Genesis ?’s

I’m curious about the Genesis trolling motors…

Anyone have any insight into how these motors have held up over a season of use? Does the auto deploy and stow function work reliably in freezing weather? Overall satisfaction with this unit?

I’m giving up on the AutoPilots for durability reasons and will either go with a tiller-hand steer bow mount unit next season (most likely) or look into the Genesis motors.

I see Scott F. has one for sale in the classifieds and that ad got me thinking…. hmmmmmm! Thanks in advance for any insight you might be willing to share with me.

James, wish I had a good answer for you on those motors. The foot control seems better than the PD55 I have, in fact I dislike the foot controls a lot and am also considering a tiller on the bow, although I recently approached the Minnkota engineering team and asked for a hand control, similar to a computer joystick, for my PD55. They flat said NO…which means I will be taking mine apart this Winter and engineering one for myself. I generally run around the lake with the goofy foot control in my lap. I have watched the demo at sports shows and at Als here in town, slick to say the least in perfect conditions. Have no idea on its durability for 250 day per year seasons like you have..

James,

I think you are a true testament for a manufacturer, considering the amount of use you put on any one piece of equipement in one year. I also know you take care of you equipment, which adds more validity to your experiences.

As for the genesis, I don’t have any first hand knowledged/use of the product. We only sell a small amount a year at that price range, but I have not had one returned in the past 2 + years I’ve been there. I think that in itself is huge. I base many of my buying decisions on what I see returned for being defective.

One guy I work with, just bought one on his new boat this summer, 74lb thrust bow mount, he loves it. His biggest “kudo” is the foot control. I know how you like to run the AP. The response is better than the AP/PD, not as fast as cable, but close in his opinion. Let us know what you decide.

Thanks guys. Really, my only gripe about these motors (autopilots) is that darned foot control pedal. Turns good in one direction one day, the other the next. Every third day it doesn’t work at all. Can anyone actually adjust that puny speed slide bar with their feet or does everyone just bend over and do it by hand like I do?!

I’m actually leaning HEAVILY toward the tiller steer.

I adjust it just like you. Especially in the fall or spring when you have less control over those large boots you wear to stay warm, if you remember them.

Just curious, what don’t you like about cable steer such as the maxxum. I’ve got one and think it’s great.

I ran a Kota tiller model on my lund a few boats ago and liked it for the most part. No more pedals. In windy waters, I could keep both of my feet planted firmly while casting. It became a little bothersome to keep “correcting” all the time with one of my hands, so I custom made a nice long extension handle to bump with my knee back and forth. This seemed to help out a little. Good Luck in your findings. I heard of some tournament guys that had issues with the stow and deploy not working on the units and costed them a days weight by not getting in on time. This was all “hear say” though as I do not have any personal experience with the Genesis units.

Herb

I know those cable steers are real popular but I’ve never been able to develop a liking for them. Long hours over the tall foot pedal killed my back and legs and the fact that the head unit on the one I used wouldn’t stay put in current when I took my foot off the pedal just kept me from ever going that route. I need to be able to hop off the motor at a moments notice and tend to customers and not have to worry about the trolling motor doing anything except head in the direction it was going. Mostly a personal preference thing like blonde vs. brunette I guess….LOL

James,
I don’t think anyone can adjust the speed with their feet. When I had mine I ran it with my hands.This year I went back to a 74lb thrust tiller, I have not used my bow mount since. If you would like to give mine a whirl that would not be a problem.
See ya on the water, Don

James, I also use my hands to control my AP as Don states above. I rest the control on the transom next to the tiller handle and make adjustments with my left hand. Very simple and works great if you do the majority of your fishing seated by the tiller as I do.

James you made my day!!! I figured it was me. Thought something was wrong with my “foot-eye coordination”.

I get real tired of leaning over to adjust speed.

As such I haven’t used my feet on that foot control in a LONG time. I lay the unit on my lap and run the whole shootin match with my left hand. Works great until I stick a fish… then I stand up abruptly and the unit hits the floor with a thud. At least this way I can get decent speed control.

this is why I run mine with the “foot control” sitting on the console behind the steering wheel… sure I would LIKE to be up front… but I do OK sitting at the console.. and my passengers get the “jump seat”….. and the oppurtunity to raise and lower the motor…… personally I cant imagine why someone wouldnt come out with an ergonomic joystick!!… whats so hard… how bout wireless.. and connected to your wrist or something.. the technology is there and proven…. and I would think with a little work would be awesome… and very much in demand….. (but what do I know?)

Voice Command, Voice Command …Right 30Deg. Starboard…. Scotty , I need more power

we canna do it Cap’n… if you give ‘er anymo powuh shes gonna blow us all to kingdom come!!…..

OK, you guys have spoken loud and clear, we all use the foot controls with our hands for various reasons. So why is it, that the “customer driven” engineers at Minnkota snubbed me when I asked about a hand control?? Somebody over there had better begin to listen soon, or there will be a patent pending in the making shortly that will connect directly to their port on the PDs. You are all right, the technology IS here, for either joystick control OR voice. I had a voice unit some years back on a trolling motor, that part worked great, problem was the rest of the unit was junk. Maybe one of you ProStaffers from EFN needs to contact Minnkota again, maybe they’ll listen to you better than just one customer complaining.

