for $399. ....

so I ended up with the 24v, a new quantum code, shimano rod, new worm bag, a new tackle box for my wife, around a hundred dollars worth of tackle, took the wife out to a nice dinner, and still made it home with a hundred bucks in my pocket.... Just enough for a new tm battery. and it gets better.....

With the old tm, i could fish all day, but later in the day, i could tell that my ooomph was gone. Hook up my charger, and it'd read 40-45% charge left. Fished all day last friday, No fade noticeable. Got home, hooked the charger up, old battery had 85% charge left, new battery had 90% charge left. 8-)

Can't wait for my dual pro 3 bank to show up in the mail.... now I'm saving for a humminbird SI unit. Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate it.