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I had a 55 terrova but on the TN river when they are pulling it wasn't quite enough. I now have a 80 and am pulling and pushing crankbaits and it is working fine. I would go with the larger motor. I have been pulling at 1.7 mph for 5 or 6 hours and the indicator lights are still at 3/4 charge. My boat is a tracker V18 all-fish
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Be careful about going too big with the TM though. I read a post on here last year where a fella bought a nice big 24volt system to replace his smaller 12v system and the result was that even on the lowest speed setting his boat moved way too fast to be practical. Just something to keep in mind with a lighter boat like yours.
a troller with variable speed can be slowed down to almost nothing, but you're right if there is only fixed speeds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny
I have a 55# on a 14'9" dura craft and I love it. Works great for spider rigging. Spot lock is ok but will not hold as good as 2 anchors, But I don't carry them anymore. Spot lock works good enough, just be patient when the wind blows you will get back on the spot in a minute.
Spot lock is for pee breaks and reties. Works great!
Thanks for all the suggestions! I decided to buy the 55lb thrust. It is going to take some getting used to. I'm really struggling with the foot control. I think it will just take practice. Overall it's a great addition to the boat. Spot lock was about as good as I thought it would be.
I bought the Terrova especially because I thought I would want/need the foot pedal. I had always used a cable drive foot control motor. Well after hooking up the pedal to make sure it worked I put it in a storage bag, where it has been for the last 2 years. Once you get use to the hand held remote (I wear mine around my neck with the lanyard that came with it) you don't think about the foot pedal. One reason at least for me is the motor drive control on the I-Pilot is nowhere near as fast as the cable drive so the feel of the foot pedal was just off for me. I was use to hitting the foot pedal and mashing the on/off switch and the time lag on the new one threw me off so I got use to using the hand held and now am totally spoiled by it.
I was pulling some crappie cranks last week by myself and it was really hot so I had put up my Bimini top. It was really cool to stand back under the top in the shade and operate the motor from the remote, I think once you get it and use it you will feel the same way.
Just remember to keep a spare set of batteries for the remote with you. Mine lasted about a year and luckily I had a spare set, cause they won't have them at a marina or 7-11 store. I got mine at Walgreens.
Good luck.
SeaRay
I was totally sold on the Terrova but when I started doing some guiding it really came into play, clients sit side by side up front with me behind them to help with whatever they need, can do whatever and control the boat from where ever. Cant wait for the new ones to come out, the self deploy and stow will be an awesome tool when fishing alone, back the boat in the water and deploy and spotlock, when you come back down get it headed back to ya and stow. Hope I am brave enuff to try it, will make unloading when alone much easier!!!!
I like the terrova for the same reasons as Rees. When we had a smaller boat, I would put my wife up front and drive from the stern. She caught lots more fish than I did. It sure made things easier when I wanted to buy more fishing stuff:biggrin