I remember reading about this new pedal/cord free option sometime ago, but couldn’t find anything more info on it. Take a look at this option, might be just what you are looking for.
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/m_news.asp#cordfree
Doesn’t look like it works on the Gensis yet. But I’m sure they will come up with some work around.
Happy Thanksgiving, see you on the river.

I will check this out, they made no mention of this product when I spoke with them a few days ago. Thanks for the lead.

now thats what IM talking about!!…. if someone gets this or HAS this…. lets hear it!!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t minkota try to make the foot pedal wireless a while back?? I thought I remembered them using the same control, but it was wireless. Seems like they had nothing but problems with that attempt. Hopefully they engineered this product better. It can’t be that tough.

John, My MK 12/24 is wireless.Have had no problems with it. Easy to use anywhere on the boat. My previous MK autopilot had the 18ft. cord. Big hassle at times.

What is so tough about running the foot controll with your foot turning direction, speed, it works for me! its called practice guys obviosly most of you do not sit on the bow mount and jig with two rods if you are using your hand to steer the motor would get really old to me!
thanks

Or…. I just require a higher level of control. Either way… I hate the darn thing.

The voice activated stuff is out there, at least from MotorGuide. See link:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0018065012192a&navAction=push&navCount=7&indexId=cat21452&podId=0018065&catalogCode=OC&parentId=cat21452&parentType=index&rid=

I suspect this gear will become more popular as the price drop and sales increase. A hand held device would be nice, but as Nate said, the foot control to keeps hands free. Possibly add a bump button to the foot panel. Each bump increases/decreases speed by 1%.

I do think the manufacturers are listening. I believe these devices are out there. However, the companies like Minkota and Motor Guide simply don’t own the patents. We need a good FTR electronics tech to build a few of these custom pedals for us!!

J.

Hey James
the Genesis has also caught my eye but what kind of pedal does it have???
also steering the pedal with your hand can be great when pulling rigs but I can’t imagine you use your hand when jigging or casting I can also remember when I got frustrated at my pedal in the past but after spending 75% of my time up on the bow you get to feel pretty comfortable.
but no matter what anyone says you do what you are comfertable with and have confidence in.

After reading the post at the Minnkota site it states this is not a wireless foot control option, but a wireless hand control. Sounds like the control box/remote is pretty small, maybe too small, but if I get some details I will post them here. The vioce unit I had was a MotorGuide. Took some training to get used to it worked. I’d much rather have a joystick style hand control though, because you could bump it with your hand just a tiny amount, or a lot, and get instant feedback that what you wanted was what you got. Whereas, with the voice unit, it required my full attention to tell it the direction, faster/slower, stop, go. I think a hand control would become second nature and require little thinking to control it, but time may tell.

I have a PD50 I’ve been using for a few years now. I had the same problems with the speed adjustment. I did some experimentation, and found a decent solution. I bought a card of small “bump ons”, little half round plastic nubs. They came with self adhesive on back, but it did not hold very well. Got out my trusty super glue and applied two 3/16″ bump-ons to the speed control slide and it works quite well. Still have some trouble with heavy footwear, but I believe that is a coordination issue. Give it a try guys. Much cheaper than a new trolling motor, and keeps both hands free for fishing
Rooster

Believe it or not, I actually do lay the control on my lap and run the unit by hand when casting. I don’t do enough vertical jigging to speak on that subject but on the rare occassion that I do go vertical, that’s the way I do it too. Took a bit of juggling to get used to it but now I heardly ever even notice the thing on my lap and most guys don’t even notice I’m not using my foot.

The genesis has a foot control unit a bit larger than the maxxum’s.

But if you go back to my initial post on this subject, my real issue was not HOW I control it, but the fact that the control unit frequently ceases to operate at all. Wet days, cold days… those are the worst. And debris accumulates inthe foot pad and needs to be cleaned regularly. Something I can’t stop to do during the middle of a guide trip. My key issue with the motor is reliability. Also, the fact that my autopilot feature ceased working almost immediately after the installation is a secondary issue, but one that chaps my keister a little since I paid for it and never really got a chance to use it.

I did forget about your primary issue James. Mine also had the same problem with the foot pad. MinnKota rep told me I should remove the pad from the boat and clean it between uses! I told them they should design a control for OUTDOOR use, and he simply snubbed me. I ended up having to buy a new control unit and had it installed in my foot pad. Cost about $75. I had one of the original auto pilots in the early 90’s, and it also went out on me after a couple years of use. Just out of warranty, so I never priced having it replaced. I think maybe when this thread dies out I will send it to MinnKota customer relations. Knowing there is such a widespread problem with there equipment by people in a position to impact their sales in the future may convince them to improve their product. Durability is definetly NOT a strong suit for them!
Rooster

Since thsi thread has died out, I emailed it to MinnKota customer relations. It will be interesting to see what, if any reply I get!