Wetwater Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Hey guys, I could use some advice on picking out a trolling motor for my kayak. I'm looking at the motor guide xi3 GPS and the torqeedo 403a and 403ac. I'm curious if anyone here had either set up and if so, how do you like it? If I went with the xi3 then I need to get the right battery too and I was thinking about the dacota lithium 12v 100ah but wondering if it would be overkill. I don't fish tournaments but I would like to in the future possibly. I wouldn't want to rule it out anyway. The battery comes with the torqeedos I think but not for sure. I'm wondering if the difference between the 403a and 403ac is the battery size? Some advice would be great!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Koz Posted March 8 Super User Share Posted March 8 You need to ask yourself what you want to use the trolling motor for. if it’s just to get you from point to point and you like to run and gun then the Torqeedo is for you. If you like to sit and pick apart a place, especially deep water, you’ll want the spot lock. However, mounting that heavier trolling motor on the bow has its drawbacks. In rougher or windier weather expect to take water over the bow. And even with the proper mounting plate you may expect some warping or twisting of the bow over time. It’s for all of these reasons that I bought an Old Town Autopilot instead of putting a trolling motor on my Seastream kayak. But note that the composition of your kayak may be better than my old budget pedal drive kayak. Much of battery life depends on how hard you push the battery rather than how far you travel. My Autopilot has speed settings of 1-10, but I rarely go over 8 and my 100 Ah battery lasts all day as I cover 6-9 miles. When I tournament fish I travel with two 100 Ah batteries, one on the kayak and one in the truck. It’s overkill, but better safe than sorry, especially if the weather is rough and I have to push the motor. Since most tournaments allow us to pack up and launch from multiple locations throughout the day I don’t need to keep both batteries onboard. My electronics run off of a separate battery. As for the batteries themselves, I use Weize batteries for the motor although one of my batteries for electronics is a Dakotah. Dakotah batteries have a great reputation, but they cost a ton. I paid only $290 for each of my big Weize batteries. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmilburn76 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 I dont have a motor but seriously thinking of upgrading my kayak and including one. Out of the two I would go with the Xi3 just for the spot-lock. I don’t like how the Torqueedo batteries are proprietary and would go with a Newport Nk180 or Nk300 over it but you would need 24v or 36v batteries for those. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bankc Posted March 8 Super User Share Posted March 8 Koz pretty much nailed it. Personally, I'd take the Xi3. Speed is nice, but I've found in a kayak, you're always going to be slow. 4mph vs. 7mph or whatever, isn't as big of a difference as spot lock vs. no spot lock to me. What you could do, battery wise, is get a 50Ah battery and give that a whirl. If you find out you're using all of that one, you could add a second 50Ah battery in parallel and get 100 Ah total. The downside is it would cost more. So there is a gamble. However, having two smaller batteries might be easier to store and balance in your kayak than one big battery. That's the path I took, and I found out one 50Ah battery was enough for me. As I understand it, the difference between the 403A and 403AC is the battery. The A gets you about 4.6 miles at full throttle and the AC gets you 21 miles, so it's pretty significant. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYKBassing Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 I run a SS127 with the 403. I originally had the smaller battery and bought the larger one as well. The extra travel distance was worth it, I don’t need to worry about what speed I’m running at to get from point A to point B and I’ve rarely gotten down past 20% in a day of fishing with the larger battery. I like to stand and anchor to fish, so the Torqeedo/power pole combo works perfect for me in shallow water. 90% of the water I fish is under 5ft. I had an issue with the internal tilt sensor, it was just about out of warranty, they sent me a brand new pylon within a week or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The one that got away Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I have an xi3 on the bow of my SS107 (shorter version of your SS127). Works just like it should. I bought the base motor and the GPS upgrade separately because it only takes about 15 minutes to install and that saved about a hundred bucks or so. Another bonus is I have a backup remote (the remote that came with the base model) so I'm not stranded if the GPS remote konks out for some reason, which it hasn't. The overall cost was definitely cheaper than a Torqueedo or Newport Vessels, and I have spot lock which those motors don't. I also don't have to worry about too many moving parts with pedal to rudder connections and so on. I have a generic Amazon 100ah battery that I got for 1/3 of a comparable Dakota Lithium. No issues whatsoever with the battery. If it dies in a couple years, I'll buy another one and still be ahead. I wish I went with the SS127 instead of the SS107, but that's another story for another day. I have no buyer's remorse at all about the motor setup. Good luck with your decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetwater Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate it and its been helpful! I decided to go with the xi3 with GPS and 12v 100ah dacota. Not sure about spending so much on the battery. Hopefully its a really one good and one less thing I have to worry about and I will have confidence in. 14 hours ago, The one that got away said: I have an xi3 on the bow of my SS107 (shorter version of your SS127). Works just like it should. I bought the base motor and the GPS upgrade separately because it only takes about 15 minutes to install and that saved about a hundred bucks or so. Another bonus is I have a backup remote (the remote that came with the base model) so I'm not stranded if the GPS remote konks out for some reason, which it hasn't. The overall cost was definitely cheaper than a Torqueedo or Newport Vessels, and I have spot lock which those motors don't. I also don't have to worry about too many moving parts with pedal to rudder connections and so on. I have a generic Amazon 100ah battery that I got for 1/3 of a comparable Dakota Lithium. No issues whatsoever with the battery. If it dies in a couple years, I'll buy another one and still be ahead. I wish I went with the SS127 instead of the SS107, but that's another story for another day. I have no buyer's remorse at all about the motor setup. Good luck with your decision. Good thinking on the extra remote! Where did you purchase it from and how much are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowworm Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 It's been useful for me too! I've been looking at going the same route with my SS127. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The one that got away Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 The xi3 motor I bought was a non-GPS version, which came with a non-GPS remote. I also bought the GPS upgrade kit, which comes with a GPS remote. So I have two remotes. One is the GPS remote that has the spotlock features, and the other is the base remote that came with the original motor. Got both off Amazon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User waymont Posted March 15 Super User Share Posted March 15 On 3/10/2024 at 9:59 AM, Wetwater said: 12v 100ah dacota Great choice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetwater Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 On 3/15/2024 at 12:03 PM, waymont said: Great choice! I appreciate you saying so! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User waymont Posted March 18 Super User Share Posted March 18 11 minutes ago, Wetwater said: I appreciate you saying so! Thank you! Mine is a 12v 54ah and I've beat the hell out if it for 4 years, still charges and acts as new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.