Is there anyone using a minn kota terrova i pilot on a bass boat -with a recessed trolloing motor foot cotrol ? Does the foot pedal of the terrova fit inside the cut out ,How good are the features of the ipilot for the money

Long Mike is the resident expert on the I Pilot. He got one of the first when they were introduced. All I can tell you is that he absolutely loves it. He'll stumble across this thread and tell you why.

I have a terrova 80lb ipilot with all the bells and whistles on my boat. The foot controller is not recessed though! I absolutely love it and do not see why everyone doesn't have one. One trip with the ipilot, and especially the anchor lock, and you will be sold as well! Ask away with any questions and I will answer what I can!

Jeff

I have the terrova 101 with ipilot. The features of the ipilot are amazing. The spot lock feature has allowed me to fish in windy conditions easily. The track recording gets used all the time. It is like having a chauffeur in the boat. I use the remote control from the back of the boat or from the shore to dock the boat. It has many features that make it very easy to do many things that are difficult if not impossible to do with a cable steer TM.

Regarding the recessed pedal, I cannot comment on that because I don't have one. The foot pedal on the Terrova is very, very flat, and it is very easy to use. Funny thing is though, I don't use the pedal that much. I keep the remote clipped to my belt. I just lock the autopilot on a heading and fish away. I make small adjustments with the remote and sometimes with the pedal.

I can measure the pedal for you if you need an actual measurement to compare.

Another thing is on the pedal on the very bottom side there are 3 buttons that are VERY useful! Thye are a left, right, and "on" button! They are very helpful when using the ipilot mode for making small adjustments or not having to use the actual pedal part at all. These would be lost if put into a recessed tray!

Jeff

Are the terrova power driven trolling motors as quick to respond as the cable driven

say fortrex ? what I mean to turn left and right my cable driven is very quick my buddy has an older power driven and seems to take forever to change directions. I don't no anyone else that has one of these motors.

Jeff what type of boat are you running this on

It is not as quick but once you are used to it no problem. My boat is a 1648 aluminum mod v. The only down side I know of is when you are in shallow water and the tolling motor head is hitting bottom there is no cord to pull up on and even if there were, the trolling motor will not run unless completely deployed. The solution is that the motor deploys completely verticle and can be raised up to run it very skinny.

Jeff

Jeff---

explain more on how to run it in shallow water vs the "pull the rope half up and go"

example........ at horseshoe fishing the cypress trees or back in the willows, you get hung up and half to go in a get it??? normally ya would just pull the rope a litle if needed , but as I understand it you cant do that with the terrova.

If it's anything like the Powerdrive, there's a clamp to adjust the shaft height. You can adjust it up for shallow water and down for deep water or waves. takes less than a minute to make adjustments. I normally see the Powerdrives and Terrovas on aluminum deep v's as opposed to bass boats.

I replaced the minnkota 12v 40# edge that came on my Stratos 176XT with a 24v 80# Terrova w/iPilot. Late Last Spring. All I can say is WOW.. I think the response is just as fast as the cable steer on my old Edge.

00 Mod isn't quite correct about the Terrova not working unless the motor is fully deployed into its fully vertical position; probably because he doesn't fish in as much slop as I do. You can pull the motor up partially to get through skinny water. Also, you can quickly adjust the vertical operating height of the motor. The ONLY drawback I see with this motor is that there is no rope or other device to ease deployment/retrieval. That drawback is becoming a bit of a problem for a man of my years.

As for the foot pedal, it lays so flat that a recess is not necessary.

I have always had power drives on my boat. When I bought my new Ranger, I bought the Terrova. It is by far much better than the power drives. I also love my Terrova and would replace it in a heartbeat if the current one went out.

Brian,

The way to get back in Horseshoe is to raise the tmotor to the hight required and clamp it there. Works well, just not as easy as the old hold the rope and go style. PM me, and we will take my boat out and you can see the features!

Jeff