I have two Lowrance 334C’s on my boat and want to buy a new trolling motor that has spot holding or GPS tracking. I know Hummingbirds can be used with some MinnKotas. Is there any trolling motor that can partner with my Lowrances for GPS tracking or spot holding?
Al
motorguide will link up with the new lowrance hds units. the lowrance units that you have are way to old and don’t have the ability to link up.
I figured that was the case, Tom. Are there any stand alone trolling motors that have anything like spot lock or internal GPS’s that would help, without buying new sonar/fish finder units? Or, do I bite the bullet and buy a new fish finder? And, if I buy a new finder, what are the pros and cons of Lowrance vs Hummingbird or another brand name?
Thanks for the reply.
Al
The minnkota ipilot as well as the motorguide xi5 don’t need to be linked to a fishfinder. You can use them as is with spot lock and all the other cool features.
Those look cool, especially the Minn Kota ipilot. I would have to buy a new trolling motor, though, since I have a Minn Kota All Terrain and it looks like that’s incompatible with the iPilot. With that in mind, if I do upgrade to a new trolling motor with the iPilot already on it, any suggestions on a model? I have a Lund ProV 1775 tiller.
Al
After reading some posts on trolling motors on another forum about gear on IDO just now, it seems like a lot of fishermen prefer the Motorguide Xi5’s. Any thoughts on those vs the Minn Kota iPilots?
Al
Those look cool, especially the Minn Kota ipilot. I would have to buy a new trolling motor, though, since I have a Minn Kota All Terrain and it looks like that’s incompatible with the iPilot. With that in mind, if I do upgrade to a new trolling motor with the iPilot already on it, any suggestions on a model? I have a Lund ProV 1775 tiller.
Al
I would go with the Terrova,hands down.And 24v for that boat.
I went with the Xi5 myself,so far no regrets.A little getting used to no display on remote,maybe a new one in the future will have one?
xi5 is an amazing trolling motor. Been using it for 2 years and its been flawless. There are tons of posts here on IDO about it with lots of good information.
You can connect your 334 to it and use the sonar, but you will not be able to use the “Pinpoint Gateway” unless you upgrade to a newer HDS unit. Pinpoint Gateway will allow you to control the trolling motor from your GPS unit. Sweet as heck.
In lieu of that though, you have anchor mode which is far superior to the iPilot’s spotlock because it holds much tighter to the spot you lock in on. The remote will allow you to jog forward, back or left or right in 10 foot increments to fine tune once you are in anchor mode. That is a very nice feature.
Aside from that that, it has an internal GPS which will allow you to record tracks (to play back a trolling run later), it has cruise control to keep you at a set speed along with heading lock to keep you in a desired direction while compensating for wind and current.
While the xi5 remote doesn’t have a display its easy to know what’s going on with the LED indicators for heading lock, prop control, etc. Plus when you use cruise control it sets the speed at 1.0 MPH and if you use the + or – button it increases or decreases in .1 MPH increments to dial in your desired speed.
I used it a year without the Pinpoint Gateway and loved it. This past season I added the gateway with a HDS Touch unit and I LOVE it even more.
It uses over 20% LESS AMP draw at peak vs a comparable Terrova as well, which translates to longer battery life and more time on the water.
Thanks for the info. Very informative and the xi5 sounds great. Regardless of whether I go with the full Motorguide motor with xi5 or the Terrova with the xi5, what length should I get….54″ or 60″ or another length?
It’s good to know I can use my 334 with the xi5 for now, although I will upgrade that unit eventually…maybe sooner.
Al
I’m doing a little exploring myself with the idea of replacing my old Minn Kota Riptide. I can’t discern whether MotorGuide makes a salt water version of their motors, i.e. not seeing any white versions. LOL. Can any of you MotorGuide folks let me know if there is such an animal?
Al, is that your boat in the avatar picture? It looks like it is pretty shallow, 54″ is probably more than you need.
That is not my boat. That was a big river jon boat on the Kenai in Alaska. Mine is a Lund 1775 ProV tiller.
Motorguide does make saltwater trolling motors.
Al
Dave- Motorguide does make a saltwater version with pinpoint gps.
xi5 is an amazing trolling motor.
While the xi5 remote doesn’t have a display its easy to know what’s going on with the LED indicators for heading lock, prop control, etc.
A question; Where are these led indicators located? In a tiller style boat can one see these well from the tiller position? I am asking because I myself, have a tiller boat and often operate the bow mount from the rear.
The LEDs are hard to see from the back of the boat. I have fully adjusted to my remote. I can usually tell what’s going on. The anchor mode is far superior to my old ipilot, not even in the same discussion. The jog feature is fantastic too, just click a direction, and move 5 feet. That’s awesome when fishing a wing dam, or a bridge piling etc…
I have been running the Terrova with Ipilot since I think 2010, its been good but I do run a tiller and if I am in the back of the boat its kind of annoying to keep having to look around your fishing partners but that will happen with either MK or MG. I will be looking to switch to MotorGuide this spring because it would be great to have a much better Spot Lock and I can see that “jog” feature would be fantastic IMHO. BUT I won’t switch unless they come out with a decent remote on the MotorGuide. That seems to be the only real bummer with the MG’s as far as I can see at this time. By the way I will not be linking to my HDS units …..well maybe LOL
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
xi5 is an amazing trolling motor.While the xi5 remote doesn’t have a display its easy to know what’s going on with the LED indicators for heading lock, prop control, etc.
A question; Where are these led indicators located? In a tiller style boat can one see these well from the tiller position? I am asking because I myself, have a tiller boat and often operate the bow mount from the rear.
The LEDs are the on the base of the motor mount. They aren’t too large, but being they are evenly spaced out I would think you could see them from the back of the boat BUT you may not know which is which! LOL
Its easy to figure out, turn on prop, LED lights up, hit it again it goes off. 
Same for the other features. Once the GPS is locked it stays on the whole time.
Thanks for the info. Very informative and the xi5 sounds great. Regardless of whether I go with the full Motorguide motor with xi5 or the Terrova with the xi5, what length should I get….54″ or 60″ or another length?
It’s good to know I can use my 334 with the xi5 for now, although I will upgrade that unit eventually…maybe sooner.
Al
I would say go for the 60″. A 54″ might get you by for 95% of the time but that 5% will sure be annoying. It really will boil down to if you will be navigating from the front 100% of the time meaning your weight is up there OR will you possibly be running from the back? If you are in the front you can get by with a 54 much easier, but the 60″ is just a better choice for deep v boats in our neck of the woods IMO. I used a 54″ on my boat before I bought the xi5 and while it worked, there were times it would cavitate in big waves and that makes it super hard to control the boat. I haven’t had it happen yet with the 60″ xi5.
By the way I will not be linking to my HDS units …..well maybe LOL
Come on, you know you will want to! 
Moreso than changes to the remote, I would like to see them change the foot pedal to be more like the terrova OR even like the other MG wireless footpedal. I don’t use the pedal myself, but I know a lot of guys that do and it has been a bit of a turnoff for them.
A flat pedal with directional arrows to turn instead of the “heel/toe” type design is more conducive most guys say. I contend use the remote and keep the deck clean!
Regarding shaft length, longer might seem like a no brainer but if you have a short bow beyond the windshield, stowing can be a little problematic. Take a tape upfront and see how it would layout.
Captain Musky…thanks for the advice. I think I’d be running from the back of the boat more than the front. So, I think your advice on the 60″ motor would be a good choice for me. Thanks again for the advice. You guys are really helping me out here and I appreciate it!
As far as the remote and the LED lights on the motor goes, I’ll be talking to the Motorguide guys at the Northwest Sports Show next spring and have them show me the ropes. I assume they will be there, anyways.
Al
Good point and advice on the stowage of the motor, Dave.
Al
Captain Musky…..I’ve been checking out videos on the Pinpoint Galaxy, since you talked about it. Sweet! Looks like I’m going to be investing in some new sonars now, too.
Great info!
Al
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